Cnn
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The man who allegedly stole A Gucci bag responsible for the money from the interior security secretary, Kristi Noem, was sitting at the table next to hers, according to the video of the Sunday incident examined by the investigators of the secret service.
The surveillance images of the Capital Burger restaurant in Washington, DC, have shown that the suspect was deliberately moving near Noem when he focused on his Gucci bag near his feet, said a source of application of the law.
The thief, dressed in dark clothes, sat at an empty table next to Noem, his back facing her and used his left foot to slide the bag, said the source. He questioned the restaurant before finally taking the bag, covering it with his jacket and therefore.
It was only when Noem got up from the table that she had realized that her bag was missing, said the source.
The inside articles of the Gucci bag included a Louis Vuitton Clemence portfolio, Noem driving license, medicines, apartment keys, passport, DHS access badge, makeup bag, virgin checks and about $ 3,000 in cash.
CNN contacted the parent company of Capital Burger, Darden Restaurants, which did not respond to a request for comments.
It is still not known if the thief knew the identity of Noem or if it was a random target. The secret services, which conduct the investigation, strive to retrace any use of Noem’s financial instruments, said sources.
The secret services were inside the restaurant with Noem, who dined at a table with his family, according to a familiar source. The source did not specify how many agents accompanied Noem or where they were inside the restaurant.
Commenting on the large sum of cash Noem, a spokesperson for the DHS said: “His whole family was in town, including her children and grandchildren-she used the withdrawal to offer her family dinner, Easter activities and gifts.”
The experts in the application of laws have raised concerns as to whether the incident, which involved a thief approaching so close to a firm manager, then on the run with his property, may have been a security period.
“This is a security violation that has in fact high consequences, and it needs an immediate examination and more in -depth by the secret services and the DHS and other partners of the law application,” said Jonathan Wackrow, analyst of the CNN police and former secret service agent.
“If necessary, the secret services will have to make operational changes to the way they deal with these types of private events in the future,” Wackrow told Kaitlan CNN on “La Source”.
He added that Noem remains “at a higher risk of targeted threats, both by foreign and national actors, and his public profile alone makes a symbolic target”.