The White House, amid reports that Drug Enforcement Agency Administrator Michele Leonhart is expected to resign, pointedly declined to express confidence in her leadership.
“We continue to have concerns about the material that was presented in the inspector general report that raised legitimate questions about the conduct of DEA officers,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters Tuesday.
It was the second time in a week that Earnest didn’t express confidence in Leonhart when pressed on the issue.
When asked if President Obama would accept her resignation, Earnest said he didn’t want to speculate about any personnel decisions at this point.
CBS and CNN, quoting a senior administration official, reported Tuesday that Leonhart is planning to resign.
A recent damning inspector general report chronicled years of sexual misconduct and bribery charges against senior DEA special agents based in Colombia. Leonhart was confirmed as DEA chief in 2010, although she was serving in an acting capacity since November 2007.
The inspector general report revealed that several DEA agents, and possibly senior supervisors in the Colombia office, engaged in “sex parties” with prostitutes paid for by Colombia drug cartels.
During a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing last week, members of Congress harshly criticized Leonhart for the Justice Department’s response to the inspector general investigation, accusing top officials of withholding information or dragging their feet.
The committee conducted its own investigation and uncovered similar “sex party” misconduct dating back to 2001.
