Lewis C. Merletti

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Lewis C. Merletti was the 19th Director of the United States Secret Service.^[1] He succeeded Eljay B. Bowron, and was sworn in on June 6th, 1997, by the then Secretary of the Treasury Robert Rubin . A 25-year veteran of the United States Secret Service, Merletti has also served as Assistant Director in the Office of Training and the Special Agent in Charge of the Presidential Protection Division.

1 Education
2 Military service
3 Career with the United States Secret Service
4 Clinton trial
5 Notes

[edit] Education

Merletti was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.^[2] He attended Duquesne University, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he received a a B.A. degree in political science. He currently works as the executive vice president of stadium and security for the Cleveland Browns.^[3]

[edit] Military service

Merletti enlisted in the United States Army in 1967. He served for three years, including a tour of duty in Vietnam with the 5th Special Forces Group. He earned numerous military honors including the Bronze Star, Certificate of Achievement of Meritorious Performance, Combat Medical Badge, Good Conduct Medal, and Parachute Wings.^[4]

[edit] Career with the United States Secret Service

In 1974, Merletti joined the Secret Service as a special agent assigned to the Philadelphia Field Office. Throughout his tenure with the agency he served for Presidents Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George Bush, and Bill Clinton. He also held the position of Special Agent in Charge of Presidential protection during the Clinton Administration, which made him ultimately responsible for protecting the physical security of the President and First Family. He was also in charge of supervising security arrangements for the visit of the President to hostile environments such as the DMZ, Cartagena, Israel, Syria, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia during Operation Desert Shield.

[edit] Clinton trial

During the Clinton impeachment trial in 1998, Independent Counsel Kenneth W. Starr's prosecutors requested that two Secret Service agents testify in the investigation of President Clinton's relationship with Monica Lewinsky.^[5] Merletti argued strongly against this, saying "Rather, it is my firm belief, as Director of the United States Secret Service, that using Secret Service protective personnel as witnesses concerning the activities of a President will substantially undermine, if not destroy, the relationship of confidence and trust that must exist between the Secret Service and a President for the Secret Service to successfully fulfill its mission. If our Presidents do not have complete trust in the Secret Service personnel who protect them, they may push away the Service's 'protective envelope', thereby making them more vulnerable to assassination."^[6] On May 22, however, Chief U.S. District Judge Norma Holloway Johnson ruled that since the Secret Service employees are part of the federal law enforcement establishment sworn to assist in criminal investigations, they must testify.^[7]