White House linked to Colombia prostitution scandal, cover-up ahead of 2012 election

A new report reveals that Senior Obama administration aides knew of a possible White House link to the 2012 Colombia prostitution scandal, despite repeatedly denying any involvement. The Washington Post reported Wednesday night that there was pressure on David Nieland, the lead investigator, to bury details, withhold evidence and work around election politics.

President Barack Obama meets with senior advisors in the Roosevelt Room. 2/16/09. Official White House Photo by Pete Souza

Citing new information from government documents and interviews, the Post concluded that senior aides were provided information suggesting a prostitute stayed overnight with a presidential advance-team member in Cartagena, Colombia.

“The information that the Secret Service shared with the White House included hotel records and firsthand accounts,” hte article notes. “The Secret Service shared its findings twice in the weeks after the scandal with top White House officials, including then-White House Counsel Kathryn Ruemmler. Each time, she and other presidential aides conducted an interview with the advance-team member and concluded that he had done nothing wrong.”

“We were directed at the time … to delay the report of the investigation until after the 2012 election,” Nieland told Senate staffers, according to three people with knowledge of his statement, the Post reported.

Nieland he was told by individuals higher up the chain “to withhold and alter certain information in the report of investigation because it was potentially embarrassing to the administration.”

Dania Londono Suarez detailed the interactions with secret service agents, noting that she easily could have stolen or copied documents the agents had in the hotel room. Suarez told Caracol News in Cartegena that she called the police after the Secret Service agent with whom she spent the night refused to pay her the $800 he had promised – the scandal was revealed.

Multiple Secret Service agents told the Post they were upset about what they saw as a double standard from the White House. They felt the administration was not investigating one of their own, while on the other hand placing full blame on the Secret Service.

Larry Berger, a lawyer who represented many of the agents, said they were treated “radically differently by different parts of the same executive branch.”

The White House adamantly denied the charges to the Post Wednesday.

“As was reported more than two years ago, the White House conducted an internal review that did not identify any inappropriate behavior on the part of the White House advance team,” principal deputy White House press secretary Eric Schultz said.

Rummler resigned during this summer.