Secret service sex scandal: the investigation widens

It’s already been dubbed the “biggest scandal in secret service history”: involving 11 agents, several US Marines, and as many as 21 Colombian prostitutes.

The story goes thus: on Monday last week, ahead of President Obama‘s three day trip to Colombia for an international summit, a group of agents are alleged to have brought back a number of prostitutes to their beachfront hotel in the city of Cartagena.

Apparently there was an altercation of sorts, when one of the women complained she wasn’t being paid. Handily, since other members of the US delegation were staying in the Hotel Caribe, along with some of the White House team, police were already stationed in the lobby. The woman took her allegation to one of the officers, and a scandal was born.

Of course I’ll be angry. President Obama

The agents were swiftly dragged back to Washington to be interviewed by investigators and placed on “administrative leave”: their security clearance was immediately revoked. They’ve been offered the chance to take a polygraph test to determine what really happened. As for the marines who were allegedly involved, they’re confined to headquarters back in Southern Command, Miami.

Inevitably there was an immediate outcry over the potential breach of presidential security; whether the men involved had access to any sensitive details about Obama’s schedule or his personal security. According to NBC News, two Secret Service supervisors and three members of the counter-assault team are among the group, while another source told Reuters none were part of the advance team, and would not have had any detailed itineraries.

Embarassment factor

Whatever their status, the sheer embarassment factor is obvious. Ronald Kessler, author of In the President’s Service, told the Newsmax wire: “To embarass the president like this, and to put themselves in jeopardy of being blackmailed, is so over the line.” With the reputation of the service in the spotlight, the White House moved quickly to stress the president had full confidence in director Mark Sullivan.

Senator Susan Collins, the ranking Republican on the senate homeland security committee said Sullivan was “rightly appalled by the agents actions, and is pursuing a rigerous internal investigation”. She said she had asked him to find out whether any of the women could have been members of groups hostile to the United States, and whether there was any chance they could have jeopardised the president’s security.

But further than that, there are questions over the entire culture of the secret service itself: the “wheels up, rings off” mentality run amok. Director Sullivan has promised his inquiry will also look into any evidence of previous misconduct, and whether this indicates a “pattern of behaviour”, as House oversight chairman Darrell Issa suggested – a far deeper problem with the agency’s culture.

Culture shock?

Inevitably, the scandal has touched on the presidential election: at a press conference on Sunday, Barack Obama was keen to stress that the service performed an invaluable job: “They put their lives on the line”. But, he added, “of course I’ll be angry” if the allegations turned out to be true. His putative Republican rival, Mitt Romney, declared he would “clean house” to remove any agents involved in scandal, even hinting that a lack of leadership was to blame.

US News and World Report investigated the culture of the service a decade ago, uncovering allegations of bar-brawls, wild behaviour and even criminal activity. Once again, the agency will have to rebuild its image of patriotism, bravery, and dedication. Now is not the time for all good men to come to the aid of the party.

Felicity Spector writes about US affairs for Channel 4 News.