McCain to Request Secret Service Protection
After delaying for as long as he could, John McCain says he recognizes the inevitable and will meet with Secret Service next week to set up protection shortly thereafter.
In an interview with Fox News to be aired on Sunday, McCain says he's finally moving to get Secret Service.
"I think that it's important as we get more and more visibility, that we recognize the inevitable. And so we will be talking with them early to arrange for very soon, some secret service protection," McCain said.
McCain's camp has been in talks with Secret Service about coverage for months. McCain resisted the idea because he feels Secret Service would cramp his improvisational, meet-and-greet style, often exhibited at his town hall events. Staffers expected he would wait as long as he could to accept protection, which would be required upon his nomination at the GOP convention in September.
Yesterday, Secret Service director Mark Sullivan told Congress that the presidential hopeful had not requested Secret Service protection yet and the Washington Post and some other media outlets published stories about Sullivan's comments.
McCain adviser Charlie Black expressed his dismay that this information was made public. He told CBS News, "All I have to say is it's very unfortunate that they would report on who has coverage and who doesn't. But I am not an expert on security. We don't believe in talking about security in public at all."