Obama waiting to pass judgment on Secret Service case
A dozen Secret Service agents and a handful of U.S. service members have been accused of misconduct in Colombia.
President Obama will wait until the investigation involving the Secret Service agents accused of misconduct is completed before he passes "final judgment," he said on Sunday in Cartagena, Colombia.
"If it turns out that some of the allegations made in the press are true, then of course I'll be angry," Obama said during a news conference when asked about allegations of misconduct that, according to reports, included involvement with prostitution. He added that his expectation is that U.S. citizens behave with "dignity and probity."
A dozen Secret Service agents and a handful of U.S. service members have been accused of misconduct in Colombia, where the president attended the weekend-long Summit of the Americas. The details of what happened are not entirely clear.
The agents were relieved of duty. The five military service members are facing an investigation and were staying at the same hotel as the agents, Col. Scott Malcom, a United States Southern Command spokesman, said on Saturday.
The summit of about 30 countries closed without a declaration on Sunday, the Associated Press reported. The United States and Canada opposed a measure other nations backed that calls for Cuba's participation in hemispheric meetings. Also left unresolved were Argentine claims to the Falkland Islands.
Asked if the U.S. position on Cuba was motivated by the president's impending reelection race, Obama said it was Cuba's failure to transition to democracy that kept the United States from offering full-throated support for the island nation in regional organizations. Obama said the U.S. would remain neutral on the issue of the Falkland Islands.
The leaders agreed to meet again in 2015 in Panama, the AP reported.