The Secret Service agents who brought prostitutes back to their hotel rooms in Colombia last week had copies of the presidents schedule in their rooms, which raises the issue of a potential security breach, a law enforcement official tells NBC News.
Did they leave the nuclear football on the bed table?
Secret Service personnel were in Cartagena in advance of President Barack Obamas arrival at the Summit of the Americas, a trade conference, over the weekend. At least 11 were placed on administrative leave and flown back to the United States on Saturday when it came to light that they had hired prostitutes. Their security clearances have since been pulled, NBC News has learned.
The story might have been kept a secret had it not been for a disgruntled woman who claimed she had not been paid by one of the agents. She argued with two Secret Service agents and then went to Colombian police. Local police reported the matter to the U.S. Embassy.
It has also been revealed that among the Secret Service personnel involved were full-fledged agents, which further ratchets up the seriousness of the incident. The heavily armed agents play a key role in protecting the president, and their job is to neutralize attacks, according to the agencys website.
It was initially reported that five military service members were also involved, but that they may have only broken curfew. Now officials say that more were involved and that they did more than just return to their hotel rooms too late - several also paid for prostitutes.
The military service members involved were explosives experts and dog handlers from the Navy, Army and Marine Corps. The military advance team also included linguists and drivers, but they have not been implicated in the Wednesday night incident.
At a press conference Sunday, Obama said he would be angry if the allegations turned out to be true.
When we travel, we have to observe the highest standards, he said. Were not just representing ourselves. Were here on behalf of our people.
The Senate Judiciary Committee, which oversees the Secret Service, is weighing whether to launch an investigation into the prostitution allegations.
Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta and Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said they were embarrassed by the allegations.
What we do know is that several of our members distracted the issue from what was a very important regional engagement for our president, Dempsey said. We let the boss down because nobody is talking about what went on in Colombia other than this incident, so to that extent we let him down.
But Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., defended agents in the service, calling them outstanding. He received Secret Service protection in 2008 when he was running for president. I am confident that the overwhelming majority of Secret Service people did not engage in this kind of behavior, McCain said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/18/2012 00:00 ||
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#3
Was it a schedule that was easily found by the public (speaking engagements, meetings, etc)? Then that isn't bad. A couple minutes with Google and a couple phone calls can find that information.
If they have travel routes and the like out (Highly classified), then they need beaten with lead pipes.
#5
They were told to lock the schedules in the room safe--they could have been incapacitated or distracted and the safe compromised, especially when a menage-a-trois is suggested when she wanted $$ after arguing with 2 agents. Endangering POTUS over $47??? Especially in a country like Colombia when the US has gone after FARC and AUC, and ongoing ops against the cartels in league with Hezbollah, etc...is the Secret Service really that assinine??? If I was the Prez, I'd be more than a little distrustful and lay off all travel instead of scouting more vacay spots for Michelle.
#6
The narrative I heard this morning on the DC ads-news-commercials-traffic-ads-weather-commercials station said the 'secret' schedule was locked up in a room guarded by Marines.
At least, they still have integrity!
I wonder who was watching to door while the party went on inside?
Posted by: Bobby ||
04/18/2012 11:10 Comments ||
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#9
OK, so why is the POTXS there, the drugs, the Whorws, ore the dopers?
(Recruiting Workers Umm Dopers)
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
04/18/2012 19:10 Comments ||
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#10
(EX POTUS I mean)
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
04/18/2012 19:15 Comments ||
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#11
I blame Colombian bush!
Al
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
04/18/2012 19:35 Comments ||
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#12
Obama's schedule:
Tee time - 10 AM
Smoke break - 3 PM
Read TelePrompTer - 315 PM
Blame Bush for any current country concers - 4 PM
Send get well ecard to Chavez - 8 PM
#13
The facial expressions tell it all: Billy is (still) chasing skirts, but all Bammy has to look forward to is Moochelle......I almost feel sorry for him (NOT!)
Back in ye olden' 1970's, PRE-LARA KROFT = "BRADGELINA" GUAM, myself + classmates in Elementary School made a similar artificial dog out of hangars + colored yarn for our Arts-N-Craft class, albeit of course on a smaller scale.
President Maldives: SPR, what SPR!
Barack Obama pledged to put more "cops on the beat" to oversee the oil market, as he went on the offensive with a range of curbs to stop traders from driving the oil price higher.
His actions will drive the price of oil higher; he's trying to assert control of the market in his thug-socialist way, and that will clearly push prices up.
The US cannot afford to let speculators artificially drive up the price of oil, the US President said on Tuesday, revealing plans to boost supervision of the market and tackle manipulation.
"Rising gas [petrol] prices means a rough ride for a lot of families," President Obama said. "It's like an additional tax that comes right out of your pocket."
And who would know more about higher taxes than a progressive Democrat?
The high oil price and its impact on consumers is underlining concerns about how the market is functioning and how much it is driven by speculation. Brent crude, London's benchmark oil, trades around $118 (£74) a barrel.
The measures from the White House, to be approved by Congress, include an "at least six-fold" increase in the number of staff who scrutinise the trading of oil futures contracts at US market watchdog the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
The Obama administration also wants the maximum penalties for manipulation in oil futures markets to rise tenfold, from $1m and 10 years in prison to $10m plus sentencing which reflects the "seriousness" of the misconduct.
#5
If a 'bet' on future price of oil (or any commodity) was such a sure thing then everybody'd be making it, and the price would come down. Kind of like horse-racing - as more bets flow to one horse, the payout to the winner goes down. If the price keeps rising, then the bet is not a sure thing. The futures price just represents that which it takes to balance the bets (plus the commission). When the contracts expire or are settled the winning and losing speculators balance out. End users who absolutely, positively must have a set supply at a set date pay a lot for that guarantee; sellers who absolutely, positively must have a set income and a set time sell their potential for greater income in return for that guarantee (end users who find themselves more flexible than they had expected to be receive payment for re-selling guarantees they previously bought.) It's not evil at all (unless manipulated by insiders and crooks at protected, 'too-big-to-fail' Wall Street firms), it's just a means for balancing supply and demand and criticality of each.
#7
Glenmore (#5) - nicely explained, but much too complicated for Joe Sixpack when you can whip up a nice Strawman and keep pushing your populist poop.
Posted by: Bobby ||
04/18/2012 11:06 Comments ||
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#8
Its the one and only Boogie man
He creeps, he hides, he sneaks, he slides
#10
My problem with speculation is when its done with paper backed by little or no assets, particularly of the person playing the game. About the time the last run on oil [somewhere near 148 barrel] in 2008, the banking system was freezing up, thus curtailing lending [which is the start of the bailout]. As soon as that happened, oil prices dropped. The government already had the ability to call margin well before then to avert that run, but didn't. Make the speculators back their game and put up dollar for dollar for their bids. Let them gamble with their own money.
#11
Polling must show the price of gas is hurting Obama's numbers and he has to deflect now to avoid his energy secretary's $10 a gallon goal comment becoming mainstream knowledge.
#12
"But Obama is unswayed. He is running as a provider and believes there are enough Americans who want free stuff to catapult him to victory in November."
#14
Holland & EU SUPPORT LIBERALS AND DEOCRATS THIS ELECTION SEASON AGAIN
Posted by: Uneang Scourge of the Slytherins6067 ||
04/18/2012 17:56 Comments ||
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#15
#6: 1984 and The Fountainhead were not written as guidebooks.
Assuming he's read them. Those are "white" books, which - except for die-hard commies like Foucault, Marcuse, and Adorno - have been all but removed from standard college curricula.
#16
Mr President. Since you killed the Keystone pipeline, which caused oil prices to skyrocket, your cops will hence forth be referred to throughout the blogger sphere as the "Keystone Cops".
Posted by: George Unique7923 ||
04/18/2012 20:11 Comments ||
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#17
George Unique7923 - Obama and his Oil police are "Keystone Cops".
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
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Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
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Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
