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DEA agents had 'sex parties' with prostitutes, watchdog says

Agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration reportedly had “sex parties” with prostitutes hired by drug cartels in Colombia, according to a new inspector general report released by the Justice Department on Thursday.

In addition, Colombian police officers allegedly provided “protection for the DEA agents’ weapons and property during the parties,” the report states.[The Drug dealers, the local police and the DEA...just one big happy family down in Columbia...]Ten DEA agents later admitted attending the parties, and some of the agents received suspensions of two to 10 days.

The stunning allegations are part of an investigation by the Justice Department’s inspector general into claims of sexual harassment and misconduct within DEA; FBI; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; and the U.S. Marshals Service. The IG’s office found that DEA did not fully cooperate with its probe.

The congressional committee charged with federal oversight is already promising hearings and an investigation into the allegations.

House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz told POLITICO on Thursday he wanted the agencies involved to swiftly fire those involved and that his panel would immediately start digging into the allegations.

“You can’t ignore this. This is terribly embarrassing and fundamentally not right,” the Utah Republican said. “We need to understand what’s happening with the culture … anytime you bring a foreign national into your room, you’re asking for trouble.”

The congressional committee was first briefed on the IG’s report Wednesday. The House is about to depart on a two-week recess but Chaffetz said there would be major action coming from the Oversight panel when the House returns in April.

“We have to understand issue by issue what is happening. We need to understand how these people are being held accountable. There should be no question about the severity of the punishment,” Chaffetz said. “I don’t care how senior the person is, they are going to have to let these people go.”

The Oversight panel is also investigating allegations into the Secret Service that agents there hired prostitutes in Colombia while advancing a trip for President Barack Obama.

The Oversight committee will hold a hearing on April 14 at 10 a.m., and the DEA and DOJ inspector generals are invited testify.

Moreover,the report states that DEA, ATF and the Marshals Service repeatedly failed to report all risky or improper sexual behavior to security personnel at those agencies.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2015/03/d ... z3WSwzBR00

DEA chief quits after losing lawmakers’ confidence

The head of the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) Michele Leonhart is retiring following reports of agent misconduct and a no-confidence vote by a House of Representatives oversight committee. She will leave the post in mid-May.

Despite being expected to resign from her position, Leonhart chose to retire from federal service instead. She informed Attorney General Eric Holder of her decision on Tuesday afternoon.

“I want to express my appreciation to Michele, not only for her leadership of the DEA since 2007, but also for her 35 years of extraordinary service to the DEA, to the Department of Justice and to the American people,” Holder said in a statement.

Holder praised Leonhart as a “trailblazer for equality [Good point Eric. She proved conclusively that given the oportunity a woman can be every bit as incompetent as any man.]and an inspiration to countless others,” and wished “my good friend Michele all the best as she embarks on this next chapter in what is a remarkable life.”

Agents and employees of the DEA are “some of the finest law enforcement officers in the world,” he said, adding that “Going forward, I have no doubt that the women and men of the DEA will continue to perform their duties with the utmost integrity, professionalism and skill.”

READ MORE: ‘Out of control’: DEA chief grilled over agents’ sex parties dating back to 2001

“In light of the DOJ Inspector General’s report and the testimony we heard before our committee, Ms. Leonhart’s retirement is appropriate,” said Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) and Ranking Member Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

Last week, the committee grilled Leonhart over reports by the DOJ’s Inspector General, which indicated that DEA agents had been involved in a series of sex parties with prostitutes in Colombia and at other locations, dating as far back as 2001. These were paid for by the very drug cartels they were sent to suppress.

Following the hearing, Leonhart claimed 10-day suspensions were the most severe punishments she could have doled out to the rogue agents, due to civil service regulations. The committee issued a statement expressing no confidence in Leonhart’s leadership and called for her resignation.

“Administrator Leonhart… lacks the authority and will to make the tough decisions required to hold those accountable who compromise national security and bring disgrace to their position,” said the document endorsed by Chaffetz, Cummings and 20 other lawmakers from both parties.

READ MORE: Hookers & blow: Colombian drug cartels funded DEA sex parties with prostitutes

Following the March report by the Inspector-General revealing that agents had engaged in drug-and-sex parties sometimes even funded by the drug cartels, the Department of Justice issued a memo banning all personnel from “soliciting, procuring, or accepting commercial sex,” whether on or off duty and “regardless of whether the activity is legal or tolerated in a particular jurisdiction, foreign or domestic.”

Leonhart was acting Administrator of the DEA since November 2007, and was officially confirmed at the post in December 2010. The DEA has the largest international footprint of any US federal law enforcement agency, with 833 personnel permanently assigned to 86 foreign offices in 67 countries, including 459 Special Agents as of 2014.