The FCCJ presents an extract from Steven L Herman’s Behind the White House Curtain: A Senior Journalist’s Story of Covering the President—and Why It Matters
Mar 12th, 2024
“Take a look Behind the White House Curtain with this extract from Steve Herman’s upcoming book, courtesy of the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan.
As a frequent traveling pooler, I was issued a Defense Biometrics Identification System (DBIDS) card to show at the guard post, allowing me to drive directly to the terminal. Subsequent to the perfunctory flashing of credentials to get onto the base, there is a more rigorous screening after the press corps enters the terminal. Like at a civilian airport, our bags pass through a scanner and we walk through a metal detector. There is a second screening for our bags and bodies.
The Secret Service’s PPD calls out the dogs. One canine, actually, who sniffs all the media’s equipment, which we line up on the floor for an olfactory inspection. After the dog has left, the journalists are “wanded”. A PPD agent uses a handheld metal detector as we stretch out our arms and hold our wallets and cell phones.”—Behind the White House Curtain: A Senior Journalist’s Story of Covering the President—and Why It Matters
