I recently read Gary Byrne’s Crisis of Character: A White House Secret Service Officer Discloses His Firsthand Experience with Hillary, Bill, and How They Operate. I thought I was in for some exciting red meat-style dishing about political scandal. Although a part of the book told tales about Bill’s dalliances with White House staff, it wasn’t what I was expecting. In fact, the book only made fleeting references to Hillary giving Bill a black eye during an argument and mistreating administration staffers.
Instead, a much larger portion of the book focuses on the Department of Justice (DOJ) forcing the author to testify during the impeachment situation. Apparently the author is no fan of the DOJ nor even the Secret Service, which wasn’t particularly helpful in advising Byrne when his career was on the line.
The book is basically an autobiography of the years Byrne served his country in the Air Force, Secret Service, and eventually as an air marshal. He frequently discussed the ineptitude of bureaucrats, and suggested that middle management positions are rarely awarded on the basis of merit. Moreover, he shared scary anecdotes about how management repeatedly lowered standards for those serving as protectors of the American people in the interest of political correctness or laziness.
If you are looking for a book that bashes the Clinton Machine, other books are probably better suited to that end. However, if you are looking for an insider’s perspective on federal bureaucracy and service, this book is worth a read.
Emily Munson 