The Secret Service's Colombia sex scandal may have been just the tip of the iceberg. Whistleblowers have come forward accusing the Service of a host of sexual misconduct across 17 countries, Sen. Ron Johnson revealed yesterday. Johnson wouldn't divulge the particulars, but sources tell the Washington Post that the improprieties include hiring prostitutes, visiting bordellos while on work trips, extramarital affairs, and engaging in both one-night flings and long-term relationships with foreign nationals.
In one case, an agent missed a military transport flight because he was drunk in a Thai brothel. He was flown home on an expensive commercial flight, but was never punished. The revelations come just days after a fresh scandal broke around supervisor Ignacio Zamora's misplaced bullet and lewd texts. It turns out Zamora had helped lead the agency's internal investigation of the Colombia incident, Johnson revealed, likening it to "the fox guarding the hen house." The agents involved in the Colombia scandal have long argued that their behavior was not unusual. When the Post asked the Secret Service to comment, a spokesman hung up on them. (More Secret Service sex scandal stories.)