Three agents accused of cavorting with prostitutes during a trip to Cartagena as part of the "advance" team working on President Obama's trip to Colombia are leaving the agency.
The AP reports:
"Of the three workers forced out in the scandal, one is a supervisor who was allowed to retire. Another is a supervisor who has been designated for removal for cause, which requires that the employee be given 30 days' notice and a chance to respond with the help of a lawyer; and a third employee, not a supervisor, has quit.
"The agency says its investigation into allegations of misconduct by 11 agents is in its early stages and is still ongoing. The remaining eight agents are on administrative leave."
As we reported earlier, this story is still developing. Quoting one of the prostitutes, The New York Times reported today that the scandal started after one of the agents and the prostitute disagreed over how much she was owed. He offered $30, the woman said she thought they had agreed to 25 times that.
The presumptive GOP nominee for president Mitt Romney also weighed in on the scandal today.
CBS News reports that Romney said he would "clean house" at the Secret Service.
"The right thing to do is to remove people who have violated the public trust and have put their play time and their personal interests ahead of the interests of the nation," Romney said.
Update at 6:13 p.m. Full Investigation:
In its press release, the Secret Service said it a "full thorough and fair investigation" was ongoing.
"This includes polygraph examinations, interviews with the employees involved, and witness interviews, to include interviews being conducted by our Office of Professional Responsibility in Cartagena, Colombia," Assistant Director Paul S. Morrissey said.
Talking Points Memo has posted the full release on its website.
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