EXCLUSIVE: Mitt Romney to Receive Secret Service Protection
Jan 31, 2012 9:58pm
Emmanuel Dunand / AFP / Getty Images
TAMPA – Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign has been informed that it will start receiving Secret Service protection on Thursday, two campaign sources and a senior Republican tell ABC News.
Secret Service protection is being given to the campaign not because of a specific threat but because of the increase in crowd sizes as the primary season has progressed over the past few weeks, according to the sources, who refused to be identified because they don’t have authority to comment on such matters publicly.
According to a federal law enforcement officials Romney’s campaign, which has long traveled with private security of its own, did request Secret Service protection. However sources tell ABC that the campaign did not make the request, but was approached about the additional security steps in the weeks following the New Hampshire primary.
The Secret Service is charged with protecting presidential candidates in addition to the president himself, and providing protection to a candidate before he secures a nomination has become fairly common. Such decisions are made by the Department of Homeland Security, in consultation with congressional leadership.
Officials with the campaign and the Secret Service declined to comment on the decision.
Romney will become the only current Republican candidate with Secret Service protection. Herman Cain became the first candidate to receive Service protection, in November, but he ended his candidacy in December.
Posted by CNN Political Unit May 16th, 2012 02:12 PM ET
(CNN) – Herman Cain, who suspended his own bid for the GOP presidential nomination amid a flurry of allegations of past sexual impropriety, backed Mitt Romney Wednesday – his third endorsement after dropping out of the race.
Cain, the former chief executive of Godfather's Pizza, held an endorsement event in Washington, D.C., where he was flanked by Rep. Michele Bachmann, herself a former presidential candidate, and Rep. Steve King of Iowa.
"I know that there are a lot of people who may not be as excited as some of us about the process or as excited about the ultimate nominee, so why am I willing to officially endorse him along with most of the other Republican candidates? It's real simple. Governor Romney gets it right on the big issues. President Obama gets it wrong on all of the big issues. That's why we have got to have a different occupant of the White House," Cain said at the event.
In January, after teasing an "unconventional endorsement" in the GOP presidential race, Cain came out in support of "the people," saying it was the beginning of a political revolution.
"My unconventional endorsement is 'The People!" Cain said in a speech in South Carolina. "We the people are still in charge. That's who I'm endorsing. We're going to have to lead this revolution. We have to take our power back. I'm endorsing the people. The people who started this country."
Later in January, Cain announced he was endorsing former House Speaker Newt Gingrich ahead of Florida's closely watched GOP primary. At the time, Cain praised Gingrich's "bold ideas" as the basis for his choice, saying Gingrich wasn't afraid to propose big ideas that would benefit the nation, even if they invited the ridicule of his rivals.
He explained in an interview on CNN his choice of Gingrich was based, in part, on the candidate's embrace of his 9-9-9 tax plan.
"When you find a candidate that basically is running still on the ideas and the ideologies that I was running on, along with him embracing 9-9-9, then it was a no-brainer and I thought that the timing was right," Cain said.
At his event Monday, Cain explained his past endorsements, taking a veiled shot at President Obama's explanation for his change in position of same-sex marriage.
"My endorsement evolved," Cain said. "Early in the process is one thing, but as we converged toward the convention, what we did earlier isn't as relevant. It wasn't a matter of changing my mind."
He added, "Now that the process is winding down, I felt it fitting to offer a formal endorsement because I have been consistent throughout my participation in the process and that is that I would endorse the ultimate nominee."
Cain attracted attention and followers for aggressively promoting his "9-9-9" tax plan, as well as for his charismatic personality and appeal among tea party activists. He enjoyed a spike in Republican primary polls last fall, but when he dropped out of the race in December polls showed him toward the back of the pack of candidates.
Cain ended his bid for the 2012 GOP nomination after battling allegations of an affair and of past sexual harassment episodes, which was alleged to have taken place during his tenure as president of the National Restaurant Association. Cain consistently denied any wrongdoing.
The Villages Retirement Community Exposed After Couple Allegedly Had Sex In Public
Sumter County
By Simon McCormack Posted: 06/17/2014 2:53 pm EDT Updated: 06/17/2014 2:59 pm EDT
Florida's "Friendliest Retirement Hometown [ http://www.thevillages.com/AboutUs/aboutus.htm ]" is in the spotlight after two people were caught allegedly getting very friendly with each other inside the community's confines.
— There are "ten women to every man" and there's a black market for Viagra in the community of 100,000 residents.
— "All of the women work hard to look good... Turn your back for a minute and someone will try to steal your husband," said resident Belinda Beard, 62.
— Contrary to what your standard calendar would have you believe, "every night is Saturday night," according to author and expose-er, Andrew Blechman.
— A local bar is selling a "Sex on the Square" cocktail in honor of the arrested couple.
A spokesperson for The Villages did not immediately return a request for comment from The Huffington Post.
The racy underbelly of The Villages has been written about before.
The Post claims that an unidentified gynecologist "treated more cases of herpes and human papillomavirus at The Villages than she did when she worked in Miami."
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