Secret Service sex scandal deepens; 11 placed on leave

Agency apologises for mess during Obamas Latin America visit

An embarrassing scandal involving prostitutes and Secret Service agents deepened on Saturday as 11 agents were placed on leave, and the agency designed to protect President Barack Obama had to offer regret for the mess overshadowing his diplomatic mission to Latin America.

The controversy also expanded to the US military, which announced five service members staying at the same hotel as the agents in Colombia may have been involved in misconduct as well. They were confined to their quarters in Colombia and ordered not to have contact with others.

All the alleged activities took place before Obama arrived on Friday in this Colombian port city for meetings with 33 other regional leaders.

Put together, the allegations were an embarrassment for an American President on foreign soil and threatened to upend White House efforts to keep his trip focused squarely on boosting economic ties with fast-growing Latin America.

Obama was holding two days of meetings at the Summit of the Americas with leaders from across the vast region before heading back to Washington on Sunday night.

The Secret Service did not disclose the nature of the misconduct. The Associated Press confirmed on Friday that it involved prostitutes.

The White House said Obama had been briefed about the incidents but would not comment on his reaction. “The president does have full confidence in the United States Secret Service,” presidential spokesman Jay Carney said when asked.

Carney insisted that the matter was more a distraction for the media than Obama. But Secret Service assistant director Paul Morrissey said in a statement: “We regret any distraction from the Summit of the Americas this situation has caused.”

Rep Peter King, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, said “close to” all 11 of the agents involved had brought women back to their rooms at a hotel separate from where Obama is now staying.

The New York Republican said the women were “presumed to be prostitutes” but investigators were interviewing the agents.

The lawmaker also offered new details about the controversy. King said he was told that anyone visiting the hotel overnight was required to leave identification at the front desk and leave the hotel by 7 am.

When a woman failed to do so, it raised questions among hotel staff and police, who investigated. They found the woman with the agent in the hotel room and a dispute arose over whether the agent should have paid her.

King said he was told that the agent did eventually pay the woman. The incident was reported to the US embassy, prompting further investigation, King said. The 11 employees in question were special agents and Uniformed Division Officers. None were assigned to directly protect Obama. All were sent home and replaced, Morrissey said, given “he nature of the allegations” and a zero tolerance policy on personal misconduct.

Another jolt came on Saturday when the US Southern Command said five service members assigned to support the Secret Service violated their curfew and may have been involved in inappropriate conduct.

Carney said it was part of the same incident involving the Secret Service. As for the apparent misconduct by the military members, General Douglas Fraser, commander of US Southern Command, said he was “disappointed by the entire incident” and said the behaviour was “not in keeping with the professional standards expected of members of the United States military.”