Representative Peter King: More Secret Service Agents Likely To Leave Agency Over Sex Scandal

WASHINGTON, April 21 (Reuters) - Most of the U.S. Secret Service agents accused of misconduct with prostitutes ahead of President Barack Obama's recent visit to Colombia are likely to leave the agency, a top U.S. Republican lawmaker said on Saturday.

Six of 11 employees linked to a night of partying in the coastal city of Cartagena on April 11-12 have left the agency over the scandal, which embarrassed the United States and overshadowed Obama's participation in the Summit of Americas meeting.

"I would think you'll see most of the 11 either resign, retire or will be forced to leave," Representative Peter King, chairman of the House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee, said in an interview on Fox News.

"I doubt, no matter what happens, you're going to see any of these 11 ever involved in any kind of detail like this again. They basically have to stay out of the public eye, if they stay on the job," King said.

The Secret Service, which is tasked with protecting the president, senior administration officials and other prominent figures, said on Friday that a 12th employee had been implicated in the probe and another had been cleared of "serious misconduct" in Cartagena but would face administrative action.

King, whose committee is also probing the Cartagena incident, said the 12th employee was involved in a separate incident that happened "five or six days before the president arrived."

The New York Republican said he had four investigators on the case and had spoken several times this week with Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan about the agency's own investigation.

"We want a full record (of the probe), so at the end we can decide if the Secret Service acted appropriately once they found out about it," King said. Two of the original 11 Secret Service employees involved in the scandal were supervisors, he added.

"They should have been in control of everything. Instead, they were accessories. They were part of it," King said.

"Among those eleven, besides what they did, they also are in trouble, if you will, for what they didn't do. And what they didn't do is report it," King said. (Reporting By Doug Palmer; Editing by Paul Simao)

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Comments

[sjaent2001]

02:40 PM on 04/23/2012

"""""Most of the U.S. Secret Service agents accused of misconduct with prostitutes ahead of President Barack Obama's recent visit to Colombia are likely to leave the agency, a top U.S. Republican lawmaker said on Saturday.""""""----------------- The lawmaker is so right they should be punished and or better leave the agency for one reason for sure -- that the employees could not keep a very lucarative and """sexy secret """"of their wonderful secret service JOB. LOL

[guilatty]

01:45 PM on 04/23/2012

There is an argument that no matter what happens with the Secret Service going forward it can absolutely rest assured this group of agents will not get out of line again. I would like to know if they violated any security procedure before they are forever banished. It is hard to imagine that we have a large stock of trained personnel ready to take their places without compromising security at least in the short run.

But King also lamented that these fellows let people inside the "security zone" who were not known to them, not vetted, and security risks simply by virtue of being unknown. He may be right about that, but it would sure be nice to hear him be right about something without having to hear the smug voice and endure the self-congratulating.

[djuno1966]

12:37 PM on 04/23/2012

SECRET Service> not so secretion any more.

Secretion Service has now become their monicker

Let their wives do the punishment for the offenders.

[Robert Turner]

07:41 AM on 04/23/2012

Wait... first he's defending the secret service, now he's in front leading the head-rolling? Peter, in deed.

[Razdbywolfs]

05:16 AM on 04/23/2012

I was there 12 years ago on Uncle Sams dime. Same city, different 4 star hotel. Looks like only two things have changed - prices and discretion.

[disappointedliberal]

07:48 PM on 04/22/2012

I think way too much has been made out of this. They were not on the President's detail and they broke no laws. I think that what they did was wrong and they should resign. That having been said, there has been a media storm over this and it seems really overblown. I think that the investigation is going to find out that this did not put the POTUS at risk. So what will be left is the conclusion that some men made some poor decisions which cost them their jobs. Even though these men should resign, the media is making a mountain out of a mole hill.

[blondssspice]

03:21 PM on 04/23/2012

dude, if they were the janitors at a strip joint they can do what they like nobody cares. However, not at this job not at this capacity and certainly not as security detail for POTUS

[Grichde]

07:36 PM on 04/22/2012

Sounds like the Obama trip to Columbia was one great party.

[sjaent2001]

02:45 PM on 04/23/2012

Well it may be a great party but the executive branch was not in party mood but it remained partied off but the intelligence branch went off guard and that broke the PARTY LINES. We should not combine into one everything there are marked LINES in all kind of duties.

[americanpatriot4ever]

07:34 PM on 04/22/2012

I'd rather have some horny competent men guarding my President than some testosterone-deficient incompetents. It's time to stop destroying people's careers over one blunder. Redemption. Redemption. Redemption.

[Kalikat]

07:28 PM on 04/22/2012

Wonder if they are re-doing POPEYE the Sailor, King sure would qualify. What's with these republicans. All they want to do is investigate. They haven't put one job bill in since they were elected in 2010 on creating jobs platform

[I think I think]

07:24 PM on 04/22/2012

As well they should.

[Iwannasay]

07:22 PM on 04/22/2012

Doncha just know all the guys are pretty ticked off with the cheapo who wouldn't pay his bill? I can't believe this guy - something wrong with his thinking that he would think he could just not pay what he agreed for.

[Midnight Cry]

07:24 PM on 04/22/2012

Kinda like the politicians...starting at the top.

[Midnight Cry]

07:20 PM on 04/22/2012

Washington is broken.

[ejhickey2]

07:10 PM on 04/22/2012

Can failure to pay a hooker while on offical business, be construed as a default of the US on its debt?

[sebackpacker]

11:34 AM on 04/23/2012

Hahahahaha. Nice.

[mayanindependentspeak]

06:58 PM on 04/22/2012

As I read through the comments, I'm amazed at how many try to pin this thing on Obama, or even Sullivan.

That's as silly as trying to blame the CEO of a huge corporation for the acts of people at a company store thousands of miles away.

I'm not an advocate for this administration in any way, but the disingenuous, ridiculous slams on Obama and Sullivan are just absurd.

I think that the Repubs are losing big points pursuing this one. Leave it alone, stop yapping about it, and let the investigation uncover whatever it will uncover.

[I think I think]

07:25 PM on 04/22/2012

Silly and utterly lacking in logic never stopped anyone before; why should we expect it to now/

[Kalikat]

07:31 PM on 04/22/2012

Well blaming President Obama for this is like blaming Bush for the anthrax attack. The guy who is supposed to have done that worked for the government. But I didn't see any republicans blaming Bush for it. And they should not blame President Obama for this, neither president should be held responsible for something an employee had done.

[Grichde]

07:37 PM on 04/22/2012

They work directly for the President.

[ejhickey2]

09:48 PM on 04/22/2012

i always suspected W had a hand in the Anthrax thing.

[Barbara DeZan]

06:56 PM on 04/22/2012

This is diametrically opposed to what he said on CNN this morning. The EXACT opposite of what he relayed during the interview.

I can't stand Republicans.

[mayanindependentspeak]

07:20 PM on 04/22/2012

There are good people and not-so-good people on both sides of the aisle and in the constituencies of both major parties.

I've been blessed to have friends in both parties, and I've been disillusioned by others in both parties.

We shouldn't paint them all with the same brush.

[I think I think]

07:27 PM on 04/22/2012

Absolutely correct, but we do, one red brush one blue brush.