The Secret Service announced
Tuesday that two more agents connected to the embarrassing Cartagena,
Colombia prostitution scandal had chosen to resign and that the agency
was moving to fire a third.
The news came shortly after
President Barack Obama, taping an appearance on "Late Night with Jimmy
Fallon," blamed the uproar on "a couple of knuckleheads" in an otherwise "incredible" agency.
Assistant Director Paul Morrissey
from the Secret Service Office of Government and Public Affairs
announced the latest personnel news in a written statement that also
specified that two other agents had been cleared of serious wrongdoing
and would face "administrative action." A U.S. government official
familiar with the situation told Yahoo News that could mean anything
from a verbal rebuke by a supervisor to a few days of leave.
"The Secret Service's
investigation into allegations of misconduct by its employees in
Cartagena, Colombia, continues," Morrissey said in the statement.Two
more employees have chosen to resign in connection to the scandal, in
which agents preparing for Obama's visit to an international summit in
Cartagena allegedly brought prostitutes back to their hotel.
The agency is moving to permanently revoke the security clearance of
one other individual, a process that allows that person to appeal. If
the appeal fails, the employee "must separate" from the agency,
Morrissey said.
If that happens, the number of
agents who will have resigned, retired or been removed over the
controversy will reach nine. Three have been cleared of serious
wrongdoing, meaning the agency has addressed the status of all 12
employees under investigation.
"The Secret Service is committed
to conducting a full, thorough and fair investigation in this matter,
and will not hesitate to take appropriate action should any additional
information come to light," Morrissey said.
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