Speaking for the first time about the allegations against eleven members of the Secret Service for getting mixed up with prostitutes in Colombia, President Obama said on Sunday “of course I’ll be angry” if the charges are true.
The Washington Post first reported on Friday that a dozen members of the suited, sunglasses-wearing security detail were recalled on preliminary findings that they brought back several prostitutes to a hotel in Cartagena, Colombia. Five members of the U.S. military have also been implicated for similar misconduct.
A report out of the New York Times on Saturday suggested that the whole thing blew up because of an issue of compensation between one agent and his female guest. Prostitution is legal in Colombia, but certainly not permissible for agents on assignment, in part owing to security concerns for VIPs. The agents currently under investigation, who had been doing advance work for the president’s visit to Colombia, have met with the Office of Professional Responsibility and have been placed on leave.
