Secret Service Felled When Agent Didn't Pay Hooker

The Secret Service prostitution scandal that's threatening to overshadow the Summit of the Americas came to light after one agent refused to pay one of the women involved, reports the New York Daily News. “The agent said, ‘I don't owe you anything,’ but gave the woman some money,” says Rep. Peter King, who as head of the House Homeland Security Committee, has been briefed. The agents, part of an advance team that was supposed to secure President Obama's hotel, were caught with prostitutes in their hotel rooms, and the dispute caused a disturbance that got local police involved.

“Number one, it is against basic ethics to go to a prostitute. Number two, it is incredibly embarrassing to the White House,” says one insider, who added that the agents' careers are probably over. “Yes, doubly good judgment there.” Eleven agents have been placed on leave in the incident, notes the AP, and another five military personnel have been accused of similar misconduct after violating curfew. None of the Secret Service agents involved were directly responsible for Obama's protection. A Secret Service rep has apologized "for any distraction." (More Summit of the Americas stories.)