The chairman of the House Oversight Committee vowed to investigate allegations of sex parties by Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) officials and said he would work to fire those found responsible.
Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) accused the DEA and other federal law enforcement agencies of letting poor conduct fester in their ranks and said he would work to punish any “bad apples.”
{mosads}“Let there be no mistake — this is a national security threat,” Chaffetz said in a statement.
“We need to weed out those who risk our national security, embarrass the country and skirt the law,” he added.
He said the misconduct by DEA agents “follows a disturbing pattern of risky and improper behavior afflicting [the Department of] Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Justice (DOJ).”
“We need to find the root of the culture and management problems inside these agencies that allow such behavior to be left unchecked,” he said. “This needs to end.”
The DOJ’s Office of the Inspector General reported Thursday that multiple DEA agents held sex parties with prostitutes paid with drug cartel funds at an overseas post.
The watchdog’s investigation found that foreign police officers organized multiple events between 2005 and 2008 at the installation.
“The foreign officers that in addition to soliciting prostitutes, three DEA [Supervisory Special Agents] in particular were provided money, expensive gifts, and weapons from drug cartel members,” the report said.
It added that seven of the 10 DEA agents implicated in involvement with the parties admitted attending them.
The accusations emerged as part of a larger review of sexual misconduct and harassment policies within law enforcement agencies under the DOJ’s guidance.
Politico reported Thursday that the alleged incidents likely took place in Colombia.