Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Ut.) was reportedly in an altercation with TSA personnel at Salt Lake City airport when clearing security for a trip back to Washington DC. Chaffetz, who was one of the sponsors of the anti-whole-body-scanner amendment to the TSA Authorizaton Act earlier this year, feels that he was singled out because of his anti-TSA stances.
As well as sponsoring the amendment to ban whole-body scanners, Chaffetz has been on record as being against the unionization of the TSA. Now, he feels that TSA is exacting a form of retribution. It’s hard to make these kind of claims up. But with a security organization that has no real legislative boundaries, anything is possible.
Chaffetz, who also has sponsored legislation to ban whole-body imaging machines because he says they are invasive, charges that TSA agents Monday tried to force him to use one of those body scan machines. When he refused, he was sent through a standard metal detector.
Evidently, Chaffetz had words with the TSA inspector after going through the scan and an additional pat-down. He was subjected to the additional screening because he objected to going through the whole-body scanner. The Deseret News included more details.
He said he sent four gray bins of personal items through the X-ray machine. “Two of them went through, and then they said, ‘We need you to go through the whole-body machine….’ I said, ‘I’m sorry but I’m not going to do that.’ ”
Chaffetz has passed through the House — but not yet in the Senate — legislation saying such machines could be used only for secondary searches, and people may opt for a “pat-down” search instead because the machines essentially show the people as naked.
After refusing to walk through the whole body scanner, newspaper reports say that he passed through a normal scanner. He was then notified that he had been “randomly selected” for additional screening. The incident led to further words and the rest of the story is lots of he-said/they-said stuff.
Do you really think TSA has a political hit list for Congressmen that aren’t more compliant with their search and unionization demands? I don’t think so, but when an organization shrouds itself in unnecessary secrecy, anything is possible.
Photo: Free Republic
Charlie Leocha is the President of Travelers United. He has been working in Washington, DC, for the past 14 years with Congress, the Department of Transportation, and industry stakeholders on travel issues. He was the first consumer representative to the Advisory Committee for Aviation Consumer Protections appointed by the Secretary of Transportation from 2012 through 2018.
