By: Mickey McCarter
The US Secret Service has launched an
investigation into allegations that 11 of its agents were involved with
hiring prostitutes prior to an international summit in Cartagena,
Colombia, last week.
The agency has launched a "full investigation" into
allegations that 11 Secret Service agents, including two supervisors,
hired prostitutes in Cartagena and brought them back to their hotel,
Rep. Peter King (R-NY), chairman of the House Homeland Security
Committee, told news outlets including NBC Nightly News Sunday.
Those agents were removed from Colombia Thursday
before the arrival of President Barack Obama. The incident apparently
came to light when one of the prostitutes complained to police for not
being paid. Prostitution is legal in Cartagena but not within the code
of conduct for Secret Service agents.
Five members of the US armed forces are also alleged
to be involved in the prostitution scandal. The Department of Defense
(DoD) restricted the service members to quarters in Colombia pending an
investigation.
Obama weighed in on the scandal Sunday in remarks at
the closing of the Summit of the Americas, which brought together
nations in the Western Hemisphere to discuss shared economic and
security concerns.
"These men and women perform extraordinary service
on a day-to-day basis protecting me, my family [and] US officials,"
Obama said. "They do very hard work under very stressful circumstances
and almost invariably do an outstanding job. And so I'm very grateful to
the work that they do."
"What happened here in Colombia is being
investigated by the director of the Secret Service. I expect that
investigation to be thorough and I expect it to be rigorous. If it turns
out that some of the allegations that have been made in the press are
confirmed, then of course I'll be angry because my attitude with respect
to the Secret Service personnel is no different than what I expect out
of my delegation that's sitting here. We're representing the people of
the United States. And when we travel to another country, I expect us to
observe the highest standards because we're not just representing
ourselves, we're here on behalf of our people. And that means that we
conduct ourselves with the utmost dignity and probity. And obviously
what's been reported doesn't match up with those standards," he
continued.
Obama concluded, "But again, I think I'll wait until the full investigation is completed before I pass final judgment."
The incident is likely to call into question the leadership of Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan, who faced questions at an unusual hearing on Dec. 3, 2009,
regarding how reality television personalities Tareq and Michaele
Salahi were able to breach White House security and attend a state
dinner for the prime minister of India.
Sullivan accepted responsibility for security lapses
in the Salahi incident, which led to punishments for two Secret Service
agents who incorrectly admitted the couple to the event.
Lawmakers in the hearing pondered whether Sullivan
should keep his job, but the clash largely blew over due to the rare
nature of the incident and Sullivan's contriteness.
King, who held the hearing on the Salahi matter,
indicated in television interviews Sunday that he would likely hold a
hearing to investigate the Secret Service actions regarding the
prostitution scandal. No hearing yet has been announced, although Rep.
Darrel Issa (R-Calif.), chairman of the House Oversight and Government
Reform Committee, also expressed interest in the matter over the
weekend.
Frequent Secret Service critic Ronald Kessler, author of In the President's Secret Service: Behind the Scenes With Agents in the Line of Fire and the Presidents They Protect, also made the rounds on television news programs Sunday, calling for the replacement of Sullivan as Secret Service director.
That supervisors may have been involved in the
Cartagena scandal indicates a culture of favoritism and preferential
treatment that is fostered by management at the very top, Kessler told NBC Nightly News. He called for the appointment of an outside director who could come into the agency and "clean house."
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