– DEA Agents Caught Having Drug Cartel Funded Prostitute Sex Parties Received Slap on the Wrist; None Fired (Liberty Blitzkrieg, April 15, 2015):
An internal Drug Enforcement Administration report showed the agency gave its agents a mere slap on the wrist for purchasing the services of Colombian prostitutes, sometimes with taxpayer money and sometimes as they let local police watch their weapons and personal property.
A summary of the internal report shows the DEA doled out punishments to 10 of its agents, which ranged from a letter of caution to a two-week suspension. None of the agents who participated in the parties was fired.
In one instance, money to pay prostitutes at a farewell party for a high-ranking DEA official was included in an “operational budget” that used government funds for the party, the report said.
Lawmakers expressed concern during the hearing that some of the government-funded sex soirees may have included teenagers.
– From the Washington Times article: No DEA Agents Fired for Colombia Prostitute Parties, Internal Report Reveals
Last month, I highlighted the “truth is stranger than fiction” story about how Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) agents were caught having sex parties with prostitutes hired by drug cartels. I ended that post with:
While these agents will almost undoubtedly receive no real punishment, perhaps some good will come from this: End the idiotic war on drugs.
Well we now have access to an internal DEA report on the incident, and find out that, unsurprisingly, the agents involved received barely a slap on the wrist. Moreover, it appears some of the women hired for these parties may have been teenagers.
Just in case you are still under the naive impression that the rule of law exists in America. The Washington Times reports that:
An internal Drug Enforcement Administration report showed the agency gave its agents a mere slap on the wrist for purchasing the services of Colombian prostitutes, sometimes with taxpayer money and sometimes as they let local police watch their weapons and personal property.
It’s always nice to know that the drug cartels didn’t have to foot the bill for these parties every time. The sucker American taxpayer also helped fund the orgies.
The report and a Tuesday hearing on it prompted a key congressman to say that the DEA chief needs to resign.
A summary of the internal report shows the DEA doled out punishments to 10 of its agents, which ranged from a letter of caution to a two-week suspension. None of the agents who participated in the parties was fired.
In one instance, money to pay prostitutes at a farewell party for a high-ranking DEA official was included in an “operational budget” that used government funds for the party, the report said.
DEA agents also rented undercover apartments in Colombia and used them to host prostitutes, the DEA said in its internal report.
The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee staff made the internal report available at Tuesday’s hearing, which gave lawmakers a chance to look into the Justice Department inspector general’s investigation accusing DEA agents of attending prostitute orgies funded by local drug cartels in a foreign country from 2009 to 2012.
The DEA’s internal report expands upon that review, detailing 14 years of misconduct accusations, dating back to 2001. Ten DEA agents were accused of wrongdoing; seven were issued suspensions ranging from one to 10 days. The internal report depicts married agents, who did “the most running around” with women, as “out of control.”
14 years of this and nobody thought to stop it. Typical out of control bureaucracy with zero accountability.
Lawmakers expressed concern during the hearing that some of the government-funded sex soirees may have included teenagers.
In response to pointed questions about whether underage women were among the prostitutes, DEA Administrator Michele Leonhart replied: “I don’t know that.”
Better question is what does she know?
The explosive internal report shows that punishments recommended for the DEA agents also were reduced without explanation in many cases. It is also unknown whether any of the DEA supervisors who may have known about the accusations but failed to report them were punished.
Rep. Jason Chaffetz, Utah Republican and committee chairman, expressed dismay and shock that agents were allowed to return to work quickly “with their secret clearances fully intact.”
During the hearing though, Ms. Leonhart responded that civil service protections make it difficult to fire DEA agents.
If you can fire DEA agents for attending sex parties paid for by drug cartels, what can you fire them for?
Mr. Cummings, the ranking member of the committee, said the report depicted “truly breathtaking recklessness” and showed “DEA agents as completely out of control.”
Lawmakers from both parties said they were dumbfounded that Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. found it necessary to send a memo last week reminding department employees not to purchase the services of prostitutes.
“Hello? Am I missing something?” Mr. Cummings said. “I think we are at an all-time low here.”
We can go a lot lower, and we probably will. This is what you get when government agents can repeatedly act like criminals and get away with it. Same goes for Wall Street thieves.