Two more Secret Service employees resign in prostitution scandal

Two more Secret Service employees have resigned and another two have been cleared as part of the ongoing prostitution scandal investigation.

According to the agency, the actions Tuesday bring to eight the number of employees who have resigned or left the agency for alleged misconduct in Cartagena, Colombia, ahead of President Obama’s arrival for an international summit April 13.

Three employees have now been cleared of serious misconduct but still face “appropriate administrative action.” An additional employee will have his security clearance permanently revoked.

“The Secret Service is committed to conducting a full, thorough and fair investigation in this matter, and will not hesitate to take appropriate action should any additional information come to light,” assistant director Paul Morrissey said in a statement.

The Pentagon is conducting a separate investigation of a dozen military personnel who were also allegedly involved.

An internal White House investigation found that no members of the presidential advance team had participated in wrongdoing. But the Pentagon also had confirmed that an employee of the White House Communications Agency, a military unit that provides technical support for presidential travel, was under investigation.

Republican Sen. Charles E. Grassley of Iowa, ranking member of the Judiciary Committee, is pushing the White House to disclose more about its review of the White House advance staff. In a letter sent Monday, Grassley asked the White House counsel for details on what prompted the review, how many hours were spent and how many employees were involved.

White House spokesman Jay Carney said Tuesday that he had not seen the letter, but repeated that the White House review was conducted out of due diligence.

“I would just point you to the fact that there is no credible, specific allegation of any misconduct by anybody on the White House advance team or White House staff. Nevertheless, out of an abundance of caution and with due diligence, the White House counsel oversaw a review of the personnel on the White House advance team, and there’s no indication of any misconduct.”

Obama, speaking with NBC late night host Jimmy Fallon earlier Tuesday, defended the “incredible” work the Secret Service does.

“A couple of knuckleheads shouldn’t detract from that they do,” he said. “What they were thinking, I don’t know. That’s why they’re not there anymore.”

Original source: Two more Secret Service agents resign in prostitution investigation