What's the right punishment in the Secret Service scandal?
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
The Secret Service Colombian prostitution scandal keeps heating up, and it's unclear whether resignations of the agents at the center of it will put out the fire.
More resignations are expected this week, in addition to the three we already know about.
Eleven members of the Secret Service, including 20-year-veterans, have been implicated. They're accused of bringing at least 20 prostitutes to their hotel in Cartagena ahead of last week's visit by President Barack Obama.
As many as 10 members of the U.S. military are also being questioned about potential misconduct. This includes five members of the elite Army Special Forces.
It's a mess, and it's a national disgrace, not to mention a potential security risk for the president.
So what's being done in Washington? The House Oversight Committee is investigating. Also, there will likely be a review board set up to find out whether this was an isolated incident or part of a broader agency culture.
But some people don't think this is enough. At least one congressman, Republican Randy Forbes of Virginia, is calling for Mark Sullivan, the Secret Service director, to be fired.
Forbes says it's time to put someone else in charge to change the culture at the agency.
Mitt Romney says he'd "clean house" at the Secret Service. The likely Republican presidential nominee says he would fire the agents involved. But Romney, like Obama, says he has confidence in the director.
Sullivan has been director of the agency since May 2006. That means the 2009 security breach at the White House involving two party crashers at Obama's first state dinner also happened on his watch.
Here’s my question to you: What's the right punishment in the Secret Service scandal?
Tune in to the Situation Room at 4pm to see if Jack reads your answer on air.
And, we love to know where you’re writing from, so please include your city and state with your comment.
In light of the Secret Service and GSA scandals, who is minding the store?
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
Your government gone wild.
As details of the Secret Service and GSA scandals emerge, there's a growing sense that Washington isn't always working for the people who pay their salaries - that would be us, the taxpayers.
The Secret Service has now yanked the security clearances of 11 members accused of bringing prostitutes to a Colombian hotel.
The investigation also includes at least five - maybe even 10 - members of the U.S. military who were working there ahead of President Obama's trip. Reuters reports there were as many as 21 prostitutes.
If true, it's more than disgraceful. It's a threat to national security.
There are reports that some of the Secret Service agents who brought prostitutes to their hotel rooms had copies of the president's schedule in their rooms and they were apparently bragging that they were there to protect President Obama.
It's not the first time the Secret Service has lapsed. The most glaring example was in 2009, when an uninvited couple managed to crash a White House state dinner. They were inside the White House mingling with the president and his guests.
Meanwhile the GSA official at the center of that $800,000 lavish conference is refusing to answer questions.
Jeff Neely - who organized the 2010 conference in Las Vegas - repeatedly took the Fifth Amendment when questioned before Congress. His former boss has already resigned in disgrace. Neely might face a federal criminal investigation.
While the GSA was spending hundreds of thousands of your dollars on things like commemorative coins, a team-building exercise, and a mind reader as entertainment, the Senate yesterday voted on whether to raise taxes some more.
This is the kind of stuff that makes Americans increasingly disgusted with their government. So far President Obama hasn't said a lot about any of this. Maybe it's time he did.
Here’s my question to you: In light of the Secret Service and GSA scandals, who is minding the store?
Tune in to the Situation Room at 4pm to see if Jack reads your answer on air.
And, we love to know where you’re writing from, so please include your city and state with your comment.
@jackcafferty on Twitter
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