At last month’s annual Gridiron Club dinner in Washington, no one was spared from ridicule. That included Secret Service agents, recently exposed by the Washington Post for possibly driving drunk onto the White House complex, the latest in a string of embarrassing incidents. In a letter to Gridiron President Clarence Page of the Chicago Tribune, the trade association that represents the Secret Service let known its displeasure.
The Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association “understands a good joke,” wrote Jon Adler, the group's president. “But the jokes concerning the Secret Service's recent issues came off lowbrow and unappreciated by our Members working at the dinner.” He took specific umbrage to Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe asking if there were any Secret Service agents “sober enough to drive me home.” Page responded, apologizing for “any hard feelings it caused,” but that the jokes about the Secret Service were all in good fun. “We poke fun at newsmakers and newsgatherers, but always, as our motto says, in a manner that will 'singe, not burn',” Page wrote.