As the union representing Transportation Security Officers across the country, the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) stated today that the Transportation Security Officers (TSO) who selected Congressman Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, for additional screening were acting according to TSA procedures.
Chaffetz was patted down and walked through a metal detector by a TSO who reportedly did not recognize the freshman Congressman. Chaffetz subsequently complained about the procedure and said that he was “singled out.”
AFGE Membership and Organization Director Sharon Pinnock commented wryly that it was curious and quite “odd that Congressman Chaffetz would choose to use an image machine that he would like to see banned.” She later added, “We are
hard-pressed to understand his thinking on this since he previously had been given a tour of the ITM lane to this incident and knew quite well what the process could involve.”
So what were Congressman’s Chaffetz’s motives in choosing a line that required additional screening? Well, you be the judge. A quick search through the Internet brings up his Congressional webpage, carrying the headline “Congressman Chaffetz Seeks to Ban Whole Body Imaging at Airports.” This title is followed by his own gentle missive, stating: “Nobody needs to see my wife and kids naked to secure an airplane.”
Necessary or not, it may not take an x-ray to see through to this Congressman’s intentions.
