A federal watchdog told lawmakers Friday that six women who met with U.S. Secret Service employees in Colombia in April were paid for sex and that other Defense Department and White House personnel might have been involved.
Charles K. Edwards, acting inspector general for the Department of Homeland Security, shared initial findings of his months-long investigation with Congress on Friday, despite saying that his final investigative report will not be released publicly, pursuant to department policy. Edwards said he is in the final stages of the investigation.
In late April, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said that a White House counsel internal investigation had found no misconduct by White House staffers or the advance team.
But Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, one of several lawmakers who requested the probe, said the inconclusiveness surrounding possible White House involvement still troubles her.
“The White House explicitly denied any involvement after its own investigation, and now the IG is questioning that account,” Collins said Friday. “This raises concerns about the credibility of the White House investigation.”
Edwards said his investigation included interviews with 251 Secret Service employees and a review of travel records, hotel registries and U.S. Embassy cables. He launched the probe at the request of lawmakers in late May.
In a letter to House and Senate committees, Edwards said that 13 agency staffers “had personal encounters” with women at two Cartagena hotels and a private residence after meeting them at nightclubs in mid-April. Three of the women left without asking for money, five asked for money and were paid, four were refused payment and one woman was paid only after she summoned a Colombian police officer, according to investigators.
The payment dispute that unfolded in the early hours of April 12, just hours before President Barack Obama arrived in Cartagena for the Summit of the Americas, exposed the misconduct to local authorities and set off one of the most embarrassing episodes in Secret Service history.
Eight Secret Service employees, including two senior supervisors, eventually lost their jobs, but two of them are fighting to be reinstated. Three others were cleared of serious misconduct.
Seven soldiers and two Marines also were implicated in the scandal and received administrative punishments. Three of those personnel requested courts-martial.
Allaying one of the primary concerns of lawmakers, Edwards said he found no evidence that the misconduct “compromised the safety and security of the president or any sensitive information.”
But a hotel registry reviewed by investigators suggested that two other U.S. government employees — working for the Defense Department and White House Communication Agency — “may have had contact with foreign nationals,” Edwards said. Investigators did not pursue the individuals because the Homeland Security inspector general lacks the authority to investigate non-DHS personnel.
Secret Service spokesman Ed Donovan said the agency had no initial comment on the investigation.
Every picture of Susan Collins in the Media has Lieberman in the background holding his breath.
Is Susan Collins a Dummy and Lieberman the Ventriliquist?
Pretty much.
But why is he holding his breath ?
That’s the illusion!!!
It makes it look like “She’s” Taking, and He isin’t!
You’re right, he’s always there. Lie-berman, originally a Democrat, was the deciding vote against President Obama’s first healthcare plan, a plan which would have served Americans so much better than the compromise they had to negotiate with his new buddies, the GOP. What gets me is Lie-berman is only in the Senate as a proponent of Israel. No, that isn’t anti-semitic. It’s anti any member of Congress who’s only goal is to promote a foreign power. Thank you for leaving the Senate after your term runs out Lie-berman.
Since the White House Communications Agency is staffed by both military and DOD civilian personnel the DOD’s Inspector General DOES HAVE THE AUTHORITY to investigate. The only real problem there is that the DOD IG has a VERY publicly documented history of using these type’s of investigation’s as a justification for witch hunting people who know the difference between stupid and WRONG and threatening them with adverse action if they answer any questions put to them or, which is even worse, covering up any number of crimes that mid-level and Senior employee’s commit simply on the say so of the Office of The Secretary of Defense under the claim that ‘Well, if this comes out, how does it make the rest of us look ?’. Please, someone find me a 10 yard dumpster ’cause I’m gonna be sick !
This kind of crap has been going on for years and no one, regretably even Bill Cohen, had the gut’s to take on ‘The System’, put their foot down and start canning people for misconduct and fire the one’s that cover-up their subordinate’s action’s. Instead misconduct covered up has been seen as a key management promotional skill and is used frequently to determine a individual’s promotion potential, which now is determined by their personal office political loyalty. And we all wonder why Washington doesn’t work ? Susie knows about this crap but all she does is make press statement’s and not much else. Now when, and a very big IF, she gets the truth out when is she gonna go over to the local US Attorney and file criminal charge’s ? The same can be asked of the Inspector General’s Office and the 2 Oversight Committee’s. Public accountability begins with personal responsibility and discipline. From what I’ve seen, and that covers over 30 year’s, it isin’t likely to change soon…………
Nothing more than a political stunt to embarrass the White House. Since prostitution is legal in Columbia what criminal charges should be filed? And it was the DHS IG, not DOD.
Correct and that is why the DOD IG needs to be the one to investigate the military member’s conduct since DHS’s IG does not have that statutory authority.
Oh come on… This is the dirtiest administration since Richard Nixon and his plumbers… does ANYONE have any surprise that the situation would be whitewashed? Nothing this Kenyan liar has done is above-board…
Give em hell Susan