Secret Service Drug Use Under Investigation, 3 Agents Removed
Investigators will now be addressing whether drugs were involved in the most recent government scandal, which thus far, has resulted in three Secret Service agents being forced out and eight left on administrative leave.
Secret service investigators will look further into whether drugs played a role in the scandal, which involved Secret Service agents procuring the service of prostitutes. In addition to the 11 agents under investigation, 10 members of the military were also involved and up to 20 women.
All 11 Secret Service agents were sent home from Cartagena, on Colombia's Caribbean coast last week as President Obama arrived to the Summit of the Americas. Initial reports stated that the Secret Service agents had been out for a night of partying and alleged that at least some of the agents brought prostitutes back to the hotel.
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Separate U.S. investigations are being conducted in both Washington and Colombia.
"In a letter to Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan, Issa and Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland, the committee's ranking Democrat, said the agents 'brought foreign nationals in contact with sensitive security information.'" the Chicago Sun Times reported.
"It's certainly not over," said Rep. Peter King of New York, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, which oversees the Secret Service.
Drug usage during the scandal is also under investigation although King stated that the agency was "reasonably confident" that drugs had not been involved in the incident.
"Hotel workers told Secret Service investigators they found no drugs or drug paraphernalia in the rooms where the agents stayed, according to a person familiar with the investigation. The person was not authorized to discuss the probe publicly and spoke only on condition of anonymity," the Sun Times reported.
Of those agents involved, three have left their positions. One supervisor was forced to retire, a second will be fired with cause, and third agent, who was not a supervisor, has chosen to resign.
