MovieChat Forums > Murder at 1600 (1997) Discussion > Does the secret service have that kind o...

Does the secret service have that kind of authority?


Just wondering, if a murder were committed in the White House, could the Secret Service actually interfere with an investigation, legally? I would think that the answer is no.

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That's why they killed Marilyn Monroe at her place and not the white house.

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That's why they killed Marilyn Monroe at her place and not the white house.

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Realistically -- no.

BUT, in real life, the MA1600 scenario would produce the mother of all jurisdictional battles, with:

1) The Secret Service;

2) The FBI;

3) The CIA/NSA;

4) D.C. Police,


... all claiming authority over the site.


The Secret Service would maintain control over the immediate crime site as long as there was perceived to be any threat to the safety of any First Family member.

The CIA/NSA would probably have authority as long as any threat to national security was considered to still be possible.

Once determined there was no more immediate threat of harm to any FF member, the DC police would probably take over the investigation.

But since such a crime would have extraordinary implications for national security, the resources of all the agencies involved would be called into the mix.

Probably as soon as it happened, all five of these agencies would appoint an executive-level officer to serve on a multi-agency investigative force. Probably the Attorney General would tecnically chair the task force.

Congress would probably very quickly appoint a special investigator to do an independent probe separate from the Secret Service, since by the very definition of the crime, the agency itself would be under investigation for allowing a violent murder in the WH.






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4) You ever seen Superman $#$# his pants? Case closed.

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Actually since it is Federal property, the FBI would probably have overall jurisdiction. I don't think DC police would have been called in at all.

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They made a point about the DC police being called in as a show more than an actual criminal investigation.

I'm not saying that this is common... but it isn't out of the ordinary.

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