Did Drunk Agents Breach White House Security? US Secret Service Investigates

The US Secret Service is investigating claims that some of its agents crashed a car into White House security barriers after a boozy night out, The Washington Post reported on Wednesday.

If the allegation is confirmed, it would only be the latest in a series of errors to taint the agency, which provides US President Barack Obama's security team, following high-profile security breaches and a prostitution scandal.

The Secret Service was not immediately available to confirm the report, but spokesman Brian Leary told the Post that the probe would be conducted the Department of Homeland Security's inspector general.

According to the paper, which has had a series of exclusives on troubles within the agency, on the evening of March 4, two agents - one of them a member of Obama's elite close protection detail - crashed into the barriers.

The pair had allegedly been at a drinking party and agents at the scene had wanted to conduct a breath test to find out if they were inebriated, but were overruled by a commander who ordered the suspects home.

Last month, Obama appointed Joseph Clancy as the new head of the Secret Service after a critical report into an incident in which a mentally disturbed veteran scaled the fence and burst into the White House with a knife.

The previous head of the agency, Julia Pierson, resigned after the incident.

She had initially been appointed to clean up the service after a dozen agents were found to have hired prostitutes during a 2012 presidential trip to Colombia.