President Joe Biden reportedly watched his German shepherd Commander bite and attack Secret Service members in a situation that became so toxic the agents would wish each other a “safe shift.”
Secret Service records reportedly show that agents were fearful that the dog Commander would attack, with one agent even suggesting the use of a muzzle. Per the New York Post:
The 81-year-old president reportedly accused a Secret Service member of lying about being attacked by Major during his first year in office, but was present for at least three separate attacks involving Commander, files released to Judicial Watch under Freedom of Information Act litigation show.
A previously unreported incident on Sept. 12, 2023, featured a pair of bites in which Commander tore holes in a Secret Service member’s suit as Biden took him for a walk in the Kennedy Garden along the South Lawn of the White House.
In the report, the Secret Service agent assigned to protect the president said in his report that Biden “took Commander (on a leash) to the Kennedy Garden this evening for a walk,” which then led to a biting incident.
“While [Biden] and Commander were in the Kennedy Garden I was standing half way from the Book-Sellers [lobby] and the Family Theater,” the agent wrote. “[Biden] opened the Book-Seller door and said [redacted]. As I started to walk toward him to see if he needed help, Commander ran through his legs and bit my left arm through the front of my jacket. I pulled my arm away and yelled no.”
“[President Biden] also yelled [redacted] to Commander. [Biden] then [redacted]. I obliged and Commander let me pet him,” the report continued. “When turning to close the door, Commander jumped again and bit my left arm for the second time. [Biden] again yelled at Commander and attached the leash to him. My suit coat has 3 holes, 1 being all the way through. No skin was broken.”
The report included photos that showed damage to the agent’s suit and dress shirt.
After another attack in September of 2023 wherein an agent needed medical attention, one agent told another to “have a safe shift,” though it remains unclear if Biden was present for the exchange or biting incident. Two days later, the agency’s Safety, Health & Environmental Division wrote, “Can we please find a way to get this dog muzzled.”
Biden was noted to have been present in two prior attacks – one in October 2022 and the other in December 2022. The documents do not place Biden on the scene for the more severe attacks, such as the one that occurred in November 2022, which sent a Secret Service agent to the hospital after Commander “clamped down on their arm and thigh at the base of a stairwell at the White House,” per the NY Post.
As Breitbart News reported this year, Commander had as many as 24 biting incidents at the White House and other locations. The reported incidents were documented by CNN after it obtained internal USSS documents that showed the dog bit agents more times than were initially thought.
“The new documents, obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request, reveal the extent to which the situation had become a serious workplace issue for the hundreds of staff supporting White House operations, and how agency personnel changed their habits to avoid being injured by the German shepherd,” noted CNN.
A source close to Bidens said at the time that the family feels “awful” and “heartbroken” over the biting incidents, adding that they apologized profusely.
“They’ve been heartbroken over this. They’ve apologized to those who have been bitten, taken flowers to some. They feel awful. Commander was over-protective, and even though they tried and tried to work on it, they had to let him go live with other members of their family,” the source said.
Commander joined the family as a puppy in December 2021; the biting incidents began in October 2022 and continued for nearly a full year. Elizabeth Alexander, first lady Jill Biden’s communications director, said in a statement provided to CNN that Commander has been kept away from all White House staff and Secret Service agents since other family members took him into custody.
“The president and first lady care deeply about the safety of those who work at the White House and those who protect them every day. Despite additional dog training, leashing, working with veterinarians, and consulting with animal behaviorists, the White House environment simply proved too much for Commander,” she said.
“Since the fall, he has lived with other family members,” she added.
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