DEA Administrator Criticized in Committee Hearing for Response to Alleged Sex Parties

Published at 7:28 pm, April 14, 2015

EastIdahoNews.com Staff

Photo By Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call(WASHINGTON) — U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency Administrator Michele Leonhart was criticized by members of the House Oversight and Governmental Affairs Committee on Tuesday for her response to sex parties involving DEA agents in Colombia.

Leonhart attempted to explain to the committee why she could not fire the agents who participated in the parties with prostitutes paid for by drug cartels in government housing paid for by U.S. tax payers. Some of the agents received punishments between two and 14 days suspension without pay, but civil service protections made harsher discipline difficult, Leonhart said.

“It is embarrassing that you don’t fire that person,” committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, said. “If this is the kind of behavior that they’re going to engage in, it’s totally unacceptable. They should not have the security clearance and they should be fired.”

The allegations involved conduct that occurred between 2001 and 2012, some of which were revealed in a Department of Justice Inspector General report last week.

Leonhart has been in charge of the DEA since 2007, during the time when some of the allegations occurred.

Rep. Jody Hice, R-Ga., suggested Leonhart may need to be replaced. “We need to seriously consider new leadership at DEA,” he said.

The Inspector General report focused on how the four enforcement agencies housed in the Department of Justice, DEA, FBI, ATF and U.S. Marshals Service, handled misconduct allegations. The DEA had by far the largest share of allegations involving the solicitation of prostitutes overseas, accounting for 19 of 26 total offenses of this type among the four agencies

The report found that in many cases, DEA supervisors in the field did not notify headquarters about allegations of misconduct. One regional director who failed to move cases involving sex parties further up the chain of command was merely counseled as a reprimand for his actions.

Some members raised the possibility of amending the Title V of the Civil Service Act to allow for more swift and severe punishment for sexual misconduct. However, Chairman Chaffetz questioned whether the charges leveled at the agents involved with prostitutes were appropriate, suggesting that different charges could have resulted in dismissal.

Attorney General Eric Holder last week took the unusual step of issuing a memorandum to all Department of Justice employees expressly prohibiting the solicitation of prostitutes on or off duty in any foreign or domestic jurisdiction. “Department employees who violate these prohibitions will be subject to suspension or termination,” the memo states. Supervisors who fail to report such conduct are also subject to discipline.

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