Secret Service Wants to Build Fake White House; Meanwhile, Cyanide-Laced Letter Sent to Real White House

The Secret Service, which is responsible for the president's security, has been been plagued with scandals of late. So, in order to make sure they do their job effective, the agency is asking for $8 million to construct a fake White House to train its agents.

Stung by accusations that it cannot adequately protect the White House, the Secret Service wants to spend $8 million to build another White House in Beltsville, Maryland. In testimony before the House Appropriations Committee, Joseph P. Clancy, the director of the Secret Service, on Tuesday urged lawmakers to give him money to build a detailed replica of the White House to aid in training officers and agents to protect the real thing. Beltsville, about 20 miles from the real White House at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, is the location of a 500-acre Secret Service training site in the verdant terrain of southern Maryland.... The proposed replica would provide what Mr. Clancy described in prepared testimony as a “more realistic environment, conducive to scenario-based training exercises,” for instructing those who must protect the president’s home. It would mimic the facade of the White House residence, the East and West Wings, guard booths, and the surrounding grounds and roads. It is unclear whether the structure would be a full-scale replica of all sides of the White House. Officials said the design had not yet been completed.

source: NY Times

And today, a crazy person mailed a letter laced to cyanide to the White House.

The Secret Service was trying to determine tonight whether a letter sent to the White House contained cyanide. The letter returned a presumptive positive for cyanide, but it was being tested again to confirm the result, the Secret Service said tonight. The letter was received Monday at the White House Mail Screening Center, and after initial biological testing came up negative, chemical testing today came up with the positive for cyanide. The sample was transported to another facility to confirm the results, the Secret Service said. Sources familiar with the case say told ABC News the substance was inside a plastic Ziploc-like bag inside an envelope. The sender is someone known to the Secret Service and charges are possible, depending whether the material was indeed hazardous, the sources said.

source: ABC News

How did the Secret Service determine the sender's identity, you ask? Easy. The man listed his true return address. According to reports, he is known to the Secret Service since 1995 and he once addressed to the White House a package covered in urine and feces.