Judicial Watch has disclosed new documents concerning the unfortunate drowning of Tafari Campbell, the former personal chef of the Obama family, revealing that there were operational failures with Secret Service rescue boats during the emergency.
On July 23, 45-year-old Tafari Campbell met his tragic end while paddle boarding on Great Edgartown Pond, Martha’s Vineyard. A female Obama staffer was reportedly paddle boarding with him.
According to witness accounts, without a life jacket and wasn’t tethered to his board, Campbell lost his balance and fell off his paddleboard into the water. Desperately struggling to stay afloat, he eventually slipped beneath the surface, never to resurface again.
Campbell, who could swim as evidenced by a video he’d previously posted, was found in eight-deep water.
According to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner of Massachusetts, the official cause of his death was ruled as an accidental drowning. No signs of external trauma were found on his body, as confirmed by Timothy McGuirk, a spokesman for the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security.
On Tuesday, Documents obtained by Judicial Watch through a FOIA lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security uncovered that the Secret Service encountered crucial issues deploying their boats to aid Campbell.
“Newly released records show that when Secret Service agents rushed to try to rescue Obama’s chef Tafari Campbell, who was drowning, both of the agency’s boats were inoperable,” Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton wrote on X.
“The agents had to borrow the groundskeeper’s boat. A Secret Service report describes how two agents “attempted to start one of the boats but had difficulties lowering the motor. I headed down with [redacted] but told her to continue down and yelled to SA [redacted] and SSA [redacted] that I would run to get the keys for our USSS boat. I sprinted to the CP [Command Post], grabbed the keys and sprinted back towards the boats. A similar issue occurred with the motor on the second boat. We jumped into a third boat belonging to the groundskeeper and it worked without issue,” he added.
The records, spanning 31 pages, include interviews and reports surrounding the incident, identifying Campbell’s paddleboarding companion only as “Ms. Taylor.” She reported Campbell’s struggle before he tragically disappeared beneath the water’s surface.
Hellbound and Down 