Washington: Federal law enforcement officials and a congressional committee in the United States are awaiting an overdue inspector general`s report that they believe may reveal the involvement of two White House advance team members in the Secret Service prostitution scandal in Colombia earlier this year.
While much of the attention in the case is focused on the actions of Secret Service personnel, multiple law enforcement and congressional sources claim that investigators also discovered two White House advance team members had checked in prostitutes as overnight guests at the Cartagena hotel days before President Barack Obama`s April 13 visit.
“Three US delegation members that stayed at the Hilton brought prostitutes back as overnight guests. One of them was ours (Secret Service) and the other two were White House staffers,” a high-ranking Secret Service official told Fox News.
“We knew very early that White House staffers were involved,” he added.
Twelve of the 13 agents investigated for alleged misconduct in Cartagena stayed at another hotel, the El Caribe. Only one of those charged with misconduct had a room at the Hilton, where President Obama and the White House advance team also stayed, the report said.
“We are writing to inquire about the status of the investigation we requested into the April 2012 incidents in Cartagena, Colombia, involving the US Secret Service and possibly other federal personnel and certain foreign nationals,” a letter addressed to Department of Homeland Security`s Office of Inspector General stated.
Earlier in April, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said there was no indication any White House advance team members being involved in the prostitution scandal, the report said.
The delay has sparked speculation the report was being altered or manipulated to conceal or minimize the roles of some of those involved, multiple Secret Service officials said.
The White House remained unavailable for comment.
ANI
