Nixon to Drop Taxpayer-Paid Protection by Secret Service
WASHINGTON — Former President Richard M. Nixon, 11 years after leaving office in the face of impeachment, will abandon his government-financed Secret Service protection next month, his spokesman said.
“He just doesn’t feel it was justified for him to have this service paid for by the taxpayers,†John Taylor said from Nixon’s New York office.
Nixon had said last March that he was dropping the Secret Service protection but took no immediate action.
Taylor said the move was delayed five months because Nixon didn’t want to disrupt the lives of the agents who have guarded him, who “have houses to sell†and new assignments to find.
“He also was concerned with not interrupting their children’s school terms,†Taylor added.
The Secret Service protection will end when the former President embarks on a three-week trip to Asia, including China, in late August, Taylor said.
Nixon’s security henceforth will be provided by a private force headed by Michael Endicott, the special agent who has commanded Nixon’s Secret Service detachment since 1979.
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