Secret Service scandal ‘devastating’

WILLIAMS: the good men and women of the US Secret Service , this comes as quite a shock. We have more perspective on this tonight from Dan Bongino , a former agent with the presidential protection division of the Secret Service , who these days, by the way, is a Republican candidate for US Senate from Maryland . Here now, his view of this scandal in his own words.

Mr. DAN BONGINO (Former Secret Service Agent): Secret Service is not just a job. It's a calling, and it was devastating to me, along with the fraternity of Secret Service brothers out there, this was really hard to take. I was 12 years in the Secret Service , five years with the presidential protection division. Two years with President Obama , three years with President Bush . I was an instructor in our academy. So I've seen the totality of the Secret Service . This is a national embarrassment. He's our president, he's overseas. He's not a Democrat president, he's our president, overseas. And this was an embarrassment. I know everyone in the case. I'm not apologizing for anybody's behavior, and they aren't either. But lives are changed permanently. The ones I've talked to, their families are just beaten up by this. The Service always adamantly, they accent the point constantly, the consequences for your behavior, everywhere -- from on the firing range, to on advance work. That goes for the White House staff , the military, the entire protective apparatus. That is emphasized over and over, and I think, unfortunately, that lapsed -- that there were going to be consequences for this. No one saw that. It was a very myopic view of that night. Let's just have fun. And again, it's not indicative at all of the Service I knew. They are a proud group of guys who every day sacrifice children's communions, birthday parties. I spent 300 days on the road one year. We're not asking for anyone's sympathy, we do it. We would gladly take a bullet and sacrifice our lives for a president of any political persuasion, at any time. So I really hope America , at some point, can forgive the agency for this, and we can get past this. Again, this is devastating to me professionally and personally.

WILLIAMS: Former Secret Service Agent Dan Bongino. He left the Secret Service last year.