Report: Henry Kissinger Received Full TSA Pat-Down
Even Nobel Peace Prize winners aren't guaranteed immunity from the TSA pat-down.
According to The Washington Post, the former secretary of state who helped bring an end to America's involvement in the Vietnam War had to go through a full pat-down while going through security to catch a flight to Toronto at New York's LaGuardia Airport on Friday.
Never mind that he's 88, and that the TSA in March began testing a program that would let passengers at least 75 years old keep their shoes and jackets on while going through security. (If the alarm sounds, however, they must go through further inspection.)
Unlike the TSA agents, freelance reporter Matthew Cole recognized him.
Cole told the Post's In the Loop blog that the TSA agent sent Kissinger to be searched after asking him his name. Kissinger was in a wheelchair, apparently because it was a long walk to the gate. In the search area, according to Cole, "he stood with his suit jacket off, and he was wearing suspenders. They gave him the full pat-down."
Kissinger joins a growing list of public figures and celebrities who have experienced — or refused to experience — the full pat-down.
According to the Post, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), the chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, has been through it. So has Oscar winning-actress Jennifer Hudson. Last week, TV host Geraldo Rivera said on "Fox and Friends" that he was "manually raped" by a TSA screener on his way to Afghanistan.
And in January, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) was "detained" by TSA agents in Nashville after he refused a pat-down. The TSA disputed the account.
