Washington ( CNN ) -- Testimony given by the director of the embattled U.S. Secret Service on Tuesday appears to conflict with the news that broke hours after Julia Pierson 's testimony -- that a private security contractor with a gun shared an elevator with President Obama , in violation of protocol , during his trip to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta two weeks ago . In her testimony before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform , Pierson said she is responsible for briefing the President whenever there is a serious breach of his or his family 's security . When asked how many times she had to take such action in 2014 , she said it was only after the September 19 incident in which a man armed with a knife jumped the White House fence and made it into the mansion 's East Room . Not long after the hearing adjourned , the Washington Examiner and then the Washington Post reported the incident in Atlanta on September 16 . An agency official confirmed the incident to CNN in which a security contractor operating an elevator at the CDC was carrying a gun in the presence of Obama and his Secret Service detail . The contractor was taking pictures of the President and otherwise behaving in an unprofessional manner , the official said . When the security worker was confronted about his behavior , it was revealed that he was armed . Asked about the apparent inconsistency in Pierson 's testimony , a spokesman for the Secret Service , Ed Donovan , told CNN `` we are n't going to discuss private conversations the director may have with the President . '' Can the Secret Service actually change ? According to Secret Service protocols , it is up to the agency to decide who is allowed to possess firearms in the presence of the President . The agency official said that the elevator operator was determined not to be a threat to Obama after he was interviewed by officers . White House officials did not respond to requests for comment from CNN . `` I believe the President 's security was unnecessarily compromised , '' Rep. Jason Chaffetz , R-Utah , told CNN . `` A convict with a gun in an elevator with the President put his life in danger . The Director should have informed the President , yet she testified she did not . Did she lie to Congress or fail to inform the President ? '' Chaffetz at the hearing specifically asked Pierson `` what percentage of the time do you inform the President that his personal security has in any way , shape or form been breached ? '' `` Percentage of the time ? '' Pierson responded . `` A hundred percent of the time we would advise the President . '' `` You would advise the President , '' Chaffetz specified . `` Yes , '' she said . `` In calendar year 2014 how many times has that happened ? '' asked Chaffetz . `` I have not briefed him ... except for one occasion for the September 19 incident , '' she said , referring to the White House intruder who was able to breach White House security and get into the East Room of the White House . Chaffetz clarified that the only time she had only briefed the President about his or his family 's personal security in 2014 was the one time . `` That is correct , '' she said . The elevator incident happened three days before the fence-jumping intrusion at the White House . CNN 's Jim Acosta contributed to this report .
` ` I believe the President 's security was unnecessarily compromised , '' he says . Secret Service official responds to CNN reports of an incident when Obama visited the Pentagon . A private security firm shared an elevator with the President , in violation of protocol . Secret Service director testifies she only briefed President on White House fence jumper .