Secret Service deputy director resigns over Fortem ties

Secret Service Deputy Director Matt Quinn announced his resignation in an internal agency email on Friday, days after a CBS '60 Minutes' segment showcased the counter-drone technology of Fortem Technologies — the company Quinn worked for as a senior vice president before returning to the agency.

Quinn spent 23 years as a Secret Service agent before retiring in 2021, then took a senior role at Fortem, whose DroneHunter uses AI and radar to capture unmanned aircraft in a net. He returned to the Secret Service last year as deputy director; his last day is Nov. 7. RealClearPolitics first reported the resignation after submitting detailed questions to the agency about whether DroneHunter purchases were competitively bid and about the agency's track record taking out drones. The Secret Service did not respond.

The '60 Minutes' piece, a joint interview with Director Sean Curran and Quinn aired Oct. 11 on this year's surge in threats to President Trump, featured a DroneHunter training demonstration but did not mention Quinn's prior work for the manufacturer. Quinn conceded on camera that the agency cannot stop a drone swarm. The segment also claimed, citing no source, that the Secret Service downed a drone with electronic jamming at the Army-Navy game in Baltimore last December, attended by the president and members of Congress. Several active and retired agents question that account, with some suggesting the incident was most likely friendly fire, and are calling on agency leaders to explain it fully.

RealClearPolitics reported that the '60 Minutes' feature omitted technical problems the DroneHunter platform has experienced. Quinn had earlier drawn criticism from current and former agents for admitting the agency was unprepared for a drone swarm attack.

The agency charged with protecting the president will now investigate its own procurement questions without the official who oversaw them.