WASHINGTON – Investigating the prostitution scandal at the Secret Service, the Homeland Security Department’s inspector general uncovered a hotel record suggesting a member of President Barack Obama’s team might have been involved, according to a summary of the case submitted to Congress. A senior administration official told The Associated Press the White House determined the record was false and that the person in question did nothing wrong.
The mere possibility of such an encounter raises the potential for election-year fallout for the White House, which reviewed the matter months ago and cleared all its workers of wrongdoing. In a sign of campaign politics, Republican lawmakers questioned the credibility of the White House review, as the White House feared.
“I am troubled that the (inspector general’s) findings reveal White House personnel may have been involved,” Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said in a statement. “The White House explicitly denied any involvement after its own investigation and now the IG is questioning that account. This raises concerns about the credibility of the White House investigation.”
Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, sent the White House a letter Thursday asking for more information about its internal review of the incident. Grassley also questioned whether the White House had any role in delaying the inspector general’s report, which had been expected to be completed months ago.
The acting inspector general, Charles K. Edwards, said the employee- described by the administration as a volunteer, not a staff member – “may have had contact with foreign nationals” and “may have been affiliated with the White House advance operation,” according to a letter to lawmakers obtained by the AP. Edwards cited as evidence a hotel registry obtained by his investigators.