By Associated Press
The U.S. government has revealed details of serious allegations against Secret Service agents and officers since 2004, including claims of involvement with prostitutes, leaking sensitive information, publishing pornography, sexual assault, illegal wiretaps, improper use of weapons and drunken behavior. It wasn't immediately clear how many of the accusations have been confirmed.
The heavily censored list, which runs 229 pages, was quietly released under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act to The Associated Press and other news organizations following the Secret Service prostitution scandal that erupted in April in Colombia. It describes accusations filed against Secret Service employees with the Homeland Security Department's inspector general.
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Some of the accusations occurred as recently as last month. In many cases, the government noted that some of the claims were resolved administratively, and others were being formally investigated.
The new disclosures of so many serious accusations lend weight to concerns expressed by Congress that the prostitution scandal exposed a culture of misconduct within the Secret Service. Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan apologized for the incident during a hearing in May but insisted that what happened in Colombia was an isolated case.
Secret Service officials did not immediately respond Friday to questions about the accusations.
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Sen. Susan Collins, a Maine Republican who has been investigating the Colombia scandal said while some of the allegations were "unfounded or frivolous," others appear to be legitimate and that "adds to my concern about apparent misconduct by some of the personnel of this vital law enforcement agency."
"The key question is whether these incidents indicate a larger cultural problem," Collins said Friday.
Other allegations include:
?October 2011: An employee was accused of sending harassing messages to a woman who interpreted them to be sexual harassment.
?March 2011: A complaint was filed involving embezzlement or theft of public money. Nearly the entire entry was censored save for a notation that it was adjudicated by a judge.
?October 2010: An employee was implicated in a national security leak. The details were censored, and the records didn't include a disposition of the case.
The complaints included an alleged sexual assault reported in August 2011. In the heavily censored entry, an employee was accused of pushing a woman who also worked for the agency onto a bed during a work trip. The employee "got on top of (censored) attempting to have sex," even though the woman "told (censored) ?no' several times." The entry noted that supervisors described the accused as "a conscientious and dependable employee." The incident was closed with an "administrative disposition" in February.
A dozen Secret Service officers, agents and supervisors were implicated in the Colombia scandal and eight have been forced out of the agency. At least two employees are fighting to get their jobs back.
- by Alicia Caldwell
Associated Press Laurie Kellman contributed to this report.
Read more: http://swampland.time.com/2012/06/15/u-s-reveals-accusations-against-secret-service/#ixzz1y7x3oeEa
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