A dozen Secret Service agents have been removed from their posts in Colombia, U.S. officials confirm, following incidents of "misconduct" that sources say relate to at least one refusing to pay a prostitute for her services.
The agents were stationed in that country ahead of President Obama's arrival for the Summit of the Americas, which started today.
Secret Service spokesman Ed Donovan has not yet disclosed the nature of the allegations that resulted in replacing these agents with new ones, though insiders tell The Washington Post that at least one agent solicited a prostitute - the act is legal in certain Colombian areas - who then went to the police when she was not paid.
None of those relieved of duty was a member of the President's security detail.
Ronald Kessler, the author of "In the President's Service" and a former reporter for The Washington Post, told CBS News this represents "the biggest scandal in Secret Service history" and marks a "tremendous embarrassment to the U.S."