US Secret Service facing another sex scandal

The Secret Service said Thursday that the agency investigates all allegations of misconduct and takes action when appropriate. The agency said neither agent would comment on the case.



News of the latest probe involving sexual misconduct prompted Sen. Ron Johnson, a Republican s, to press acting Homeland Security Secretary Rand Beers about an internal report on the agency's culture during a hearing Thursday.

Beers, who was testifying before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on an unrelated topic, said he was expecting the report to be ready shortly.

In the wake of the prostitution scandal in Cartagena, Colombia, eight Secret Service employees were forced out of the agency, three were cleared of serious misconduct and at least two have been fighting to get their jobs back.

Then Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan apologized for the scandal during a congressional hearing and promptly issued a variety of rule changes, including barring agents and officers from bringing foreign nationals back to their hotel rooms and requiring that agents not drink alcohol within 10 hours of the start of a shift.

Sullivan retired earlier this year, and Obama named career agent Julia Preston as the first
woman to head the elite agency, signaling a desire to change the culture of the service.