WASHINGTON, 5 January — Lawyers for an Arab-American Secret Service agent kicked off an American Airlines flight on Dec. 25, yesterday accused the pilot of singling out the agent due to his ethnicity.
The agent — whose name is not being released due to security concerns, and is assigned to President Bush’s security detail — requested his account of the facts be released because he said inaccurate information has recently appeared in the media which does not reflect what happened.
The agent, of Arab descent, has served in federal law enforcement his entire professional life, and has been with the Secret Service for seven years.
According to his lawyers, at a press briefing yesterday, the agent’s own account of the incident makes clear that all proper procedures were followed and that he was barred from the flight because he is of Arab descent.
He introduced himself to the pilot on board and provided the pilot with forms authorizing travel as an armed Secret Service agent. The agent’s attorney says the American Airlines pilot refused to verify the agent’s credentials, even though the agent tried to give the pilot the names and telephone numbers of his supervisors at the Secret Service and the White House.
The agent has been a member of President Bush’s security detail for the past two years and was on his way to the Bush’s Texas ranch to report for duty when the incident at Baltimore-Washington International Airport occurred.
Prior to boarding the plane, the agent’s identity had been cleared by three police officers at three separate airport security checkpoints before boarding, the attorneys said.
The agent’s requests that a single telephone call to the White House or the Secret Service that could have confirmed the agent’s identity in minutes — were ignored.
The 33-year-old agent, armed at the time of the incident, was carrying an official Secret Service badge, a photo identification card and government-issued airline tickets when he boarded the flight, his attorneys said.
In addition to being cleared by law enforcement officials, the agent had filled out all the required paperwork to go on the initial flight.
The problem took place when the original flight was delayed by mechanical problems and the passengers were shifted to another AA flight. Because there were no new forms to carry a weapon on board at the second gate, airline employees made changes to the form the agent used to board the first flight, his lawyers explained.
The attorneys said an airline employee crossed out the first flight and seat number and wrote down the second. The agent boarded the plane, introduced himself to the pilot as required by procedure, and handed him the paperwork authorizing his travel.
The agent’s lawyers insist that his conduct was professional throughout the incident. An American Airlines corporate security employee finally called the agent’s supervisor later that evening, after American Airlines had apparently banned him from all future AA flights. American Airlines was able to confirm his identity in less than five minutes and the agent was allowed to fly the next morning.
"We believe the only reason why (the agent) was denied boarding the flight was because he is an American of Arab descent," said John P. Relman, one of the agent’s three attorneys, at a news conference yesterday. "This is a case of discrimination."
The problem is that each side has vastly different versions of the incident.
According to a written account of the incident released by American Airlines, the pilot accuses the agent of becoming "very hostile" and making "loud, abusive comments," including threats to use "the powers of the White House" against the pilot.
The agent’s lawyers disagree, saying the incident could have been quickly defused, but the pilot refused to call the Secret Service or the White House to verify the agent’s identity. Throughout the incident, the agent "never raised his voice, never used foul language and was never threatening," Attorney Christy Lopez said.
