Secret Service Director may be indicted for lying to Congress about prostitution scandal
Trouble a-brewing for SS director Mark Sullivan.
An investigation for the agency that oversees the U.S. Secret Service suggests Director Mark Sullivan lied during his congressional testimony in the Colombia prostitution scandal that ensnared 13 of his agents, multiple law enforcement officials and congressional sources tell FoxNews.com.
Investigators with the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Inspector General (DHS OIG) have completed their investigative report, which will be referred to the Department of Justice along with a memorandum of activity that lists potential criminal actions. The report indicates Sullivan may have obstructed Congress by lying about the criminal associations of prostitutes involved in the scandal. The report also alleges Sullivan may have manipulated a report requested by the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, the sources said.
DHS OIG uncovered the evidence -- including specific incidents of alleged perjury, making false statements and impeding Congress -- during its ongoing probe into the scandal surrounding agents' misconduct prior to President Obama's trip to Cartagena, Colombia, last April, sources told FoxNews.com. Sources said Sullivan may have violated statute 18 USC § 1505 -- obstruction of proceedings before departments, agencies and committees -- and investigators are now handing the case over to federal prosecutors in the Justice Department's Public Integrity Section.
DHS OIG has been in talks with Justice Department prosecutors in the Public Integrity Section for months, and met with them late last week about the potential charges against Sullivan, sources said.
The OIG, however, declined to discuss details of its investigation.
The director is also accused of manipulating and falsifying reports, including an investigation into whether agents went to strip clubs and hired prostitutes prior to the president's trip to El Salvador.
The fact that at least one prostitute in Colombia was tied to a drug cartel is extremely serious. The opportunity for blackmail gives one the shivers when thinking about the damage that could be done if an agent had been turned.
This scandal won't become a big deal until after the election, which doesn't surprise anyone familiar with Eric Holder's Justice Department.