Bongino - The fight: a Secret Service agents inside account of security failings and the political machine

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This book is dedicated to my wife, Paula, and my daughters Isabel and Amelia. Your love and support have made every day a gift, and every moment the beginning of a new adventure.

This is a true story, though some names and details have been changed.

If ones life is measured by the impact that they have had on the lives of others, then the value of the lives of the people I want to acknowledge here are immeasurable. My wife Paula grew up on the tough streets of Cali, Colombia, and came to the United States as a child. She overcame a series of obstacles, which have broken the souls of many others, and became a successful business woman, an incredibly dedicated mother, and an inspiration to me during those times where I questioned everything. This book is dedicated to Paula and to my two daughters, Isabel and Amelia, because, without their love and support, there would be no story to tell and no passion to tell it with.

I would also like to thank Senator Mike Lee, Senator Rand Paul, former Alaska governor Sarah Palin, Congressman Louie Gohmert, and former Congressman Allen West for believing in me when I needed support in my fight for a better tomorrow. There are some good men and women left in politics and these individuals are proof of that.

Thank you to Sean Hannity, and to Lynda, Lauren, and Jason, from the Sean Hannity radio show team, for making this story, and this book possible. Lynda selflessly returned our call and lent a hand when we needed a break, and Lynda and Lauren always seemed to know when I needed a supportive message during a stressful time. And thank you Sean for giving me a chance to be heard by millions on your show. Thank you to Mark Levin and Rich from the Mark Levin radio show for constantly supporting me and being there for me when I needed it. Mark is a true believer in the cause and his passion serves as a daily reminder of whats at stake in this fight. Thank you to Glenn Beck for being a friend when I needed careful advice on how to best fight the good fight. It was your show covering Hayek that motivated me to change direction.

Finally, I would like to thank my campaign team led by Sharon Strine, Maria Pycha, Ally McMahon, Phil Reboli, Jan Schultz, Jerry DeWolf, and Diana Umstot. They refused to quit when the odds were stacked against us, and organized the many dedicated volunteers who selflessly gave their time and energy to join the fight. Dave, Ric, Jeff, Sara, Skip, Kat, Bob, Lisa, Jon, Josh, Missy, Eric, Mary Jane, Sean, Leigh, Dylan, Betsy, and to the many others who helped, I will never forget your efforts.

W hy should I care about what a former Secret Service agent and former political candidate has to say about governing, leadership, or anything else? If you picked up this book out of curiosity and are asking yourself that question, then I understand. I understand your hesitancy because I am a born skeptic with a penchant for questioning nearly everything. My first car was a white Ford Escort and the first bumper sticker I placed on that car read, Question Authority. As you read the book, I ask that you never relinquish your skepticism and that you remember why I chose to write this book. I chose to write the book because some of the best sports coaches were not the most naturally gifted players. Many of these talented and creative coaches were mediocre players who overcame poor genetics, a lack of access to the best training resources, and even poor nutrition and family circumstances, to make it onto the stage with the most elite athletes in the world. They may not have been the star of the team. They may not have been chosen for the lead role in the play. They may not have been chosen as the solo vocalist in the choir. But they overcame a host of challenges and difficulties, and worked their minds and bodies to their limits to earn their spot on that stage.

Growing up at the lower end of the middle class, in a small apartment, above my grandfathers bar on Myrtle Avenue in Queens, New York, I never envisioned a future where I would be a Secret Service agent standing next to the President of the United States and being responsible for ensuring that he is never harmed. I never envisioned becoming the Republican Partys nominee for the U.S. Senate, or running for the U.S. Congress as a largely unknown Republican, in a strongly Democratic state and district, against one of the wealthiest and most popular members of Congress, and coming within one point of defeating him. But I didnt defeat him. I lost. That loss hurt deeply, but I made it on that stage and after leaving that stage I began to think about the path that led me there and how my failures could assist others in getting to that same stage. Maybe some of the lessons I learned will help them become the soloist in the choir that I never was.

I questioned everything after that tough political loss, but after a long period of introspection I found the elusive answer I had sought. Lifes journey is a complicated one with a number of twists and turns, some in your control and some not and I had mistakenly believed that the outcome of my journey, not the journey itself, was all that mattered. My political loss, along with many of my experiences as a Secret Service special agent, were a reflection of a deeper truth, which cannot be distilled down to the result of my effort. I realized after the devastating political loss that the result is important, but it is the fight that really matters. Lifes challenges are a series of fights and the effort you choose to put into them. Some of these fights will be in vain and some will result in tremendous successes, but the character you build and your individual willingness to sacrifice for the team (a concept I will discuss in-depth later in the book) is what you will be remembered for. The legacy you leave others with is not simply the result of your work, but the invaluable lessons you can teach others by the simple act of pouring all of your efforts and energy into a cause you believe in. The result of your efforts, whether it be an election victory in politics, a successful Secret Service security advance, or a completed work project, may have provided you with a deliverable to your fellow man that has marginally improved the world as we know it, but the blood, sweat, and tears that you poured into that effort, regardless of the outcome of it, will be an example to many others who can spread it and cause a chain reaction of hope and optimism.

I wrote The Fight to document my successes in the Secret Service and my failures in politics. Both of these experiences provided invaluable templates for a better path forward. The Secret Service, despite some of its recent negative headlines, is a unique operation where special things happen. The special agents I had the honor of serving with didnt care much about the money or the glory; they only cared about the mission. The agents and their families made enormous sacrifices to ensure that the President of the United States was never harmed on their watch. How did a government, so associated with models of ineptitude and failure, spawn an agency where the opposite occurs? Ill tell you later in this book. Why is most of our elected government full of people who entered politics for the right reasons, but left without their souls? Ill try to answer that one as well. My hope is that this public airing of my failures and successes will provide some lessons to help you in the fight because, in the end, the fight is what really matters.