Secret Service Director: 'It's Difficult to See at Night'

During the House Oversight Hearing on White House security, Secret Service Director Julia Pierson had difficulty explaining why a housekeeper discovered evidence that shots had hit the White House while Secret Service agents failed to discover it.

Under direct questioning from Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC), Pierson admitted that Secret Service agents swept the area after shots were fired at the White House in a 2011 incident.

Gowdy repeatedly questioned why a Secret Service supervisor ordered agents to “stand down,” asserting that the noise was a vehicle engine backfiring when there was clear contrary evidence that shots were fired.

Pierson replied that Secret Service officers swept the area after the noise occurred but failed to discover that shots had struck the third floor of the White House.