Sunday, April 29, 2012

New Rules For Old Problems: An Update On The Secret Service Scandal

[Secret Service badge depiction from wikipedia]
Did you hear the latest news reports this past week about the Secret Service scandal in Cartagena?  A total of eight agents are now reportedly no longer with the agency.  The troubled agency is also reportedly implementing new conduct rules which, among other things, would prohibit agents from drinking alcohol on trips and forbid them from inviting any foreign guests back to their hotel rooms.  In addition, the agency will also reportedly assign chaperones to some foreign trips to make sure agents are acting appropriately!

What do you think about these new rules?  Do you believe the rules will really help?  Frankly, as a former federal prosecutor who has worked with Secret Service agents for many years, (see our law firm's website here), I don't believe the rules are necessary for most agents.  Again, as I have reported before, most Secret Service agents are highly trained and very professional.  In other words, they simply don't need any chaperones, or new conduct rules!  

In addition, in my opinion, I don't believe such rules will really help deal with the few "bad apples," who will always find ways to engage in such misconduct, no matter what the rules require.

What do you think? 

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