9:30 a.m. September 11, 2001: Vice President Cheney’s Lead Secret Service Agent Heads to the West Wing and Discusses Crisis with Colleagues

Special Agent James Scott, a member of Vice President Dick Cheney’s Secret Service detail, heads to the West Wing of the White House and discusses the ongoing crisis with the members of Cheney’s detail posted there. Scott, the “on-duty shift whip” for Cheney’s Secret Service detail, has learned of the attacks in New York and has been discussing emergency plans with a supervisor (see (Shortly After 8:48 a.m.) September 11, 2001 and (Shortly After 9:03 a.m.) September 11, 2001). [United States Secret Service, 10/1/2001] Although his location is unstated, Scott is presumably at the Joint Operations Center at the White House, where the Secret Service constantly monitors the movements of every “protected person,” including the vice president. [New York Daily News, 12/22/1997; National Geographic, 9/27/2004] Scott will later recall that at “approximately 9:30 a.m.,” following his discussions with the supervisor, he heads down to the West Wing, where Cheney’s office is located. He will say that he discusses the “heightened alert” and reviews the “contingency plan” with the shift agents posted there. After he has finished briefing the agents, Scott stays near the door to Cheney’s office. He will recall that he subsequently evacuates Cheney from his office, apparently at around 9:36 a.m., after learning of an unidentified aircraft flying toward the White House (see (9:36 a.m.) September 11, 2001). [United States Secret Service, 10/1/2001; United States Secret Service, 11/17/2001 ]