Why the Secret Service Sex Scandal Matters
And though the number was initially reported at five, now up to a dozen U.S. service members are also under investigation in the scandal for allegedly taking some of the women the Secret Service brought to the hotel. Members of that team included explosives experts and dog handlers, and at least one Army Green Beret.
The questions of a deeper cultural problem are valid simply for the fact that so many men were involved and nobody ratted out anyone: they were only discovered because one guy was being cheap.
“The Secret Service demands more from its employees and these expectations are met and exceeded every day by the vast majority of our workforce,” Morrissey said. “This incident is not reflective of the behavior of our personnel as they travel every day throughout the country and the world performing their duties in a dedicated, professional manner.”
The extent of that behavior, though, does need to be investigated because it leads to that massive breach in the airtight security the Secret Service is supposed to be providing.
When agents are drunk, boasting of a cool covert job, and hiring ladies of the night, you never know what’s going to come into that agent’s room — and what wrench can be thrown into the U.S. security apparatus.
Once overrun by drug cartels, Colombia has battled back to the extent that it can now welcome foreign tourists. That war is far from over, though, and cartels throughout Latin America have been courted by nefarious elements that seek better positioning at America’s doorstep: Iran and Hezbollah.
And leftist rebels, though hobbled over the years, still wage war on the government, take hostages, and conduct bombings. Four bombs went off in Cartagena to mark the opening of the Summit of the Americas, though none were close enough to endanger the leaders.
The agents were in a dangerous part of the world, yet acted as if no lives depended upon their recklessness.
The White House stressed yet again today that it is waiting for the investigation to run its course, though Obama said in Colombia that he’ll be “angry” if the allegations are found to be true.
Press secretary Jay Carney also said that the president has “confidence” in Sullivan, lauding how he “acted swiftly in response to this incident and is overseeing an investigation that obviously needs to be conducted.”
“The Secret Service performs admirably in its number-one mission, which is to protect the president of the United States, to protect the family of the president, to protect those who travel with him or her,” Carney said. “That has been the case for this president’s predecessors and their families. And the president, as he said in Cartagena, feels very strongly that the work the Secret Service does, the men and women who protect him and his family, and those of us who work with him, is exemplary as a rule.”
“And they put their lives on the line, and it’s a very, very difficult job,” he added. “And he acknowledges that and appreciates it.”
Reform — and determination of how far these flaws extend into other critical agencies — needs to be the result of this fiasco, as the weaknesses of the U.S. security apparatus aired for the world to see only empower those with the goal of striking at American targets.
What a scandal ridden administration!
I wonder if this is a reflection of lower standards throughout the secret service or just a bad advance detail?
Will he replace the secret service with “corpse men”?
But we only learned about this because they’re so transparent, right?
Still, even with these guys, I bet he sleeps more soundly at night than he would if Hillary were VP!
I wonder if the President knows that Columbia is not one of the 57 states, nor is it part of the Maldives.
And the media mocked Bush and Reagan for being stupid. This guy actually meets the criteria.
This is just “trickle down corruption.” The top is rotten to the bone marrow. This President is a usurper and a whole lot of forged documents to prove it.
“Corpse men” would probably do a better job. I should know; I’m married to one.
– Spike, wife of “Doc”
What a scandal ridden administration!
I wonder if this is a reflection of lower standards throughout the secret service or just a bad advance detail?
Will he replace the secret service with “corpse men”?
But we only learned about this because they’re so transparent, right?
Still, even with these guys, I bet he sleeps more soundly at night than he would if Hillary were VP!
I wonder if the President knows that Colombia is not one of the 57 states, nor is it part of the Maldives.
And the media mocked Bush and Reagan for being stupid. This guy actually meets the criteria.
http://astuteblogger.blogspot.com/2012/04/whoremegeddon.html
“Pay you??…but I thought you really liked me!!”
The morale of every government agency and department that is predicated on a discipline-oriented work ethic concerned with honor and valor is bound to be destroyed when these people work for the most vile scumbag ever to be elected as president. Ask yourself, would you be willing to take a bullet for this jackass and/or his gaggle of Marxocrat America-haters who have pranced around the world stage for over three years kissing the ass of every tin-pot dictatorial commandante, tyrannical asian warlord, or medieval Moslem theocrat. Its only a matter of time before some thugocracy somewhere in the world realizes that the American police agencies and military departments have been hollowed out and we are ripe for the picking as a nation and another 911 explodes in our faces. When that happens, just remember that “you asked for it” by electing this jackass and his minions in the first place.
What, a few hoes for the workin’ men. LOL. It is nothing compared to the Head Hoe… obama. As to State(USA) security failure.
This is the worst scandal in all of history!!!
Why couldn’t these secret service agents have commited some trivial transgression like forging their birth certificates or their selective service registrations or have used some dead guy’s SSN or run guns to Mexico or revealed Israeli secrets?
“The U.S. Secret Service is not an agency one usually associates with scandal.”
True and hence are unfit to be working for Obama.
Lets see here, Drinking is not illegal, prostitution is not illegal in Columbia. Obumer says he is looking for vacation spots for his fat cow wife. I can easily think that the Secret Service is in a huge depression having to protect an enemy of the state and watch him waste our tax dollars. Boys will be Boys!!!!
Sorry to say this folks, but this culture has existed for some time in the military.
Aviators called it the “two TACAN rule”, whereby when you were a safe enough distance away from your base of operations, anything went. Kind of like “what goes on in Vegas, stays in Vegas”. But then again, that didn’t help the folks under investigation at the GSA.
Raslan’s right. The term “TDY divorce” has been around for at least 30 years. The “girl in every port” has been around longer. Of course, there’s also a reason for the saying “a man who won’t f*ck won’t fight.”
It has virtually nothing to do with the people in the Secret Service or their morality or lack thereof.
When an administration’s entire reason for existing is to criminally rule a country, then it should be no surprise when elements that are ordinarilly immune from crime give in to it.
It’s happened hundreds of times before.
If the idiot beats the lesser idiot in November, such events will escalate a hundredfold and will become the norm, just like they are in every third-world country.
See and experience the Third World
Without having to leave America!
(Reelect Barack Obama in 2012)
Respectfully, I must disagree.
A moral person will BY DEFINITION act morally regardless of the circumstances.
If/when a moral person becomes aware that immorality pervades the “corporate culture,” he or she quits that job. I’ve had to do that twice over a 35 year career — both times emotionally and financially painful, but more than worth it to be able to face myself in the mirror every morning.
I have a problem with fellow republicans piling on the secret service to embarass the president. The incident should have been reported to Washington, not the media. Single men stationed overseas drink and sometimes patronize hookers. If you think all the hookers on this earth are unemployed until young men literally risking their lives for their country come to port then you must be a politician.
First, most of them weren’t single. Secondly, they were conducting a secure operation. Ever heard of OPSEC?
Their actions demonstrated poor judgment, exposed them to compromise by foreign agents and endangered the security of the President. They publicly announced their jobs and relationship to the POTUS to stripper and prostitutes. For that alone, their security clearances could be permanently revoked. I read their clearances have been suspended and their credentials confiscated pending the investigation.
First rule of security clearances, to anyone without the need to know, you are just a cook.
The illegal alien invasion is a on going threat that makes this small. Americas enemies within are letting the enemy in. Add to it the moon god worshiping POS preaching hate for the country that let them in, and I do not understand the big f#####g deal with these men getting some p###y!
Sure they were out of line, but the real problem, like the two examples I gave, are dangers to this country. One moon god worshiper went on trial today. How many does that make in the last ten years?
– USA is not falling, but crumbling.
Thank you so much for writing this .We work hard very hard to bring awareness at Exodus Cry.
Today and yesterday I saw BOTH men and women calling them terrible names.This is not a laughing matter. Forced — like you write is absolutely correct. The thoughts of buying a body did not ”just occur” to these agents .There is always a seed that is planted first. While Rep . Darryl Issa may have had a point about a serious security breech – what he did not address is the sheer disruption and havoc that this is doing to the families of the men involved.Prostitution is never ever a victimless crime.It is a very lucrative 32 billion dollar illegal industry on the globe. Only second to the drug trade. Thank you so much for pointing out the deeper heart of the matter.Pam
Bad conduct in any case. This will all be cleared-up when the investigation reveals the agents were just doing a little “undercover work” on behalf of the government.
Anyone remember JFK’s use of the Secret Service and his romps?
Gee, whatever happened to the “consenting adults” argument? It works for heterophobic homosexuals, but evidently not for prostitutes and their johns. Such is the ridiculous hypocrisy of judgmental liberals, who discriminate against other consenting adults like adult incestuous people. What a joke!
What do you suppose a homosexual Secret Service agent would do if his hook-up partner put a knife to his neck after he had gotten naked and then demanded to know classified information about the President’s itinerary?
in the secret service the engagement rule is ” two tits for a tat “…
I wonder if affirmative action has anything to do with it. I presumed that only the most competent and loyal were recruited to this service but if other, more political reasons are applied to the recruitement process then you may end up with people who feel arrogant and above the normal rules. The White House discipline appears to be dissolving. Well, the leader sets the example.
Any white member of the 11+ agents involved in this will be the fall guy(s) for our corrupt DOJ.
I was thinking the same thing. But I guess we may never know.
Doesn’t anyone else find it a bit odd that NOW is the first time that there has been a scandal like this? Something doesn’t add up…..
Meh. Try as hard as I may, I just can’t seem to care that some off duty Secret Service agents decided to party with some hookers in a hotel room in a place where prostitution is legal. I doubt that this is the first time that this has happened, and it probably won’t be the last. This country has REAL, MAJOR problems that need to be addressed and resolved, SS agents going on a booty call isn’t one of them.
It’s not the actions per se, it’s the Secret Service. The last bastion (it was thought by many) of honor and decency in the government (excluding the military). Every other agency has demonstrated corruption or incompetence or both in the last few decades, but the Secret Service retained its noble reputation. Which is now gone. They’re just another bureaucracy, with agents willing to betray their families without giving it a moment’s regret. In one sense I’m glad. Power corrupts, and our government has too much power, hence has grown corrupt. The only way to stop corruption in government is to limit its power, spread it out among many polities (you know, Federalism) so that it doesn’t concentrate into a few hands which will inevitably be corrupted.
All of the recent incidents show an appalling lack of decency among ‘public servants,’ particularly the astonishing stupidity of the GSA. That’s what happens when you hand out gobs of money and require no real responsibility from those who give it to. Millions of dollars are literally incomprehensible; trying to get your head around that number for personal use as a $40-100k/year citizen is impossible. Billions head into mind-boggling, and trillions are off the charts. And yet we more than tripled our annual deficits to more than $1.5 trillion during Obama’s tenure, the deficits alone adding up to almost $15,000 per citizen. Just the deficits!! That kind of money is corrupting all by itself.
You’re right that this in itself isn’t much. It’s just a symptom of the larger disease, and that disease is corruption, which ought to worry us all. I know I could use the $33,000+ that has been spent by the government in the last 3 years just for me. That would be $230,000 for my household, which is more than I made at my job over the same period. I can wrap my mind around that, yes I can.
If you guarded Obama, would your mind be warped after three years of doing so? They probably needed some relief from the travesty of protecting the nation’s greatest enemy.
Too true.
Amen
What I don’t get is why the agents were bragging to hookers. You don’t have to brag to hookers. They’re a sure thing.
Has Obama called the stiffed prostitute to tell her how proud her parents must be of her? How will he explain the situation to Sasha and Maliah? Did any of the prostitutes look like the daughters he DOES have? Or did they have sons that look like the son he DOESN’T have? Where are his ill-advised comments in this instance? Did the agents or servicemen (corpse-men anyone…) or the hotel management act stupidly? Will there be a “beer, bros & hos” summit? Inquiring minds want to know.
BWAHAHAHAHA. Direct hit!
This is just frigid conservative female party line nonsense.
These guys are some of the toughest men in all the services. If they want to unwind and party before the Pres. gets there, so be it. What happens is between them and their wives.
Let’s face it, most frigid conservative women would stand in line in the lobby of a Colombian hotel trying to get a shot at a man like these.
#24 above: “Let’s face it, most frigid conservative women would stand in line in the lobby of a Colombian hotel trying to get a shot at a man like these.”
Yeah, too bad conservative women like Palin, Bachmann, and Ann Romney can’t be as hot as Hillary, Napolitano, Pelosi, Kagan, Sotomayor, Sheila Jackson Lee, Maxine Waters, Michelle Obama…
Is there any shred of evidence that the prostitutes were not slaves? The appropriate default assumption is that the prostitutes were slaves. They did not ‘hire prostitutes’. “forced prostitution” is a euphemism. This isn’t a sex scandal. They raped slaves. This is a Slave Rape scandal.
The investigators shouldn’t be going to Columbia to follow up. They should be checking to see how often this happens in the DC area.
“…you never know what’s going to come into that agent’s room — and what wrench can be thrown into the U.S. security apparatus.”
I have to admit I first read that as: “you never know…what wench can be thrown into the U.S. security apparatus”.
The biggest problem I have with it is that it compromised the President’s security, even if nothing has happened to him. The last thing anyone in this country needs is Obama hurt or killed. A large portion of the deficit and debt drivers were pushed through by LBJ using JFK as a martyr, and frankly, I shudder to think of Joe Biden in charge of anything. I might hate the president’s policies and perspectives, but I really want him to end up dying of old age after making himself as irrelevant as Jimmy Carter has.
I wonder if there is not a larger problem. When President
Obama visited our area the whole plan had to be reworked on short notice because one of the advance agents got drunk with a friend, crashed a wedding, and got into a fight with the groomsmen. In the fight he lost his Blackberry, which had all of the President’s schedule on it. When it was returned later, the planning had to be reworked because of the chance that the information had been compromised.
A GS-14 is a first line supervisor, not the top of the payscale.
The fault lies with the hang-up Amerikans have with sex.
These SS agents have a job that requires them to stay alert to protect the president. I don’t know if they are required to work 24/7 or not, but, if not, their free time belongs to them, and they should be allowed to participate in any legal activity. If they are required to work 24/7, they need to be paid for the extra hours, especially if it means giving up sex and drinking, for chrissake.
Furthermore, if they worked 24/7 protecting the President in Colombia, they’d miss out entirely on the opportunity to legally pay for sex, since that isn’t available when they get back to DC, because of the Amerikan sex hang-up not shared by Colombians, Brazilians or any Europeans.
It used to be that SS agents and spies couldn’t be homosexuals, even if they’d “come out.” The reason was that homosexuals are subject to extortion. I believe we’ve finally tossed that rule out because of sanity’s having arrived regarding sexual preference in the USSA. Now all we have to do is to wait for sanity regarding sex and nudity to arrive!
I’m reminded of the Brits complaining about the Yanks during WW2: to paraphrase, the only problem with the Yanks is they’re over paid, over sexed, and over here. Then Greatest Generation went home and knocked out the sniveling Baby Boomers. My, the puritan uproar by former free love aficianados over the high testosterone culture by politicians prone to lap dancing is breath taking. Fine, get the ladies to do the wheels up and rings on duty for the Wimp in chief.
“But it’s more than just whether the agents have a reputation for squeaky-clean moral behavior that’s at stake.”
Hardly anyone has squeaky-clean moral or other behavior. Secret Service agents are no different. As they say, boys will be boys and of course these days, girls will be girls too. Sex has been around for ever and I don’t think it will be going away anytime soon.
Certainly the Secret Service protects the Commander in Chief. However, we don’t really have REAL one. Only an actor posing as one.
Abolish the Secret Service. Let the President BUY his own protection. With his own money. He’s not a King, not an Emperor, dang it!
He is a citizen just like the rest of us.
Obama-haters -
Your bile has no business in this thread. The Secret Service has two roles – protect our currency and POTUS. The advance team is normally lower level people sent to check manhole covers, streets etc. They are not part of the “inner ring” nor are they likely to be soon.
In any case, they protect the office holder regardless of his political views or actions. They are worthy of our respect whether they are advance or “inner ring” because of their willingness to sacrifice their lives for that of the protectee. Just because the protectee does not reflect your chosen political view does not make Secret Secret personnel less worthy of your respect.
I’m sure there are many fine men and women in the SS. However, government in general and their behavior is not worthy of the respect. They are all representatives of US citizens at home and abroad. The individuals who performed these stunts, their behavior is shameful. As is Mr. Obama’s bowing before others. It does not display humility. It is a weak sign.
The SS’ Neutrality is widely recognized, but as every other system in government seems to be failing to the endemic rot of civilization started by corruption and Marxism.
While I don’t care that they were soliciting prostitutes as long as it was off duty. In other words, not compensated by the taxpayer. If it was on any sort of directly compensated time, it is a concern. And that means that they are not above criticism.
Government is very very poorly perceived. President Obama is as about as bad as you can be, and his actions signal very dangerous directions in the history of our republic. He is a cult of personality figure, an empty suit, and a very shallow man. But I don’t hate him. I just have such powerful contempt for the man and the people that he associates with that I’d walk way from any of them if he tried to introduce himself to me.
They are people. No better than us, no worse. In character perhaps, they are much worse, but in everyday situations they are no more or less guilty than I am for breaking a law, and that is not what’s occuring.
Additionally, Example flows from the top. The behavior of this administration and it’s people is very literaly __treasonous__. Not this instance, perhaps, but Fast and Furious and all the conspiracies to defraud the public and run the debt up so irresponsibly for no other reason but then to increase the taxes on us and therefore pad their own lives. They are presiding over the worst economy many of have experienced and are living large, while the rest of us are watching our hopes, dreams, and lives disintegrate. But instead of instituting real reforms, they loot the treasury and are acting the “Let them eat cake” fantasy while inciting racial and politcal violence throughout the country.
There are causes and then effects.
I firmly believe Obama is taking revenge. That or he’s just a more palatable Sharpton/Jackson-type. He has been steeped in that insane level of hatred and hustling his whole life. This is what happens when someone is raised without any honor, decides they want none of it anyway, and gets their hands on a lot of power.
The investigation by the Secret Service and Congress will reveal that the agents were just doing a little “undercover work” for the government – pun intended !!!!
It’s the sheer level of incompetence that shocks me so badly.
Across the spectrum of government we see case after case of stunning, all-encompassing incompetence. Are there no people that know anything of what they do?
Is it really all as simple as the private sector gets them? Especially in light of how well compensated government employees are VS. the private sector.
It is more and more apparent that the worst of us are in charge, that they cower or cull from the pack the better behaved employees, the principled ones, and that there’s another factor in this other than the bright people go elsewhere for more pay.
I believe the entire culture of civil service must be re-examined, and if unfixable, a new system must be implemented.
Things cannot continue at this level. It is unacceptable.
JKB, you were right on the money. OPSEC should have been the #1 concern. Anyone on a mission that compromises the mission puts everyone involved in jeopardy. These guys certainly did and you nailed it!
Just so you know, the schedule is published daily on the WH website. Travel routes are selected only after POTUS is in the vehicle and decided by the supervisor from 3 or 4 protected, secure routes.
I find their actions inexcusable, however, for some, their careers are over. For others, if they are lucky, will do currency in DTW or CLE for the remainder of their careers. They made a serious error after working their rear ends off to even get through the training academy and will have to explain forever more what they left the service. We’ve all made mistakes though it is unlikely they were this public.
POTUS has zero say in who is assigned to his detail. His protection is required by federal law wherever he (and others) go – no exceptions.
Because they have a pin does not mean they can get close to POTUS, it is only to identify the “good guys.”
It’s possible they jeopardized the mission, however, I’ll have to learn more to say with conviction. Unlikely though, as someone said, they are cooks.
Good thing that the Russians and Chinese would never think of using hookers to get close to the President.
If we had any leadership coming out ot The Oval Office the guy at the top of The Secreat Servie Agency would be gone.
Ladies and gentlemen, do not be distracted. This is just another version of Bill Clinton’s Bimbo Eruptions. So far we’ve had Contraceptivegate, vacationgate, gungate, Trevon Martingate, now it’s Secret Servicegate. No one broke any laws, no one was hurt, no classified documents ala Wikileaks were, well, leaked and now Doggate.
This is just the latest edition of “keep them thinking about something else, while I pass another socialist agenda item.” Stop playing the game and start paying attention to what’s actually going on. These people are the masters of bait and switch. Don’t fall for it, eyes on the prize. Stay focused on reality.
seanmahair, very well said.
Let’s not forget, yesterday O achieved another goal, that of shutting down NASA.
“brought up to 21 women”
As part of the campaign against government waste can the USA cut its prostitute allowance to 10 prostitutes. Think of the money saved. Some agents will simply have to share.
To avoid this type of embarrassment in the future, Obama simply needs to create a new czar: a Secret Social & Sexual Services Security Czar. A new building in D.C. will be built for Secret Social & Sexual Services Security (SSSSS) Administration HQ offices, thus creating hundreds of new jobs. The purpose of the SSSSS Administration & Czar will be to ensure that all Secret Service agents’ social & sex lives are secure and secret. That way, they won’t have to resort to prostitutes. Each country around the world will also have its own local SSSSS office, with the office manager’s job being to ensure plenty of social people available when a Secret Service agent or agents happen to be in the area. No muss, no fuss. Oh, and how to pay for all this? From Social Security taxes, of course!