Posted on 04/13/2012 8:04:16 PM PDT by kristinn
Up to a dozen Secret Service agents in Colombia for President Barack Obama’s trip there have been relieved of their duties amid allegations of misconduct.
The Secret Service did not detail the accusations but said they did not affect security for the president, who landed in the country Friday for a weekend at the Summit of the Americas.
The Associated Press reported that the allegations involved prostitutes. The actions happened before the president’s arrival on Friday, the AP reported, citing unnamed sources.
“There have been allegations of misconduct made against Secret Service personnel in Cartagena, Colombia prior to the President’s trip. Because of this, those personnel are being relieved of their assignments, returned to their place of duty, and are being replaced by other Secret Service personnel,” the Secret Service said in the statement.
“The Secret Service takes all allegations of misconduct seriously. This entire matter has been turned over to our Office of Professional Responsibility, which serves as the agency’s internal affairs component,” the agency said. “These personnel changes will not affect the comprehensive security plan that has been prepared in advance of the President’s trip.”
(Excerpt) Read more at politico.com ...
Hopefully, they witnessed something illegal and have to be debriefed and undergo lie detector tests...the only way to bring back a whole unit without raising Zero’s suspicions is to throw him off the scent.
A guy can dream, can’t he?
Something is very wrong here. The SS never seems to have scandals, yet here we are. Something is not right. My first thought was it was due to affirmative action, which is awful to comtemplate for such an important part of the gov. The other is it is a setup.
I disagree....I bet they were ALL white.
When your ushering Columbian drug dealers to and from meetings with Obama; campaign donations and moneys are flowing; and, money laundering schemes are being discussed…it’s easy to get caught up, star struck by the mobster imagery and compromised.
Are we sure the Secret Service wasn’t ushering prostitutes for Obama? That’s how Elliot Spitzer employed the New York State Police when he was Governor, at least two State Troopers ventilated their heads with their sidearms after that scandal broke.
Sheesh...I’m posting from my Blackberry and use the shortest words when I can. In this case the common vernacular collective, “These guys” ( of whatever bent ). Take it to mean any and/or all of the elebenty-seven sexes represented in this administration.
;>)
The actions happened before the president’s arrival on Friday, the AP reported, citing unnamed sources.
Former Agent: New Bill Effectively Outlaws Protests Anywhere Secret Service Deems Off Limits
Could protestors unknowingly run afoul of the Feds and face prison for exercising their First Amendment rights?
Yes, according to some analysts, and all that‘s needed is President Obama’s signature for a new law to give the Secret Service powers more befitting the Praetorian Guard
Even former 15-year Secret Service veteran Dan Bongino has raised alarms, as he told the Blaze that House Resolution 347 creates an America in which ”you could accidentally be in a cordoned off secret service controlled area and find yourself in jail.”
-SNIP-
Here are the facts: the House of Representatives passed a bill called the Federal Restricted Buildings and Grounds Improvement Act this past week. Ostensibly, the bill expands federal law protections for the areas near the president, vice president, and those under the protection of the Secret Service. For example, jumping over the fence at the White House and running across the lawn would be elevated to a federal crime once the bill is signed into law.
But there’s more. Here is a section from the H.R 347:
“Whoever knowingly, and with intent to impede or disrupt the orderly conduct of Government business or official functions, engages in disorderly or disruptive conduct in, or within such proximity to, any restricted building or grounds when, or so that, such conduct, in fact, impedes or disrupts the orderly conduct of Government business or official functions…”
By failing to include the term “willfully,” the statute apparently changes the definition of Section 1752 of title 18, United States Code in such a way that one only has to be in a restricted area — with or without prior knowledge of that fact — to violate the law. This is arguably a change required in the mens rea (state of mind) necessary to commit the crime covered in the new statute.
So if you plan to protest at the next Obama, Romney or Santorum speech, you could unwittingly violate the statute and be thrown in jail for standing in a place the Secret Service deems specially protected.
Thus Reason.com has written that “a more truthful moniker for HR 347 would be the ”First Amendment Rights Eradication Act.” While that description goes a bit far, Congressman Amash, one of the three lone votes against the bill, also wrote the following on his Facebook page:
“Current law makes it illegal to enter or remain in an area where certain government officials (more particularly, those with Secret Service protection) will be visiting temporarily if and only if the person knows it’s illegal to enter the restricted area but does so anyway. The bill expands current law to make it a crime to enter or remain in an area where an official is visiting even if the person does not know it‘s illegal to be in that area and has no reason to suspect it’s illegal. (It expands the law by changing “willfully and knowingly” to just “knowingly” with respect to the mental state required to be charged with a crime.)”
…………………….
.
What is your source for this inside info?
Someone on the ground working this event.
Not just prostitutes, but Third World prostitutes. Not something any rational and intelligent person would do.
Initially I thought Obama had inserted some unprofessional homies into the SS, but the more I think about it, the more I am in agreement with tet68's post #3.
Be interesting to have a bit more about the source.
Also, look for some other things to come out.
One of the main reasons, its now a International issue, is the SS guys were fondling and putting their hands on the Official Colombian welcome committee girls. In the friggin lobby and drinking heavily.
Very interesting.
*
A SS agent doing pre-visit security for an Asia-Pacific economic summit in Hawaii in Nov 2011 was off-duty but was drinking at a bar while carrying a loaded gun. He got into a fight with a local, followed the guy to a McDonalds, argued (including saying “Do you want to get shot?”) and started a fight there by karate-kicking him in the chest, and ended up shooting the guy in the middle of the wrestling that ensued. There was surveillance video of the whole thing. The police charged him with 2nd-degree murder. He paid $250,000 bail. Claimed he acted in self-defense.
Immediately his boss sent out a memo to the whole department, telling them anything they wrote that could be seen by the public would have to be given approval first, and anything they wrote even on private accounts could be used in the trial. IOW, nobody talks.
He posted $250,000 bail and in late December got permission from the judge to move back to his home in Arlington, VA so he could continue to work at the State Department in a desk job, provided that he didn’t carry a gun and stayed within 100 miles of his home. The judge said the State Department would make sure he didn’t skip his trial, which has been delayed until September of 2012.
IIRC, the State Department is paying for his defense.
Contrast that with this scenario.
Something definitely DOES stink...
Thanks for the inside info, your comments last night are confirmed in this Politico article:
Five U.S. military members have been ordered confined to quarters over possible involvement in inappropriate conduct at the same hotel here as the 11 Secret Service agents sent home in an unfolding scandal involving local prostitutes.
Making the announcement Saturday, United States Southern Command commander Gen. Douglas Fraser said he is “disappointed by the entire incident and that this behavior is not in keeping with the professional standards expected of members of the United States military.”
SNIP
On Wednesday night, 11 special agents, including at least one supervisor, allegedly brought prostitutes back to the hotel where the president was expected to stay later in the week, Rep. Pete King (R-N.Y.) told POLITICO Saturday. King, the chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, received a 15-minute briefing Saturday by an aide to Secret Service director Mark Sullivan.
The hotel in Colombia required hotel guests to leave IDs at the front desk and leave by 7 a.m. the next morning, King said. When one of the women did not leave on time, the hotel manager went to the room, but the guests would not come out, he said, so the manager called the police.
The alleged prostitute told police she would not leave until she was paid, King said. The incident was resolved peacefully, but local police are required to file a report with the embassy any time they come in contact with a citizen of another country, King said.
The report to the embassy set off the broader investigation, although rumors of the evening had already spread to the Secret Service’s Miami office, which has jurisdiction over the summit’s security, King said.
Source for the Army Special Forces? I was wondering if some of the military might not be part of the military communications teams??
SNIP
Hotel authorities then went down to the reception desk to see who else of the American guests may have signed in female guests — call girls — for the evening.
Initially, this official said, that inspection led the hotel authorities to have questions about 22 Americans — 17 Secret Service agents and five special operations soldiers who were there to assist the Secret Service. Their names were reported to the lead U.S. military official on the ground.
That is not to say that all 22 men had hired prostitutes, the administration official underlined. Some of those about whom the hotel raised questions may merely have been attending a party and violating curfew. Eleven Secret Service agents have been sent back to the United States. The five U.S. special forces members remain in Colombia, per the request of the Secret Service.
SNIP
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