Obama Says Appointment of Julia Pierson to Head Secret Service "Breaking the Mold"

Advisers deny gender was a driving factor

 President Obama acknowledged that Julia Pierson was "breaking the mold" as the first female director of U.S. Secret Service.

Yet the president and his aides on Wednesday dismissed suggestions that Pierson's gender was a driving factor in her selection to lead the agency charged with protecting the president, top administration officials and visiting dignitaries.