Another Secret Service sex scandal?
According to new reports, Secret Service agents got drunk at a strip club and hired escorts while on assignment in El Salvador in March 2011. Sound familiar?
As the fallout from the Colombia prostitution scandal — which has so far cost eight Secret Service members their jobs — continues, news of another possibly damning scandal involving the Secret Service, strippers, and prostitutes is emerging. Already being dubbed the "Salvadoran Sexcapade," the latest incident reportedly took place in El Salvador in 2011, and was uncovered by Seattle TV station KIRO-TV. Here's what we know so far:
What happened?
Seattle-based investigative reporter Chris Halsne interviewed a U.S. government subcontractor who claims to have worked extensively with the Secret Service advance team when the group was in San Salvador, El Salvador, in the days before President Obama and his family traveled to the country to meet with its new president, Mauricio Funes in March 2011. The unnamed witness says he and roughly a dozen Secret Service agents, along with some U.S. military specialists, frequented a San Salvador strip club, where the group allegedly engaged in illicit activity.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
What did the Secret Service agents do?
According to Halsne's source, the agents were "heavily intoxicated" after binge drinking at the club. Many of the "wasted" men allegedly paid extra to gain access to a VIP room where strippers provided sexual favors in exchange for cash. The source says he counseled the agents not to bring the strippers back to their hotel rooms, but they bragged that they "did this all the time" and "not to worry about it." At least two, he says, checked women into their hotel rooms. Halsne confirmed the contractor's account with the owner of the strip club, who said his establishment is popular with high-ranking employees of the U.S. embassy as well as visiting FBI and DEA agents — "those who want to be discreet" — because it has a reputation for "security" and "privacy."
What is the government doing?
Though the Secret Service is officially investigating the Columbia scandal, says Ryan J. Reilly at Talking Points Memo, the agency isn't responding specifically to the latest accusations. "The recent investigation in Cartagena [Colombia] has generated several news stories that contain allegations by mostly unnamed sources," Secret Service spokesman Brian Leary said. "Any information that is brought to our attention that can be assessed as credible will be followed up on in an appropriate manner."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
How bad is this for the Secret Service?
It's certainly poorly timed, says Alicia A. Caldell of the Associated Press. The news emerged just hours after Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano called the Colombia scandal an isolated incident, and said she'd be surprised if a broader problem existed. Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan could find his head on the line if it emerges that prostitute use was widespread under his watch, says Raf Sanchez at the U.K.'s Telegraph. To me, says David Weigel at Slate, the media reaction seems overblown. Everything the men allegedly did is perfectly legal in El Salvador. The incident raises questions about discretion, but doesn't merit righteous outrage.
Sources: AP, KIRO-TV, Slate, Talking Points Memo, Telegraph
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
'Make legal immigration a more plausible option'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
LA-to-Las Vegas high-speed rail line breaks ground
Speed Read The railway will be ready as soon as 2028
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Israel's military intelligence chief resigns
Speed Read Maj. Gen. Aharon Haliva is the first leader to quit for failing to prevent the Hamas attack in October
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Arizona court reinstates 1864 abortion ban
Speed Read The law makes all abortions illegal in the state except to save the mother's life
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump, billions richer, is selling Bibles
Speed Read The former president is hawking a $60 "God Bless the USA Bible"
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The debate about Biden's age and mental fitness
In Depth Some critics argue Biden is too old to run again. Does the argument have merit?
By Grayson Quay Published
-
How would a second Trump presidency affect Britain?
Today's Big Question Re-election of Republican frontrunner could threaten UK security, warns former head of secret service
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
'Rwanda plan is less a deterrent and more a bluff'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By The Week UK Published
-
Henry Kissinger dies aged 100: a complicated legacy?
Talking Point Top US diplomat and Nobel Peace Prize winner remembered as both foreign policy genius and war criminal
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Last updated
-
Trump’s rhetoric: a shift to 'straight-up Nazi talk'
Why everyone's talking about Would-be president's sinister language is backed by an incendiary policy agenda, say commentators
By The Week UK Published
-
More covfefe: is the world ready for a second Donald Trump presidency?
Today's Big Question Republican's re-election would be a 'nightmare' scenario for Europe, Ukraine and the West
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published