It’s something you would normally see in movies or a TV show: a group of government officials involved in a sex scandal abroad while carrying out official government business.
Sadly this wasn’t just a scene from a movie. This was reality for the Obama administration when just this past week it was smacked with one of the largest scandals ever to hit the Secret Service.
The alleged incident took place in Colombia where President Barack Obama was scheduled to visit on a diplomatic trip. According to numerous news sources, on Friday night an anonymous person called The Associated Press claiming to have knowledge of alleged misconduct of involving prostitutes. Almost every major news source has been reporting on the scandal since news first broke.
In preparation for President Obama’s diplomatic trip to Cartagena, Colombia for the Summit of the Americas, a number of Secret Service agents were sent ahead in order to do advance work in providing security for the President. The alleged incident is said to have taken place before President Obama was set to arrive for the meetings with 33 other regional leaders, according to Time. This event is said to have taken place in the hotel where the president was set to stay.
Since news of the scandal broke, a total of 12 agents and an additional 10 U.S. military personnel have been revealed to have engaged with as many as 20 prostitutes. According to reports, the incident became public when one of the prostitutes involved complained to the local police after one of the agents refused to pay her an amount she deemed acceptable.
This incident is being called one of the worst scandals in Secret Service history right next to the assassination of President Kennedy when agents failed to protect the president.
Logically, the question that everyone is asking is: what is being done to punish these agents?
As of Friday April 20, two secret service agents had been formally fired and an additional three have “chose to resign,” according to CNN. It is also reported that five agents have been placed on administrative leave with their security clearances temporarily revoked. Another agent has been cleared of the allegations and is facing administrative action.
To recap, only a total of five agents involved in the scandal have left the Secret Service, leaving the remaining officials involved “under investigation.”
Is this enough or should more be done?
After all, the agents said to have been involved are reported not to be a part of the selected unit that protects the president. Also, technically what the agents were doing was not against the law since prostitution is legal in Colombia.
Regardless of which agents were implicated or the fact that prostitution is legal in Colombia the fact of the matter is that the men that were entrusted to protect the life of the president were off gallivanting with prostitutes. These agents are being paid to protect the president, not to act like they’re on spring break in Cancun.
The Secret Service, in my opinion, should take this matter more seriously. The misconduct of these agents could have placed the life of the president in jeopardy. Granted this is one of the first major scandals of this kind (or so the government says).
So what do you think? Do you think the situation is being handled accordingly or should more be done? Sound off and let us know!
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