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TSA Pats Down Henry Kissinger

While he was in a wheelchair
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted May 14, 2012 2:24 PM CDT
TSA Pats Down Henry Kissinger
A hotel security personnel, right, helps former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, center, get past reporters as he arrives at a midtown hotel, March 8, 2012 in New York.   (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

It seems absolutely no one is immune from the indignity of TSA pat-downs—not even a former secretary of state in a wheelchair. None other than Henry Kissinger was singled out for special screening on Friday, according to freelance journalist Matthew Cole, who, unlike TSA personnel, recognized the Nobel laureate. And Kissinger got "the full Monty," Cole tells the Washington Post.

"He stood with his suit jacket off, and he was wearing suspenders. They gave him the full pat-down. None of the agents seemed to know who he was." Afterward, Kissinger shared a weird inside joke with an aide, asking if the airline had any schnitzel. "If they have schnitzel, I'll find it," the aide promised. "I know," Kissinger replied, "If we're in China, you find the schnitzel." Your guess is as good as ours as to what that meant, but both men laughed. (More TSA stories.)

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