Report: Probe of Secret Service Prostitution Scandal May Implicate White House Staffers

A yet-to-be-released government report about the Secret Service prostitution scandal that erupted in April may implicate two White House staffers, potentially throwing cold water on the administration's prior assertion that there was no indication that anyone from the White House was involved, Fox News reported.

Citing "multiple law enforcement and congressional sources," Fox reported that investigators from the Department of Homeland Security's Office of the Inspector General have discovered that two White House advance staffers also checked into their Cartagena, Colombia hotel with prostitutes ahead of President Barack Obama's visit. A total of 13 Secret Service agents were investigated for their alleged involvement with prostitutes.

"Three U.S. 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 Secret Service official told Fox. "We knew very early that White House staffers were involved."

Twelve of the 13 agents investigated stayed at the El Caribe hotel, while the remaining agent had a room at the Hilton, where Obama and the White House advance team also stayed, according to Fox.

Officials in the inspector general's office said this week the report would be submitted in the coming days, after it was originally expected by July 2. According to Fox, the more than two-month delay has prompted speculation the report is being altered to cover up the roles of some of those involved.

Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.) of the Senate Homeland Security Committee last week sent a letter inquiring about the report's status; a congressional source told Fox the committee staff is eager to see the report because it "includes information that two members of the White House advance team had prostitutes overnight."

"The committee wants to know if White House staff engaged in improper conduct in Cartagena, which the White House previously denied," the source said. Among the questions the letter asked was whether any changes were made to the report as a result of comments from the Secret Service or the Department of Homeland Security.

A spokesman with the Department of Homeland Security's Office of the Inspector General denied Tuesday that the report was being deliberately held up, telling Fox the office was "in the final stages of preparing it" and that Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano would be briefed about it in the "next few days" and congressional lawmakers after that.

The White House did not comment to Fox about the matter.

Back in April, Glenn Beck questioned whether anyone from the White House had been involved in the scandal, telling rocker Ted Nugent to ask the Secret Service if there was "anybody from the White House that was involved with hookers down in Colombia?

"I just find this fascinating, no one seems to be asking the question -- and there wouldn't be a cover up going on at all -- was there anyone from the White House or was the White House the only ones that were perfectly crystal, pure as the driven snow, pure?" Beck asked

--

RELATED:

• 'Allegations of Misconduct’: 12 Obama Secret Service Agents Relieved of Duty in Prostitution Scandal
• 5 Members of the U.S. Military May Also Be Involved in Secret Service Prostitution Scandal
• Over Twenty Foreign Women Involved in Secret Service Scandal
• Secret Service Escort Speaks Out With Details: ‘They Never Told Me They Were With Obama’
• Three Secret Service Agents ‘Forced Out’ Amid Prostitution Investigation
• At Least 3 More Secret Service Agents Expected to Lose Their Jobs in Prostitution Scandal
• GOP Senator Asks Whether White House Aides Were Involved in Colombia Prostitution Scandal
• Lieberman: Colombian Secret Service Scandal Includes Agent at the White House’s Hotel