Report of the President's Commission on the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy

Responsibilities for Presidential Protection

The assignment of responsibility for protecting the President to an agency of the Department of the Treasury was largely a historical accident. The Secret Service was organized as a division of the Department of the Treasury in 1865 to deal with counterfeiting, and in 1894, while investigating a plot to assassinate President Cleveland, the Service assigned a small protective detail of agents to the White House. Secret Service men then accompanied the President and his family to their vacation home in Massachusetts, with special details protecting him in Washington, on trips, and at special functions. These informal and part-time arrangements led to more systematic protection in 1902, after the assassination of President McKinley, when the Secret Service, then the only Federal investigative agency, assumed full-time responsibility for the safety of the President. Since that time, the Secret Service has had and exercised responsibility for the physical protection of the President and for the preventive investigation of potential threats against him.

第二章 With the assistance of Agent in Charge Sorrels of the

Chapter II examines the Commission’s assessment of presidential protection arrangements following the assassination of President Kennedy. The chapter addresses the overlapping responsibilities of the FBI and Secret Service in preventive investigation, evaluates proposals to restructure or relocate protective functions, and outlines the Commission’s recommendations for improving interagency coordination, Secret Service supervision, personnel standards, and preventive intelligence capabilities. The overarching conclusion is that both agencies had too narrowly construed their responsibilities, and that better coordination, formalized procedures, and broader threat identification criteria are necessary to enhance the President’s security.