notwithstanding the uproar, the director of the secret service, a 29-year veteran of the service, continueso have the support of thwhite house. >> the president has confidence director sullivan, director acted swiftly in response to this incint anis overseeing tha needs to be conducted. >> as of friday, three members of the secret service are out in the wake of this incendiary scandal. question, how big an embarrassment is this for the secret service, pat? >> it's enormous. they've stepped all over the president's mission, which we discussed to latin america, trying to put a message out. secondly it's just an enormous disaster for the secret service. we've got 11 agents and some supervisors in there engaged with all these prostitutes and as soon as they almost get into columbia, and it sugges this is not single within-off thing, that this may be sort of habitual practice going on here. and the tragedy is the secret service has enormous respect among the american people. i've about th nixon and reagan, i've flown a lot of these guys, they're outstanding guys. >> were you in columbia with nix

secret service, we did want to ask you some questions there. i'm of, of course, all americans are concerned about the safety of our president, whether it could have been jeopardized by it type of behavior just as i'm concerned about the safety of any of the protectees i mentioned governor romney, but there are several others. everybody the misconduct we've heard about, did that pose nel risk to the president's security when the in colombia or to national security? >> mr. chairman, that was my first question to director sullivan when he called me, and the answer is no. there was no risk to the president. >> and you made that will assessment? >> yes, based on the information supplied to me by the director. >> and is the secret service coordinating its internal investigation with the department of defense orness other u.s. agency that might have been involved in car ta hanian preparing for the president's arrival? >> mr. chairman, we are coordinating the investigation with the inspector general. we have an existing m.o.a. with the ig between the s

the secret service realizes that.spite the story back in 2002 when you look over the last ten years, this has been an outstanding organization. i think under director sullivan's leadership it's been very powerful, again, this thing in colombia is something that stands out. >> it's interesting in both the case of this scandal but also the general services administration scandal, the use of facebook and e-mail in talking about these excesses, here was an example back to the secret service story back in 2009, you had one of the secret service agents involved, agent haney posting on his site as he's protecting former candidate palin, i was really checking her out, you know what i mean. governor palin responded to that. >> this agent who was ridiculous in posting pictures and comments of checking someone out, check this out, body guard, you're fired. >> to go along with that, you also have in the base of the gsa, this regional director at the center of this lavish spending in las vegas. jeff neely. this is "the new york po

this is the secret service. they are charged with the protection of the life of the president and vice president of the united states and their families. from what we know of what was happening, they were not acting like secret service agents, they were acting like a bunch of college students away on spring weekend and it is more serious than just a frolick. history is full of cases where enemies have compromised people in security or intelligence positions with sex. and beyond that, and just a much more practical way, i don't think we want our secret service agents spending a lot of time drinking bottles of vodka and carousing with women before they are going on duty to protect the president of the united states. this is serious. >> chris: let's run through the key questions that people are asking that seem to be unanswered. any evidence that these women from what you have been told in briefings, any evidence that these women had access to privileged, secret, classified information whether they actually used it

on friday, another three secret service agents resigned, and the secret service announced that another agent was under investigation in a separate incident. do you know what this-- this latest person to be identified, what that-- what's going on there? >> right, bob. those announcements on friday were significant in two regards. one is it shows director sullivan at the secret service is pursuing this investigation aggressively and comprehensively. it's clear to me now that he's interviewing everybody from the secret service who was in cartagena. but what was striking to me and significant is that the 12th agent now put on administrative leave as of friday was not staying at the careen hotel where the other agencies were, but at the hilton. and the hilton is significant because that's where president obama was going to stay. now we don't know at this point that what 12th agent is being charged with and why he's been pout administrative leave. but now you're into the hotel where the profit united states was going to stay. and it'st just gets more troubling. >> schieffer: do you have any

his former wife was also a secret service employee.ce burger told cnn he's representing both cheney and stokes. he told us he's concerned about what he calls illegal leagues of privacy protected information coming from, quote, rogue elements within the secret service. burger says that's distorting the review of what happened. and he told the reuters news agency the officers are getting a raw deal. jessica. >> cnn's brian todd. for more on this, we turn to cnn national security contributor fran townsend. she's a member of the department of homeland security external advisory board. he has a point, there are a lot of leaks. first, let's start by asking where do you think the investigation goes from here, what's next? >> you know, it's interesting. it seems to come out in dribs and drabs. we had the supervisors dealt with first a couple days later. now three more resigning. the most interesting part of this is we learned tonight from dana bash that there's another individual who's been identified. so clearly as they interview each of the

secret service and u.s. military prostitution scandal, now six agents have lost their job and government bureaucrats living large on the taxpayers dime. these are not low-level employees. what were they thinking? and who's going to be accountable? and congressional watchdogs trying to get to the bottom of it. darrell issa of california and house homeland security committee chairman republican peter king of new york. then it's back to the campaign trail. has the president and governor romney tried to get into each other's hair. >> even if you like barack obama, we can't afford barack obama. it's time to get someone who will get this economy going and put the american people back to work. >> i wasn't born with a silver spoon in my mouth. michelle wasn't. but somebody gave us a chance. >> so just what kind of campaign are we in for? will either candidate figure out how to make washington work better at a time of so much pessimism and anxiety about the economy? senior campaign adviser to the president, david axe

secret service, this comes as quite a shock. we have more perspective on this tonight from a former agent with the presidential protection division of the secret service, who these days, by the way, is a republican candidate for u.s. senate from maryland. here now, his view of the scandal in his own words. >> the secret service is not just a job. it's a calling, and it was devastating to me, along with the fraternity of secret service brothers out there, this was hard to take. i was 12 years in the secret service, five years in the presidential protection identification. i was an instructor in our academy. i've seen the totality of the secret service, this is a national embarrassment. he's our president, he's overseas. he's not a democrat president, he's our president. this was an embarrassment. i know everyone in the case, i'm not apologize for anyone's behavior, and they aren't either. but lives are changed permanently, the ones i've talked to, their families are beat unup by this. the service, always adamant accent the point

now 12 secret service agents and 11 members of the u.s. military have been implicated in this scandal. six agents have already been forced out of the secret rv we're told investigators from the secret service and the pentagon have sought to interview some of the colombian women involved. they've obtained security video from the hotel el caribe and the member you see there, mark sullivan briefed the president in the oval office on friday, jay carney saying the president has faith in the secret service within the agency. joining me now, republican congressman from california, chairman of the house oversight and govern reform committee, darrell issa and republican congressman from new york, chairman of the homeland security committee, peter king. welcome to both of you. 7"t. >> thank you, david. >> congressman king, let me start with you. where is this, ultimately will everyone involved lose their job? >> i would say anyone who's found to be guilty will. as you know, there was 1 of the 11 has been partially exonerated and he will probably not

by the secret service itself. it would not be appropriate for the president to characterize something looked into by the secret service at this time. >> reporter: the incident occurred at this hotel, two days before the press got here, a woman one agent brought back to his room demanded payment and he refused and in the ruckus that followed other agents with other women emerged from their rooms and it became a hotel issue because the hole tell charges extra for guests and apparently some hadn't paid that. now, in a written statement, general douglas fraser, the head of southern command said he was, quote, disappointed by the entire incident. that this behavior is not in keeping with the professional standards expected of members of the united states military. and, secret service spokesman ed donovan said, quote, we regret any distraction from the summit of the americas, the situation has can you have. and says the president's security was never compromised and no members of his personal detail were involved in thi

the motto of the secret service is "worthy of trust and confidence." mark sullivan, the director and a 29-year veteran, sent an e-mail today to his 6,800 employees. he calls the incident "embarrassing" and says that the service has a history of operating with the very highest levels of professional and ethical behavior. the overwhelming majority of the men and women in the secret service live up to these standards every moment of everyday, i am honored to serve with you. norah o'donnell is at the white house tonight breaking new details on this story. norah? >> reporter: scott, today widespread embarrassment about this scandal has turned to disgust with a number of top administration officials concerned that this may tarn tisch reputation of the secret service. cbs news has learned two of the men involved were secret service supervisors and that at least three were members of the elite counterassault team, a unit which includes snipers and swat teams meant to support the president's personal protective detail. last night in colombia, the president was a

secret service prostitute scandal.bian hotel at a summit attended by president obama. at the hour, congressman peter king is here, he'll tell us what he's learning. >>> plus no details of how the israeli military might plan to attack iran's -- and is there a bounty on president barack obama's head right now? we caught one a british lawmaker accused of offering a reward for the president's capture. i'm wolf blitzer, you're in "the situation room." >> we have just learned that there's 11 members of the secret security service. they're looking into allegationsa they had press opportunities in their room. president obama is calling for a rigorous investigation. let's bring in our chief white house correspondent jessica yellin for the very latest. pretty shocking developments, especially to those of us like you and me who spent a lot of time with the secret service over the years. >> wolf, the latest developments also include now news that it's grown to ten individuals, the department of defense, ten military individuals wh

we let the boss down. >> reporter: the secret service said freeze actions have had no impact on the secret services ability to execute a comprehensive be security plan for the president's visit. >> this could have compromised the president's security, national security. >> reporter: the scandal is the latest incident that has fuelled the agency's effectiveness. >> a culture of the secret service, nodding, winking, favoritism. >> reporter: now, prostitution is little egal in parts of colo. all the agencies involved say the misconduct is a clear violation of their standards. >> thanks, kristen. we should add, for the good men and women of the u.s. secret service, this comes as quite a shock. we have more perspective on this tonight from a former agent with the presidential protection division of the secret service, who these days, by the way, is a republican candidate for u.s. senate from maryland. here now, his view of the scandal in his own words. >> the secret service is not just a job. it's a calling, and it was devastating to me, along with the fraternity of secret service brothers out

this is the secret service.y're charged with the protection of the life of the president and vice president of the united states and their families. from what we know of what was happening in cartagena, they were not acting like secret service agents. they were acting like a bunch of college students away on spring student. it'weekend. it's more serious than just a frolic. history is full of cases where enemies have compromised people and security or intelligence of positions with sex. and job that, just a much more practical way, i don't think we want our secret service agents, you know, spending a lot of time drinking bottles of vodka and corioucarousng with women before going on duty. >> chris: any evidence that the women, from what you have been told in briefings, any evidence that the women had access to privileged, secret, classified information, whether they actually used it or not? >> the answer i'm going to give is not conclusive, but everything i've heard from up to this point, there is no evidence tha

i'll say it again, you've worked with secret service, i've met secret service and this is an abberation> like you have great regard for the secret service and the director is doing a good job right now. >> thank you for letting us know. president obama's campaign team hitting a snag. apparently now having some major trouble reeling in cash from several big name donors, including previous powerhouse supporters from both wall street and hollywood. why are they staying away and what impact will all of this have on the president's reelection bid? peter doocy live from washington with more details, what's happening with the president? >> kelly, as you said, a lot of big donors are staying away from president obama's campaign this time around and a new york times report on friday lays out the reason why. and part of the reason is the fact there's no primary for democrats to get excited about and part of the reason is because the economy is still spt great and part of the reason because the donors come from wall street and many think the president has been too critical of their industry, now,

secret service incident. likely, that might dominate the press conference aulthough the white house is saying it's not primarily for this investigation. however, a lot of questions will be coming the way of the press secretary. >>> one of -- back in the states now, one of the accused tulsa shooters says he's not a racist despite being charged on the state level with a hate crime and murder. 19-year-old jake england is accused of killing three people on april 6th because they were black. in a jailhouse interview, he said he had grown up in a large african-american community in north tulsa and, quote, got along with everybody. >>> in baltimore now, a man is locked up, accused in a violent videotaped robbery that left a tourist beaten up and stripped of his clothes. cell phone videos of the crime went viral after it happened on st. patrick's day, and you can hear onlookers laughing at the victim as the criminals stole his clothes. the 20-year-old suspect is held on $1 million bond. >>> beejys star robin gibb has

that is president obama's word to describe secret service agents that consorted with prostitutes at the time of the summit of america's conference in columbia two weeks ago. 12 agents were investigated by the service lead by 29 year veteran director mark sullivan. three agents were reprimanded. nine terminated. the u.s. senate judiciary committee had questions for mr. obama's cabinet secretary for homeland security janet napolitano. >> the misconduct we heard about, did that pose any risk to the president's security in columbia? >> that was my first question to director sullivan when he called me and the answer was no. there was no risk to the president. >> as to whether the conduct was an isolated incident for the service, secretary napolitano said 2.5 years of records reviewed as of midweek showed no similar behavior. so was it isolated or was it standard behavior? that's the key question in the unfolding secret service scandal. there are new reports that what happened with prostitutes in columbia did happen elsewhere. allegations of misbehavior by agents surfaced this week about pres

what exactly happens next with the secret service agents? >>reporter: if well i think that obviously depends upon what the office of professional responsibility find. some may have more guilt in this incident than others. but i know one former secret service agent has said it's going to be very difficult for most of them to continue their careers after that investigation. >> travel with the president tonight in columbia, we know today thank you very much. >>> fongs weather alert. warning for millions of americans. life threatening storms targeting the heart land all day long and we are watching the situation developed tonight. as the sun begins setting in the plains. officials saying the area at risk spans from minnesota to texas. earlier in oklahoma here's a little bit of what could be coming. >> oh, god it's coming right on top of me. coming right on top of me. him if i'm escaping the tornado. it's right next to me. >> i tell you my heart skipped a beat when i realize how close some of the storm chasers get. he drove through a twister and

and secret service. could it happen under any president?yes. 15% said bad management by this president. specifically on secret service, where do you think this is headed? what does it say about the agency abroad? >> it's a good question where it is headed. if you look at the secret service broadly, i think the -- i agree with the president. this was a small group. i don't think we're likely to find widespread abuses of this type. which isn't to say we don't go back and hear about stories of frat like behavior from ten years ago. most people at the secret service risen through the ranks of law enforcement and accomplished, work hard and the reason they do what they do is they are willing to sacrifice themselves for a greater good, the opposite of the behavior we saw on display in colombia where it was instant self-gratification and irresponsibility. i don't think it's representative of the agency more broadly and i don't think it's president obama's problem. i agree with the people polled there. i don't think it falls in the lap of president

this is the secret service. they are charged with the protection of the life of the president and vice president of the united states and their families. for what we know of what was happening in cartagena they were not asking like secret servicing as but acting like a bunch of college students away on spring weekend. it is more serious. history of full of cases where enemies have compromised people with security or intelligence positions with sex. and it is just a much more practical way, i don't think we want our secret service agents spending a lot of time drinking bottles of vodka and associatizing with women before they go on duty to protect the president of the united states. but this is serious. >>chris: and now the key questions people are asking: any evidence these women had access to privileged or secret or classified action? >>guest: there is no evidence that information was compromised. but, again, if the secret service gets the reputation when they are off duty, when they are off duty they will be a

the secret service operates independently.oesn't matter whether it's a democrat or republican president. what these 11 agents did was entirely wrong. wrong in every respect. while again they could create a climate that people can use against the president, i'm saying that president obama had nothing to do with this. no responsibility. he was down there trying to do his job as president representing all the people. >> well, that is responsible of you to say that. i applaud you for doing so. what we know now is up to 21 women, prostitutes we believe, were involved in this. and this happened within hours of these guys getting to colombia. so clearly they got there and had just gone completely crazy. what was going through their minds, do you think? >> first of all, i think the 21 number relates to both the secret service and the military. i'm more familiar with the secret service. my understanding is 11 agents and 11 women. one for one. some were denying they were prostitutes. even if they weren't, it was totally wrong to take a

got a statement from the secret service and i'll read it now, from the secret service.t investigation in colombia has generated several new stories that contain allegations by mostly unnamed sources. any information brought to our attention that can be assessed as credible will be followed up in an appropriate manner, end quote, and that's all they sent us. we'll have more throughout the day on cnn. >>> coming up on "newsroom," if you're afraid of heights, wow. this next story will give you the chills. a daredevil falling from the heavens. we'll talk with an extreme test jump pilot who is planning to jump from 23 miles up in space. >>> plus, could age actually be an advantage in a tight job market? some say yes when it comes to baby boomers. i'll tell you why. on our car insurance. great! at progressive, you can compare rates side by side, so you get the same coverage, often for less. wow! that is huge! [ disco playing ] and this is to remind you that you could save hundreds! yeah, that'll certainly stick with me. we'll take it. go, big money! i mean, go. it's your brea

police went to the state department, the state department told the secret service, the secret servicel the cvent agents. it's clearly the biggest scandal in history. the only thing that comes close is the other story i also broke. corner-cutting. a lax attitude which contributes to this kind of thing. >> do we have an idea how many -- if all 12 were sent home, do we know how many were involved in this? >> my understanding, all 12 to one degree or another, whether actually doing it or covering it up. and they're all going to be investigating by the office of professional respondent. >> just to be clear, submitting to prostitution in colombia is not illegal, correct? >> right. as long as it's in designated areas. but, of course, it's totally inappropriate for secret service agents to be going to prostitutes, especially on a sworn trip and protecting the president and it subjects them to potential blackmail. the prostitutes knowing that an agent is with the secret service could blackmail them. many of them are married. could blackmail them by allowing a terrorist into a secured area whic

police went to the state department, state department told the secret service, secret service recalled all the agents, it is clearly the biggest scandal in secret service history. the only thing that comes close is the penetration of the state dinner by the salahis and it goes back to a culture of laxness in the secret service which i revealed in my book "in the president's secret service." a lax attitude which contributes to this kind of thing. >> do we have any idea if all 12 were sent home, how many were involved in this? >> my understanding is all 12 were to one degree or another, whether actually doing it or covering it up, and they are all going to be investigated by the office of professional responsibility. >> just to be clear, so lilicit prostitution is not illegal? >> right, in certain designated areas. but it's totally inappropriate for secret service agents to go to prostitutes, especially on a foreign trip when they are protecting the president. and exacts blackmail, one of these prostitutes knowing an agent is with the secret service, could blackmail him, many of them are