NBC's Kristin Welker reports.
Updated at 11 p.m. ET: A dozen Secret Service personnel providing security for President Barack Obama at an international summit in Cartagena, Colombia, have been relieved of duty because of allegations of misconduct.
The Associated Press said it received an anonymous tip that the misconduct involved prostitutes in Cartagena, site of the Summit of the Americas. A Secret Service spokesman did not dispute the allegation.
The Washington Post reported that Jon Adler, president of the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association, told the newspaper the accusations relate to at least one officer having involvement with prostitutes in Cartagena.
A U.S. official, who was not authorized to speak publicly on the matter and requested anonymity, put the number of personnel at 12, the AP reported.
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Adler told the Post that the entire unit was recalled for the investigation. He later told the AP he had no specific knowledge of any wrongdoing.
The incident threatened to overshadow Obama's economic and trade agenda at the summit and embarrass the U.S. The White House had no comment.
Secret Service spokesman Ed Donovan would not confirm that prostitution was involved, saying only that there had been "allegations of misconduct" made against Secret Service personnel in the Colombian port city hosting Obama and more than 30 world leaders.
“The Secret Service takes all allegations of misconduct seriously,” Donovan told the Post.
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Donovan said the allegations of misconduct were related to activity before the president's arrival on Friday night.
Obama was attending a leaders' dinner Friday night at Cartagena's historic Spanish fortress.
The personnel involved had been sent back to their permanent place of duty and were being replaced by other agency officers, Donovan said. The matter was turned over to the agency's Office of Professional Responsibility, which handles the agency's internal affairs.
"These personnel changes will not affect the comprehensive security plan that has been prepared in advance of the president's trip," Donovan said.
This article includes reporting by The Associated Press.
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Well once again it looks like the unemployment rate will go up.
I am glad this occurred BEFORE President Obama arrived. I hope none of the agents are black.
I could imagine the firestorm if President Obama was in that Country at the time. This one he can handle by disciplining these agents properly.
LOL.....You can only joke about this Repubs.....LMAO......LOL....hahhahahahha
Obama's response: If I had another daughter, she would look like one of those prostitutes.
who cares if a ss guy was with a hooker as i can haz cheese burger /LOL cat says WHOOOOOPDEEFRIKINDOOO
thats a nice comment black_dragon
Lets see if I can read between the lines here. Secret Service agents got caught bringing hookers to President Obama in Colombia and took the fall to protect the President. Hell that type of thing has been going on for years. Its their job to protect the President.
Bill Clinton was getting his cock sucked in the Oval Orifice and who knows what else. Did anything happen to him? What's the problem with the boys getting a little nookie on the side? I don't think the wives would mind.
You are so correct
if they are good, open minded, progressive thinking wives, they will understand just like Hillary did.
Prostitution supports Slavery. Slavery supports prostitution. There is the evil.
Maybe they just didn't bother to reveal the Bill Clinton was along for the 'ride'.
Obama doesn't care that his secret service uses government money for hookers or that they live nasty lives. All Obama cares about is the negative publicity. He doesn't like people who make him look bad.
You're an idiot to believe that. Republican or Democrat
Once honor fades like erosion off the cliff to the winds
the job of body guard is pretty much deadbeat walking
what's leftover is turkeys on chicken feet.
choice for turkeys and not toms is to be politically correct.
I guess "Secret Service" says it all.
Dude, you were supposed to get serviced secretly!
These agents are the cream of the cream of the crop. Until now. What happened? Probably friends/family of the Obamas that were promised a job.
I find this hard to believe. Not impossible, but when the G20 was held here in town there were secret service EVERYWHERE and they looked like they hardly had time to get some sleep in, let alone find the local whores.
were there any local working girls available for those nights in Toronto? Even drug dealers who are middleman are tempted to try their product before they pass it to a paying client. So, it would be easy to conjure that secret service provides a secret service to their client and tempted a try and got caught.
My guess as to what happened... is that all cops like to get their information from prostitutes.. that´s general knowledge among intelligent circles... So what´s the big deal they were doing their job acquiring whatever information that was out there and their only problem was an unsatified hooker that was either insulted that no one @!$%#ed her or that she did not get paid... this is the stuff they use to make novels.. nothing involving national security.. I only see bad press CONFUSIUS
I can't believe how some things can so easily be turned into partisan issues, on both sides. Let's all lay blame on each other, because that works so well, right? Seriously, when are we going to agree that we are in deep $hi% and we need to find common ground and work together for solutions? This is an embarrassment to The United States, Democrat, Republican..., black, green, purple, yellow and white..., Christian, Muslim, Atheist...
What does it matter whose fault it is, will that make it any different? This is supposed to be the highest law enforcement agency in service. Does it surprise anyone that they are less than moral? Seriously? Can you imagine the corruption in the CIA? Wake up people, those supposedly keeping us "safe" at the ones we should fear! But I'm sure I'll be told to adjust my tin-foil hat.
LOL, I just love the tea-bagger responses to this little story. My position is SO WHAT! If the guy paid his money he gets the services offered. You red-necked tea-baggers claim you're for free enterprise so what's the problem?
I have no problem with Obama on this issue, but I have a serious one with the agent.
You do not get involved with anything that can jeopardize security.
Well said sir!
Perhaps if we had legal prostitution here the rethugs would loosen up a bit.
Hey Rick - I am a TEA Party supporter - that's "tea-bagger" for all the Lefty's out there -
This country is ALWAYS better off when our Bullsh-tter-in-Chief is gone, unless he is kissing some other leader's ass -
when it comes to p-ssy, boys will be boys !!
I agree with you - good for them !!!
I guess what the Secret Service guys were really saying was -
"I am not going to take a bullet for this dic-head !"
Apparently they were scouting out possible choices for the prez. It's nice to have another scandal to embarrass this inept and corrupt administration
Obama's entire staff is corrupt including him, as he is also bought off by the 1%! You cannot change a Zebra's stripes or a system with no true integrity backed by positive actions. For every action there is a reaction, but when there is no true positive reaction (such as thousands of jobs created), and our budget balanced, but the US Citizens placed further in debt and war, we are left with only the change in our pocket! RON PAUL for true change in all aspects of our lives (that effect our international relations towards peace).
Sounds as if you just described Congress and not the President.
Ron Paul is just a bunch of promises that he would not be able to keep.
So the guy had sex... The last thing you want is a guy with
a gun all stressed out. As long as he was single, keep your nose out of his
business. At least he is not doing drugs and drunk. We have legal prostitution
in the US and not surprisingly, that state has the lowest percentage of sex
crimes... go figure. Maybe he went deep under covers to penetrate the
prostitution ring in order to ensure security so don't be so hard-on the beaver
Wally. Yes ... that was bad..sorry >: )
This people are para-military and have a code conduct to adhere to tired...even if it is only "just sex"
"Code of Conduct"... Makes me wonder how we still have members in Congress then... Here we just hang the little guy.
stop bankrupting US
"Obama doesn't care that his secret service uses government money for hookers or that they live nasty lives. All Obama cares about is the negative publicity. He doesn't like people who make him look bad."
#361 - Sat Apr 14, 2012 7:18 AM PDT
Really "using government money for hookers..."? What dark smelly bodily orifice did you pull that one out of?
But even if the agent did spend government money on a 3 dollar hooker can that compare with spending trillions of dollars on two illegal wars?
Hey, they were just doing their job by pumping the girls for information that might save the presidents life.
Hey , have you heard the one about an ex-president and ex vice-president , invading a country named iraq , just for the hell of it , and murdering u.s soldiers for no reason ????? war criminals ,,,,,,,,,,,, YES ,
Hear, hear sir!
Put them on trial in the world court! They have disgraced our nation.
You should write that same thing on every msnbc article no matter what the content.
Then do a circle jerk with your friends.
Being as I have been in Cartagena when i was in the Navy--I can full well vouch for the temptations that surrounded those agents lol
How were they?.. lol
These guys are to protect a man that has gone out of his way to make the U.S. a larger mess than he found it, lol. What a better way to devert your body and mind to leave his sorry ass open to get shot in a country that he should have never been in to start with. But again, he really shouldn't be here with his fake Hawaii birth certificate. I'm not a democrap or republican't. They both will lye to get office and then to hell with you til next election. If the next President is worth a damn, I feel sorry for him because of the mess Obama will leave.
This was a tax write off for the agents.
All of the ho's involved said their name was "Solyndra."
It was a tax write-off because his investment put him in the hole... But now it seems to be gaining interest..
What a spin...UNIFORMED PERSONNELL????? Lets not implicate the Presidential detail..lets drop it on the uniformed guys ....seen a lot of presidential adavance people but never uniformed secret service. Uniformed agents I dont thin would be used overseas...
BGolds commment about Republicans and pedophiles..lets not forget narney Frank who punked male pages??? PLeeze you act as if the Democratic aprty was made of saints.