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Just a year after a prostitution scandal rocked the elite reputation of the team designated to protect President Obama, a new sexual misconduct investigation is reportedly underway for two secret service officers.
Two Secret Service supervisors have reportedly been removed from the President's security team after they were accused of sending sexually explicit emails to a female subordinate. (Via CNN)
The internal investigation began after one of the officers, senior supervisor Ignacio Zamora Jr., was accused of trying to force his way into a woman's hotel room earlier this year.
Zamora reportedly went to this hotel in Washington, D.C. with the woman this past spring after having drinks with her while he was off-duty. (Via HLN)
But when the woman discovered Zamora was armed, she asked him to leave.
The Washington Post, which broke the story, explains Zamora was then: " ... allegedly discovered attempting to reenter [the] woman's room after accidentally leaving behind a bullet from his service weapon."
Secret Service officers generally keep a bullet in the the chamber of their service weapon, and remove that bullet and the magazine as a precaution in situations that do not pose a threat. (Via CBS)
People briefed on the case told the Post it was the follow-up investigation into Zamora's hotel encounter this spring that revealed another alleged incident; that Zamora and another supervisor, Timothy Barraclough, had ...
" ... sent 'sexually suggestive' emails to a female agent in the protective detail ... " according to those with knowledge of the case. (Via USA Today)
The investigation comes just 18 months after the security agency was involved in a prostitution scandal in the country of Colombia ahead of a scheduled visit by President Obama.
After that incident, the agency's director Mark Sullivan resigned.
Note that USA Today said on Nov. 14 that the original version of its story was wrong to imply that Mark Sullivan's resignation was related to that incident: "Correction: A prior version of this story misstated the terms of former Secret Service director Mark Sullivan's departure from the agency."
After Sullivan resigned, the agency appointed its first female leader, Julia Pierson.
A Secret Service spokesman declined to comment on the investigation. Attorneys for the two demoted officers also declined to comment on the allegations.
- See more at newsy.com.
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