Two Secret Service agents were removed from President Obama's detail after coming under investigation for possible sexually related misconduct.
According to published reports, the investigation grew out of an incident this past spring at the upscale Hay-Adams Hotel in Washington, D.C., that involved a senior supervisor responsible for some two dozen agents who watch over the president’s security.
The Washington Post said that the supervisor, identified as Ignacio Zamora Jr., tried to re-enter the room of a woman to retrieve a bullet from his service weapon. He apparently met the woman in the hotel bar.
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The woman wouldn’t let Zamora in, the Post says, and he contacted hotel staff, who notified the White House.
The Post says a subsequent probe revealed sexually suggestive emails that Zamora and a second supervisor, identified as Timothy Barraclough, had sent to another woman who worked for the Secret Service, though at a lower rank. Zamora was removed from his position and Barraclough has been reassigned, the Post said, citing people familiar with the investigation.
Secret Service spokesman Ed Donovan would not comment on the investigation. He issued a statement to the Post saying, “We have always maintained that the Secret Service has a professional and dedicated work force. Periodically we have isolated incidents of misconduct, just like every organization does.”
The Associated Press wrote that the alleged transgressions did not appear to threaten the president’s security.
The AP also noted that the latest incident follows a prostitution scandal last year in preparation for Obama’s trip to Cartagena, Colombia. Thirteen agents and officers came under scrutiny after an agent argued with a prostitute in a hotel hallway over a payment for services.
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