(Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch announced that it filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for records of any incidents of aggression or biting by President Biden’s dog Commander.
Judicial Watch filed the suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia after the U.S. Secret Service, a component of Homeland Security, failed to respond adequately to a December 28, 2022, FOIA request (Judicial Watch Inc. v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security (No. 1:23-cv-00612)). Based upon a tip it received, Judicial Watch is Sasking for:
- Any records related to incidents of aggression and bites involving the Biden family dog, “Commander,” including communications between Secret Service officials in the Uniformed and Non-Uniformed Divisions involved in White House operations and the Presidential Protection Division.
The Secret Service acknowledged receipt of the request and wrote in a January 20. 2023, letter that it had found responsive records and was processing them. At the time of the complaint, however, it had not produced any of the records.
Acquired in December 2021, Commander, a pure-bred German shepherd, replaced another German shepherd, Major, which left the White House following a series of attacks on Secret Service and White House staff.
In April 2022 Judicial Watch released records detailing multiple attacks and damages to United States Secret Service (USSS) members by Major at both the White House and Biden’s lake home in Wilmington, DE. The documents reveal that a member of USSS who was attacked by the dog was displeased that White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki misled the press about the incident.
In August 2021, Judicial Watch uncovered records from the Secret Service revealing Biden’s dog Major was responsible for many more biting incidents than the Biden White House had publicly acknowledged.
One email noted that “at the current rate an Agent or Officer has been bitten every day this week (3/1-3/8) causing damage to attire or bruising/punctures to the skin.”
“Judicial Watch already caught the Biden White House lying about their family dog attacking and injuring Secret Service and White House employees,” Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said. “Now it seems their new dog is also out of control and the Secret Service is hiding records about the issue.”
