The Secret Service announced late Wednesday that three of its personnel connected to the Colombia prostitute scandal--two supervisors and one agent--will leave the agency while eight more remain under investigation.
The agency is carrying out a full
probe into the incident, including lie detector tests and witness
interviews in Colombia, the assistant director of the U.S. Secret
Service Office of Government and Public Affairs, Paul Morrissey, said in
a statement.
"Although the Secret Service's
investigation into allegations of misconduct by its employees in
Cartagena, Colombia, is in its early stages, and is still ongoing, three
of the individuals involved will separate or are in the process of
separating from the agency," said Morrissey, whose office is running the
probe.
One supervisor was allowed to
retire from the agency. Another "has been proposed for removal for
cause," triggering a process in which that person can hire a lawyer and
challenge the case against him. And one agent has resigned.
"The remaining eight employees continue to be on administrative
leave. Their security clearances remain suspended," Morrissey said.
"The Secret Service continues to
conduct a full, thorough and fair investigation, utilizing all
investigative techniques available to our agency. This includes
polygraph examinations, interviews with the employees involved, and
witness interviews, to include interviews being conducted by our Office
of Professional Responsibility in Cartagena, Colombia," he said.
"Since these allegations were
first reported, the Secret Service has actively pursued this
investigation, and has acted to ensure that appropriate disciplinary
action is effected. We demand that all of our employees adhere to the
highest professional and ethical standards and are committed to a full
review of this matter," Morrissey said.
Meanwhile, ABC News' Jake Tapper obtained a letter from the Republican chairman and Democratic ranking member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee to Secret Service director Mark Sullivan
warning that the agents, who allegedly brought prostitutes to their
rooms at the Hotel Caribe, may have brought the escorts "into contact
with sensitive security information." Congressmen Darrell Issa and
Elijah Cummings also requested a range of details from the agency,
including a determination as to whether the women involved were all over
18 years of age.
In their letter, Issa and
Cummings bluntly told Sullivan that "your task is to restore the world's
confidence in the U.S. Secret Service."
"Our nation's capacity to protect
the President, the Vice President, and visiting foreign leaders, among
others, is dependent on the character and judgment of the agents and
officers of the U.S. Secret Service. The actions of at least 11 agents
and officers in Colombia last week showed an alarming lack of both," the
lawmakers wrote in the letter obtained by ABC.
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