Judiciary Committee lawmakers press CDC on ‘criminal’ contractor

Members of the House Judiciary Committee on Friday pressed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on how a man with an alleged criminal record was hired as a security contractor and later allowed to ride on an elevator with President Obama.

Concern over the Sept. 16 incident helped lead to Secret Service Director Julia Pierson’s resignation earlier this month. In a letter to CDC Director Thomas Frieden, members of the House Judiciary Committee expressed concern that the contractor was in a “position of trust” at the facility.

{mosads}”Given the extremely sensitive nature of the work performed at the CDC, we are deeply concerned that a convicted criminal appears to have been given a firearm and put in a position of trust at your headquarters,” the lawmakers wrote.

The letter’s signatories were House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), ranking member John Conyers (D-Mich.), Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security and Investigations Subcommittee Chairman Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.) and subcommittee ranking member Bobby Scott (D-Va.).

In the letter, the lawmakers asked the CDC to state whether the agency or the Federal Protective Service ever conducted a background check on the contractor, and if so, whether it revealed a criminal history. They also requested information by Oct. 30 on how the CDC is working to secure its facilities to prevent a similar incident from happening again.