The Post’s July 26th cover highlighting the aggressive German shepherd.
The shocking spate of incidents involving Commander — none of them previously reported — mirrors attacks involving Major, who the White House says was given to family friends after biting many Secret Service members in 2021.
In the most serious documented incident, the White House physician's office on Nov. 3, 2022, referred a Secret Service uniformed officer to a local hospital for treatment after Commander clamped down on their arm and thigh, according to emails released under the Freedom of Information Act to conservative legal group Judicial Watch.
Commander broke the skin of a different Secret Service member's hand and arm weeks later after the president unleashed him outside the White House following a family movie night, communications indicate — and the following month, Commander bit the back of a security technician at Biden's Wilmington, Del., home.
The negative first family news comes as House Republicans intensify their focus on Joe Biden's role in his son Hunter and brother James Biden's business dealings in countries such as Ukraine and China — with one of Hunter's closest associates, Devon Archer, expected to testify next week that the first son often put his then-vice president dad on speaker phone while with his foreign partners.
The documented attacks from October 2022 through January likely are an incomplete accounting of incidents involving Commander because the period of time doesn't cover his initial nine months at the White House or the most recent six months.
"These shocking records raise fundamental questions about President Biden and the Secret Service," said Judicial Watch president Tom Fitton.
"This is a special sort of craziness and corruption where a president would allow his dog to repeatedly attack and bite Secret Service and White House personnel. And rather than protect its agents, the Secret Service tried to illegally hide documents about the abuse of its agents and officers by the Biden family," Fitton added.
Biden, 80, has reportedly expressed doubt about the honesty of a Secret Service member who reported being bitten on the leg by his prior dog Major, also a German shepherd, and the White House did not voluntarily disclose attacks involving either animal.
Behind the scenes, agents described an alarming series of incidents involving Commander, who often can be heard barking on the executive mansion's grounds.
The Nov. 3 encounter began as a Secret Service officer was seated at the bottom of a stairwell at the White House.
Commander "came down the stairs and walked toward" them, according to an internal agency email.
The dog, unprovoked, reportedly bit the officer's arm on the tricep area — and, when the officer stood up, chomped down on the quad muscle area on their leg.
Another officer wrote that the attack victim reported "a considerable amount of pain" and said they were forced to use a steel cart to shield against further attack.
An officer at the Secret Service Joint Operations Center wrote, "WH medical treated the officer and made the decision to have [the victim] transported to [redacted] Hospital."
Two days after the incident, the attacked agent, whose doctor placed them on restricted duty for three days following their visit to the hospital, emailed to a colleague who asked about their recovery: "My leg and arm still hurts. He bit me twice and ran at me twice."
The fellow Secret Service member wrote back: "What a joke ... if it wasn't their dog he would already have been put down - freaking clown needs a muzzle."
Some of the incidents directly involved the first family, according to the email cache.
On Nov. 10, a Secret Service Uniformed Division officer was bitten on the left thigh by Commander while first lady Jill Biden walked the dog in the Kennedy Garden near the East Wing and reported "bruising, tenderness and pain in the bite area," a communication in the document production reveals.
"I saw Commander exit the Kennedy Garden and sprint towards me. I immediately stopped and put my hands up. Commander then bit me on left [thigh] and then ran back towards the First Lady," the officer wrote in an email to his superiors.
On Nov. 14, another Secret Service officer described in an emailed report having to defend themselves with a chair to prevent being attacked.
The officer wrote that they "heard the dog bark with a loud aggressive sound" and "looked up and saw him at the landing of the ushers staircase. I made eye contact with him and grabbed the black chair I was sitting on and held it in front of me while backing up."
On Dec. 11, a Secret Service special agent in the Presidential Protective Division reported being bitten when the president took Commander off his leash after watching a movie — writing that he had a 1.5cm (half-inch) cut and bruising on his arm and a 1cm (0.4-inch) cut due to a second bite on his hand and thumb.
One of the agent's bosses wrote in an email also released to Judicial Watch that "this occurred after departing the family movie theatre" with "Commander and family members (total 6 participants)."
President Biden "requested to take Commander (on the leash) to the Kennedy Garden. Once at the KG, POTUS took Commander off the leash to run free. I was present to observe [redacted] departing from the Kennedy Garden to move behind [redacted] toward the south ground drive via the internal garden gate when [the attack] occurred."
A workplace injury form shows that a Secret Service officer also was bitten on Dec. 16.
"I was walking across the complex and a dog bit my left arm," the officer wrote, describing the injury as "Dog bite, superficial laceration, contusion, soreness, and bruising."
On Christmas Eve, a Secret Service inspector wrote to colleagues that one day prior, another officer "was bitten while posted at [redacted location] yesterday."
"Nearly every official in the room with me today spoke about specific incidents surrounding the First Family's dog," the inspector's email said.
On Jan. 2, an agency technical security investigator was attacked when investigating an alarm at the president's Wilmington home, where he often spends the weekend.
"Commander squeezed his way through the door and immediately bit/latched onto the lower right side of my back," the attack victim wrote in an email.
A person whose name was redacted from the email "told Commander to get down and assisted in pulling him off," the technician wrote.
"The total incident did not last more than about 10 seconds and Commander went back inside the residence. [The person whose name was redacted] was apologetic after the incident. After checking my lower back, there's a 1×1 scratched, bruised spot where Commander grabbed onto and was bleeding consistent [with] a scratch like rug burn."
The incidents seemed to begin in October of last year.
In the first documented instance, on the morning of Oct. 5, Commander "jumped on" an emergency response technician on the White House grounds and bit at their "arm/wrist area."
On Oct. 3 at a door leading to the garden near the East Wing, Commander "inflicted a 'friendly soft bite' on [a Secret Service agent's] forearm as [he] held the door open," though "no skin was broken from the bite."
On Oct. 26, a uniformed division Secret Service officer wrote: "Commander has been exhibiting extremely aggressive behavior. Today, while posted, he came charging at me. The First Lady couldn't regain control of commander [sic] and he continued to circle me. I believe it's only a matter of time before an agent/officer is attacked or bit."
"He would have bit me today if I didn't step towards him a couple different times. It was bad enough that the agent on the detail asked if I got bit - just so you're aware."
The White House blamed the incidents on what it called "a unique and often stressful environment for family pets" at the executive mansion.
"The First Family is working through ways to make this situation better for everyone," said Elizabeth Alexander, communications director for first lady Jill Biden.
"They have been partnering with the Secret Service and Executive Residence staff on additional leashing protocols and training, as well as establishing designated areas for Commander to run and exercise," Alexander said. "According to the Secret Service, each incident referenced was treated similarly to comparable workplace injuries, with relevant notifications and reporting procedures followed. The President and First Lady are incredibly grateful to the Secret Service and Executive Residence staff for all they do to keep them, their family, and the country safe."
Comment: It's a common phenomena for dogs to adopt the personalities of their masters. What then does this say about the first family?