House Oversight and Government Affairs Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) released damning details of a probe into the Secret Service, showing sexually charged exchanges between agents protecting President Barack Obama and concluding that the high-profile service has systemic problems and security gaps. “I’ve been looking at this for more than a year, and the more I’ve discovered, the more worried I’ve become,” Chaffetz told the Salt Lake Tribune that the agency is getting worse, not improving, adding “I think the president is in jeopardy.”
Chaffetz and top committee Democrat Elijah Cummings of Maryland issued a joint report after launching a comprehensive investigation into security lapses and embarrassing actions by the high-profile police force. In one email exchange, one agent said of Obama’s 2012 trip to Cartagena, Colombia, where Secret Service officials hired prostitutes, “Swagg cologne-check/Pimp gear-check/Swagg sunglassescheck/Cash fo dem hoes-check.” The report says that the Secret Service’s lack of manpower, low morale and questions of leadership still haunt the agency despite assurances that improvements have been made. In the last decade, there have been 143 security breaches or attempted breaches at protected facilities that resulted in an arrest; only 13 of those incidents led to jail time for the offender.