Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano told Congress that prostitution incidents such as the ongoing Secret Service scandal could make President Obama vulnerable to foreign intelligence operations.
“There may be a risk and that’s why this behavior cannot be tolerated,” Napolitano told Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., after he asked about the risk to Obama if “the prostitutes had connections with Colombian criminal networks or foreign intelligence services.” Sheldon made clear that he was not arguing that the Colombian prostitutes had those connections.
“I think we have planned to keep the committee briefed on what we find and whether there could on future basis be that kind of risk,” Napolitano said during the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing this morning.
Whitehouse added that there was “certainly a risk” of foreign intelligence officers gaining access to the president in scenarios similar to the Secret Service scandal.
