Barn Door Closed After Horses Have Escaped

The Secret Service has issued new guidelines after the Colombia scandal that will hopefully curtails the behavior of agents in the field. The regulations outline alcohol consumption, visitors, and standard behavior. I’m wondering after reading the article, why some of these regulations weren’t in place before.

The new rules issued on Friday say that “foreign nationals, excluding hotel staff and official counterparts, are prohibited in your hotel room.”

“Alcohol may only be consumed in moderate amounts while off-duty on a TDY (temporary duty) assignment, and alcohol use is prohibited within 10 hours of reporting or duty,” the rules say.

Furthermore, alcohol may not be consumed at all at the hotel where the person being protected by the Secret Service is staying once that person has arrived.

Also, as reported earlier this week, the Secret Service is investigating the behavior of agents prior to President Obama’s trip to El Salvador last year.