3 more USSS agents lose jobs following scandal
(CBS/AP) The U.S. Secret Service revealed the fate of the five remaining agents involved in the Colombian sex scandal Tuesday, announcing two had resigned and one was having his security clearance permanently revoked - effectively a firing, though he has the right to appeal.
Two others were cleared of serious wrongdoing.
Overall, of the 12 Secret Service agents involved in the scandal:
- 6 have resigned
- 2 are being fired
- 3 have been cleared of serious wrongdoing
- 1 has retired
Chief White House correspondent Norah O'Donnell reported Tuesday that all the men had been questioned and offered lied detector tests following reports that at least one agent had brought a prostitute back to his hotel room in Cartegna, Colombia.
The dozen Secret Service personnel and another 12 military enlistees preparing for President Obama's visit to Cartagena, are being investigated for cavorting with prostitutes. The Defense Department has suspended the security clearances of all the military personnel involved and is conducting its own investigation.
As many as 20 prostitutes were involved with the group, officials say; None are believed to be underage.
Meanwhile, Obama defended the Secret Service on Tuesday, saying the employees at the center of the prostitution scandal were "knuckleheads" not representative of the agency that protects his family in the glare of public life. But even as he spoke, officials on Capitol Hill were probing for any misconduct in the agency in the past decade and girding for the first public accounting of the incident that embarrassed the Obama administration.
Video: Secret Service scandal not going away
Video: Bob Woodward on the Secret Service scandal
For his part, Obama acknowledged Tuesday that the scandal was "a little distracting" and pressed for perspective.
"These guys are incredible. They protect me. They protect Michelle. They protect the girls. They protect our officials all around the world," the president said on NBC's "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon."
"A couple of knuckleheads shouldn't detract from what they do," Obama added. "What these guys were thinking, I don't know. That's why they're not there anymore."
The incident broke into public view when one of the prostitutes argued with a Secret Service agent over her payment in a hallway of the Caribe hotel. Local law enforcement intervened on the prostitute's behalf. Paid sex is legal in Cartagena, but violates codes of conduct for U.S. personnel who were working there.
The scandal was widely denounced by official Washington, but it's a delicate political matter in an election year with the presidency and congressional majorities at stake. All sides have praised Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan's swift action and thorough investigation, in part because he's spent significant time keeping key lawmakers in the loop. Pentagon officials too are investigating and are expected to brief Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin and ranking Republican John McCain on Wednesday.
Even so, at least four congressional committees are investigating on the grounds that letting foreign nationals near U.S. personnel with sensitive information about the president's visit is a national security risk. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano is expected Wednesday to face tough questions from the Senate Judiciary Committee on such matters as whether the agency's inspector general has launched an independent investigation.
Another Senate panel is looking for a pattern of misconduct. Sen. Joe Lieberman, chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, told reporters on Tuesday that he'll hold hearings on the service's culture and whether clear rules exist on how agents should behave when they are off duty but on assignment.
"I mean you think they wouldn't need that but maybe they do," Lieberman said. He added that his investigators are taking a longer view and beginning to follow up on tips that "whistleblower people" have called in. He declined to provide details.
"I want to ask questions about whether there is any other evidence of misconduct by Secret Service agents in the last five or 10 years," Lieberman said. "If so what was done about it, could something have been done to have prevented what happened in Cartagena? And now that it has happened, what do they intend to do?"
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It's an important question to be asked and it may be why the WH doesn't want anyone asking them questions. Were these guys hand picked by WH staff.
He has a press officer, gets up to date intel. Speaks on TV like a talk show host and ends up on Jimmy Fallon's show? Is this guy really the President of the United States of America, or half of the Ben Stiller happy hour?
Wish they'd pay attention to the business at hand - like running the country-before looking for their next careers.
End of story.
Let's move on.
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maybe every committee should investigate ... just in case one misses something.