By: Julie Pace, Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — A prostitution scandal
involving the Secret Service has grown in scope, with the disclosure
that U.S. agents and military personnel had been with at least 20 women
in hotel rooms before President Barack Obama arrived in Colombia for a
summit with Latin American leaders.
Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan, facing
questions on Capitol Hill about whether the escapades could have
jeopardized the president's security, said he had referred the matter to
an independent government investigator.
[Editor's note: According to NBC News,
the Secret Service agents who brought prostitutes back to their hotel
rooms in Colombia last week had copies of the president’s schedule in
their rooms, which raises the issue of a potential security breach, a
law enforcement official reportedly said]
Sullivan said the 11 Secret Service agents and 10
military personnel under investigation were telling different stories
about who the women were. Sullivan has dispatched more investigators to
Colombia to interview the women, said Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., chairman
of the House Homeland Security Committee.
"Some are admitting (the women) were prostitutes,
others are saying they're not, they're just women they met at the hotel
bar," King said in a telephone interview. Sullivan said none of the
women, who had to surrender their IDs at the hotel, were minors. "But
prostitutes or not, to be bringing a foreign national back into a secure
zone is a problem."
Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, the ranking Republican
on the Homeland Security Committee, said Tuesday that "20 or 21 women
foreign nationals" were brought to the hotel. Eleven of the Americans
involved were Secret Service, she said, and "allegedly Marines were
involved with the rest."
King said it appeared the agency actually had
"really lucked out." If the women were working for a terrorist
organization or some other anti-American group, King said, they could
have had access to information about the president's whereabouts or
security protocols while in the agents' rooms.
"This could have been disastrous," King said.
The growing scandal has become an election-year
embarrassment for Obama, who has said he would be angry if the
allegations proved to be true. The White House said Obama had confidence
in the Secret Service chief.
"Director Sullivan acted quickly in response to this
incident and is overseeing an investigation as we speak into the
matter," White House press secretary Jay Carney said.
Last Thursday, 11 Secret Service agents were
recalled to the U.S. from Colombia and placed on administrative leave
after a night of partying that allegedly ended with at least some
bringing prostitutes back to their hotel. On Monday, the agency
announced that it also had revoked the agents' security clearance.
At least 10 U.S. military personnel staying at the
same hotel were also being investigated for their role in the alleged
misconduct.
Two U.S. military officials said they include five
Army Green Berets. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity about
an investigation that is still under way.
One of the officials said the group also includes
two Navy Explosive Ordinance Disposal technicians, two Marine dog
handlers and an Air Force airman. The Special Forces Green Berets were
working with Colombia's counterterrorist teams, the official said.
The agents and servicemen were in Colombia setting
up security ahead of Obama's three-day trip to the port city of
Cartagena for a summit attended by about 30 other world leaders.
People briefed on the incident said the agents
brought women back to Cartagena's Hotel Caribe, where other members of
the U.S. delegation and the White House corps also were staying. Anyone
visiting the hotel overnight was required to leave identification at the
front desk and leave the hotel by 7 a.m. When a woman failed to do so,
by this account, it raised questions among hotel staff and police, who
investigated. They found the woman with the agent in a hotel room and a
dispute arose over whether the agent should have paid her.
While the identities of those being investigated
have not been revealed, Maryland Republican Senate candidate Daniel
Bongino told The Associated Press on Tuesday that his brother, an agent
who was on duty in Colombia, is "cooperating" with the investigation.
Bongino, a former agent himself, insisted his brother was not a target
of the investigation.
The Secret Service has insisted Obama's security was
not undermined by the incident, which happened before he arrived in
Colombia.
In at least one of his briefings with lawmakers,
Sullivan said he was calling on an inspector general to hold an
independent review. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, welcomed that news,
saying an independent review "should help the agency regain some respect
from the American taxpayers and from people around the world."
The Secret Service did not immediately respond to a request for comment about Grassley's account.
- Associated Press writers Laurie Kellman, Robert
Burns and Kimberly Dozier in Washington and Verena Dobnik in New York
contributed to this report.
Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights
reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or
redistributed.
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