Author Topic: Secret Service Scandal broadens  (Read 660 times)

Offline Skippy00004

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Secret Service Scandal broadens
« on: April 17, 2012, 10:52:54 AM »
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/secret-service-scandal-broadens-more-military-personnel-might-have-been-involved-in-misconduct/2012/04/17/gIQA9EouNT_story.html



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Investigators have determined that as many as 20 U.S. Secret Service and military personnel might have been involved in the hotel misconduct in Cartagena, Colombia, as the scandal that erupted during President Obama?s trip to the country last week put high-level officials on the defensive.

A preliminary investigation by the Defense Department, which included a review of video from hotel security cameras, found that nine military personnel were possibly involved in the carousing at the center of the probe, congressional sources familiar with the probe said. Already, 11 Secret Service agents have been placed on leave amid allegations they entertained prostitutes, potentially one of the most serious lapses at the organization in years.


Two of the Secret Service personnel are senior agents paid at the top levels of the federal government?s pay scale, according to a congressional official with knowledge of the investigation. The two agents, who the official referred to as ?GS-14s,? are at the top of the General Schedule, the system used to compensate federal employees. Depending on where the agents are based and other factors, they earn as much as $110,000 annually, if not more.

The accusations are triggering scrutiny of the culture of the Secret Service ? where married agents have been heard to joke during aircraft takeoff that their motto is ?wheels up, rings off? ? and raising new questions at both the agency and the Pentagon about institutional oversight at the highest levels of the president?s security apparatus.

?We are embarrassed,? Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters in a briefing at the Pentagon. ?We let the boss down, because nobody is talking about what went down in Colombia other than this incident.?

At the same time, details emerged about the night of partying Wednesday that led to the scandal. People in Cartagena familiar with the matter said that some of the Secret Service agents paid $60 apiece to owners of the Pleyclub, a strip club in an industrial section of Cartagena, to bring at least two of the women back to the Hotel Caribe, where Obama?s advance team was staying.

The following morning, one of the women demanded an additional payment of $170, setting off a dispute with an agent that drew the attention of the hotel, the Cartagena sources said.

According to the Pleyclub?s registry at the local chamber of commerce, one of the club?s owners is named Michael Adam Hardy, whom chamber officials described as either American or Canadian.

On Monday, the Secret Service moved to revoke the top-secret security clearances of all 11 men from the agency who are under investigation, spokesman Edwin Donovan said.

The revocation of such clearances is not uncommon, he emphasized, and security clearances can be reinstated after internal investigations are complete, depending on the findings.

In a letter to all agency employees, Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan stressed that it is ?imperative . . . to always act both personally and professionally in a manner that recognizes the seriousness and consequence of our mission.?
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Offline Skippy00004

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Re: Secret Service Scandal broadens
« Reply #1 on: April 17, 2012, 11:45:15 AM »
May have used underaged prostitutes and compromised Obama's schedule?

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/secret-service-may-have-used-underage-hookers-and-compromised-obamas-schedule/

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With each passing day, it seems the allegations surrounding the alleged Secret Service prostitution scandal are getting worse. For example, we are now learning that some of the prostitutes reportedly used in Colombia may have been underage, and that the agents also may have compromised Obama?s security by inviting outsiders into their room where copies of the president?s schedule were likely located.

Ronald Kessler, who helped break the story, told Newsmax (where he is employed) that the age of the alleged prostitutes will be scandalous:

Investigators probing the Secret Service prostitute scandal are looking into whether any of the girls involved were underage, Ronald Kessler, the journalist who broke the story, tells Newsmax.TV exclusively.
Kessler warned that more scandalous details of the Colombian cavorting are still to come, including the age of the prostitutes.
That comes as NBC has news that a security breach could have taken place. According to the network, each member is given a copy of the president?s schedule, and having outsiders in the room could have compromised that information:

The source also said the incident raised the possibility of a potential security breach, telling NBC News that all Secret Service personnel had been given copies of the president?s schedule, which they are told to lock up in a safe in their hotel rooms.

The fallout for all this is now hitting Mark Sullivan, head of the Secret Service. Kessler believes the lax security during the Obama years can be traced back to Sullivan, and he believes Sullivan does not have the ability to lead the agency

Those critiques are especially harsh considering what Kessler believes could have happened:

?These are not just little errors,? Kessler said, adding that consorting with prostitutes could easily lead to blackmail, which could put the president at risk.
[...]
He said the prostitutes could have blackmailed the men and that could have led to a foreign power such as Russia being able to plant bugging devices in presidential limousines or even the White House.
?This is the way things work,? said Kessler. ?It doesn?t have to be something that is carried out right away. It could be carried out six months later. But that?s why you have requirements that they conduct themselves appropriately and when someone wants top-secret clearance, they never get into a compromised position.?
He said it is possible that there could even be an upside to the whole scandal.
?If it leads to reform of the Secret Service, it would be a plus, but I doubt that will happen. I?m afraid that it will take another assassination before the proper steps are taken to reform the Secret Service.?
Kessler said he has no doubt that the agents involved will lose their jobs.
?They will be fired, and there is no question that that is the proper punishment,? he added. ?To embarrass the president like this and to put themselves in jeopardy of being blackmailed is so over the line.?
But Congressman Peter King says this is no time to oust Sullivan, based on what is known so far about the recall of 11 agents from Colombia.

The New York Republican also tells NBC?s ?Today? show Tuesday that Sullivan ?acted immediately? and says he thinks ?it?s wrong to be prejudging Mark Sullivan.?

But King also says, quote, ?It looks like we really lucked out on this,? telling NBC it appears agents compromised presidential security with the partying that occurred in Colombia before President Barack Obama arrived for his summit in Cartagena, Colombia.

King says, ?You don?t allow a potential enemy into your security zone.?

The agents involved have now reportedly lost their security clearances.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.


There's something more here than just a scandal.
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"I do believe that, where there is only a choice between cowardice and violence, I would advise violence." --Mahatma Ghandi

Offline Skippy00004

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Re: Secret Service Scandal broadens
« Reply #2 on: April 17, 2012, 12:31:41 PM »
Secret Service bragged about Obama

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/17/secret-service-obama_n_1431128.html

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The U.S. Secret Service agents accused of misconduct in a Cartagena, Colombia, brothel revealed their identities by bragging about their connection to President Obama, according to an exclusive report by ABC News:

Partying at the ?Pley Club? Wednesday night, eleven members of the president?s advance team allegedly bragged ?we work for Obama? and ?we?re here to protect him.?
The officials spent the night throwing back expensive whiskey and enlisting the services of the club?s prostitutes, according to a bouncer at the club and a police source.

ABC reports that the agents received services from the ?highest category? prostitutes and became combative when the bill arrived. The police were called when the club could not contain the dispute.

Obama, who arrived in Colombia after the incident said Sunday that "of course I'll be angry" if the accusations are true.

"I expect that investigation to be thorough, and I expect it to be rigorous," he said. "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... We are representing the people of the United States, and when we travel to another country, I expect us to observe the highest standards."

Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Monday that the leadership of the armed forces regrets letting the president down, according to NBC News.

"I can speak for myself and my fellow chiefs: We're embarrassed by what occurred in Colombia, though we're not sure exactly what it is," Dempsey said.

Video in above link.




Don't pay attention to the man behind the curtain...

"I do believe that, where there is only a choice between cowardice and violence, I would advise violence." --Mahatma Ghandi