The Obama Administration continues to struggle with allegations of misconduct, the latest being the U.S. State Department’s cover up of at least eight instances of wrongdoing, barring proper investigation, including then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s security detail hiring prostitutes, a U.S. ambassador’s visiting public parks looking for paid sex, and a security official in Beirut’s sexually assaulting foreign nationals, as Fox News reported.
All this was revealed in an internal memo form the State Department that CBS first obtained. The memo suggests the agency barred investigation of these wrongdoings, that the security official, whose name hasn’t been released, was allowed to return to his job, and that the four members of Clinton’s security detail only received one-day suspensions for their misconduct.
When questioned about the matter on Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said, “I don’t know what you’re talking about. What are you talking about? … I don’t know what you are talking about.”
However, Rep. Ed Royce, chairman of the House of Foreign Affairs Committee, called the allegations appalling, and promised an investigation into all the accusations.
State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters on Monday that the department’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security was seeking a “review by outside, experienced law enforcement officers,” to make “expert assessments about our current practices.” Whether the U.S. State Department can investigate its own misconduct should be clarified by the investigation.