The Secret Service destroyed a video that captured Commander Biden chomping down on one of its agents – in an attack that forced the White House to shut down tours so blood could be wiped off the floor.
DailyMail.com filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the Secret Service in March after a video was mentioned as part of an email that detailed a June 15, 2023 biting incident with the since-banished first dog.
The video purportedly showed Commander running at a high rate of speed and jumping toward the agent in the East Wing’s Kennedy Garden, leaving a ‘deep bite’ on the individual’s left arm ‘that reportedly needed stitches,’ the email said.
‘East Wing Tours were stopped for approximately 20 minutes due to blood from the incident being on the floors in the area of the Booksellers,’ the message continued, referencing the room that is just inside from the garden.
The Secret Service’s Freedom of Information Act Officer Kevin Tyrrell wrote to DailyMail.com in a letter Friday that ‘Due to Secret Service retention standards, the above mentioned file(s) has been destroyed.’
The Secret Service destroyed a video that showed Commander Biden (left) running at a high rate of speed and jumping toward an agent in the Kennedy Garden last June, leaving a ‘deep bite’ on the individual’s left arm, with blood spilling in Booksellers so tours had to be paused
In a follow-up exchange, Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi explained that the agency abides by the ‘federal records retention schedule that defines when certain types of records can be archived, destroyed, etc.’
Guglielmi said he didn’t have ‘direct knowledge’ of the video in question. ‘Based on that response, I am assuming the record in question is no longer available because of the expiration of record retention.’
While DailyMail.com previously obtained a photo of Commander jumping up and appearing to bite a White House groundskeeper, video footage of the dog attacks hasn’t been released.
There are at least 25 documented Commander attacks – and more from the Bidens’ previous rescued German Shepherd Major.
Documents obtained in February by Judicial Watch, a conservative group that has uncovered many of the biting incidents, detailed the June 15, 2023 incident, which was reported to Deputy Assistant Director Darryl Volpicelli.
Other emails from that FOIA request showed that in the weeks leading up to the June 15 attack, Commander was again being let off-leash on the White House grounds.
‘Just for situational awareness. It seems that we’re back to the K9 being let off leash to roam the grounds freely,’ one Secret Service official warned others in an email on May 23, 2023. ‘Tonight we had the team on the roadway for the evening sweep when [redacted] brought the dog out. K9 ran directly south and bounced between us techs.’
‘Though no one was bitten it’s just a matter of time before it happens,’ said a Secret Service official whose name was redacted.
DailyMail.com was told that a video of a biting incident that occurred with Commander Biden on June 15, 2023 had been destroyed. The particular attack prompted White House tours to be paused for 20 minutes so blood could be cleaned from the floor
Emails previously obtained by Judicial Watch show the initial description of the June 15 attack. With the Secret Service agent receiving a ‘deep bite’ to the left arm ‘that reportedly needed stitches’
‘East Wing Tours were stopped for approximately 20 minutes due to blood from the incident being on the floors in the area of the Booksellers,’ an email said. The Booksellers lobby (pictured) is located just inside from the Kennedy Garden
Commander Biden looks down at the press from the Truman Balcony in September 2023. A spokesperson said on October 4 that Commander had been removed from the White House after a series of biting attacks
A photo obtained exclusively by DailyMail.com shows Commander biting yet another staffer at the White House on September 13, 2023
In the weeks preceding the June 15 attack, agents were warned that the German Shepherd was again being left off-leash around White House premises. In a follow-up note, an agent told others to stand tall, yell Commander’s name and say ‘stop!’ to avoid being bitten
A Secret Service agent explained how he was able to keep himself from being bitten by the first dog: ‘In all seriousness, standing tall and yelling his name and “stop” is your best bet to not get bit,’ the agent wrote in a May 26, 2023 email
Several days later, a Secret Service agent warned those staffing Camp David that Commander ‘is either let out or gets out of the house on his own, off leash.’
The agent said he had just had a close-call with the German Shepherd, letting his ‘cave man instincts’ spook the dog away.
‘In all seriousness, standing tall and yelling his name and “stop” is your best bet to not get bit,’ the agent wrote. ‘Once I yelled at him and faced him, he turned around and started sniffing a bush (aka respecting me as the alpha I am).’
At the same time, the Secret Service was asking all of its employees if they’d ever been bitten by the Bidens’ dog, in order to create a record of the attacks.
Coincidentally, June 15, 2023 – the day of the Kennedy Garden attack – was the deadline for Secret Service officials to report back and say whether they had been bitten by Commander.
The Secret Service was compiling a spreadsheet of all the incidents involving Commander, including where on the White House premises they occurred and what body parts the dog went after.
In a new batch of documents, released by Judicial Watch on Thursday, officials shared an updated spreadsheet showing the June 15 biting incident and one from late July.
Commander Biden is seen flashing his teeth outside the White House. The Secret Service has been compiling a list of attacks – including where they occurred, what body part he bit and the medical treatment that was needed
The Secret Service was compiling a list of attacks and set June 15 as the initial deadline for employees to report whether they had been bitten – which was coincidentally the date of another biting attack at the jaws of the German Shepherd
Agents were asked for details about biting incidents to compile the above spreadsheet of Commander Biden attacks. The deadline to respond was June 15, 2023 – when the attack occurred in the Kennedy Garden that led to tours being paused
The emails also detailed another attack in the Kennedy Garden – this one with President Joe Biden in tow.
The agent recalled that on September 12, 2023, Biden and a leashed Commander headed outside to the Kennedy Garden for a walk.
Biden opened the outside door to tell the agent something when the assault occurred.
‘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,’ the Secret Service official said. ‘I pulled my arm away and yelled no. POTUS also yelled [redacted] to Commander. POTUS then [redacted]. I obliged and Commander let me pet him.’
‘When turning to close the door, Commander jumped again and bit my left arm for the second time,’ the Secret Service official continued. ‘POTUS again yelled at Commander and attached the leash to him.’
The agent added that his suit coat had three holes in it from the attack but ‘no skin was broken.’
Following a different Commander attack in September, a sergeant with the Secret Service flagged to a colleague: ‘FYI – there was a dog bite and the Officer may need to go the hospital.’
‘Have a safe shift!’ the official added.
By October 4, 2023, a spokesperson for the White House confirmed that the dog had been moved off-site.
Commander was given to the president and first lady after their rescued German Shepherd, Major, was removed from the White House for biting Secret Service agents.
A puppy at the time, Commander was a birthday gift from the president’s brother James and sister-in-law Sara and made his debut in December 2021.
Another Biden German Shepherd, Champ, died in June 2021.