The "summit scandal" continues to grow, judging from this story just posted by Reuters:
"Twenty or 21 women were brought back to the hotel in Colombia by U.S. Secret Service agents and members of the U.S. military in an incident last week involving alleged misconduct with prostitutes, U.S. Senator Susan Collins said on Tuesday."
Collins, R-Maine, has been briefed about the incident by Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan, Reuters adds.
Eleven Secret Service agents and at least nine members of the U.S. military allegedly brought women — prostitutes, reportedly — to the hotel in Cartagena where the agents and military personnel were staying while they did "advance" work before President Obama's arrival at last week's Latin American leaders summit.
As The Washington Post reports:
"A preliminary investigation by the Defense Department, which included a review of video from hotel security cameras, found that nine military personnel were possibly involved in the carousing at the center of the probe, congressional sources familiar with the probe said. Already, 11 Secret Service agents have been placed on leave amid allegations they entertained prostitutes, potentially one of the most serious lapses at the organization in years."
ABC News says that it has learned from sources that "the Secret Service officials accused of misconduct in Colombia revealed their identities by boasting at a Cartagena brothel that they worked for President Obama. Partying at the 'Pley Club' Wednesday night, eleven members of the president's advance team allegedly bragged 'we work for Obama' and 'we're here to protect him.' "
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