Military drawn into Secret Service scandal

CARTAGENA, Colombia -- An embarrassing scandal involving prostitutes and Secret Service agents widened Saturday when the U.S. military confirmed five service members staying at the same hotel in Colombia may have been involved in misconduct as well. The allegations overshadowed President Barack Obama's diplomacy in Latin America and threatened to bruise America's image.

The White House found itself having to insist that Obama still had full confidence in the agency designed to protect his life.

The Secret Service sent home about a dozen agents for misconduct that occurred at their hotel before Obama's arrival in Colombia on Friday; The Associated Press confirmed that the behavior in question involved prostitutes.

Another development came Saturday when the U.S. Southern Command said five service members assigned to support the Secret Service violated their curfew and may have been involved in inappropriate conduct.

The military members remained in Colombia confined to their quarters and ordered not to have contact with others.

White House spokesman Jay Carney said it was part of the same incident involving the Secret Service.

Put together, the allegations were an embarrassment for a U.S. president on foreign soil and threatened to upend White House efforts to keep his trip focused squarely on boosting economic ties with fast-growing Latin America. Obama was holding two days of summit meetings with regional leaders before heading back to Washington Sunday night.

The Secret Service was investigating what happened.

Rep. Peter King, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, told the AP after he was briefed on the investigation Saturday that "close to" all 11 of the agents involved had brought women back to their rooms at a hotel separate from where Obama is now staying.

King (R-Seaford) said the women were "presumed to be prostitutes" but investigators were interviewing the agents.