Daniel Maibenco
A few weeks ago, I wrote about how the secret service was not doing its job in protecting the President. Specifically, I wrote about how their failure to pay attention, use necessary force and avoid temptations are sending the wrong message. I wrote about how the scandal in Bogata, Columbia was especially damning, since many agents put more focus on partying and drinking with prostitutes than the president’s safety.
Now, there is new and even more incendiary information. Late last week, reports came out and suggested that a member of the White House advance team may have been involved in the antics with the agents. The information identifies the possible involvement of white house aide Jonathon Dach, son of Leslie Dach, a major contributor to Democratic presidential campaigns.
It is also reported that the white house was notified of Mr. Dach’s behavior. The Secret Service investigated the misconduct and passed on the information of Mr. Dach’s involvement to then White House counselor Kathryn Ruemmler. The lead investigator from the inspector general’s office in this case says he was forced to withhold and delay the information until after the 2012 elections. This was done under pressure from his direct superiors.
Throughout early to late 2012, The Obama administration denied that any staffer was involved. They all said they were willing and able to cooperate with the inspector general from the Department of Homeland Security to resolve the issue. Also at this time, a $20,000 check from Leslie Dach to the Obama campaign was refunded and no explanation was given nor needed until now.
Mr. Dach denies any involvement in this prostitution scandal. He is no longer a member of the white house advance team, but transferred to the state department. He works in their Office of Women’s issues. Isn’t that ironic?
I find this new development absolutely jaw dropping and a complete disgrace. Several agents resigned, retired or were fired over this. Recently, the head of the Secret Service, Julia Pierson, was forced out due to all the recent shortcomings. One might now ask: Why was Jonathon Dach not punished? Why was he protected? Why did the Obama administration hide this from the public?
If Mr. Dach was involved, he should have been fired and the administration should have immediately come clean. A simple statement saying how this behavior and the message it sends about women is wrong and will not be tolerated. Period. This would have been simple and sufficient for the press and the public. They would have let this blunder in the administration go if they would have taken immediate action.
Now, instead of sympathy towards the President and the administration over the Secret Service issues, some view this with suspicion. They view this as another weak link towards Obama’s credibility. Those who are concerned about our nation’s future consider the investigations into Benghazi, the IRS, and Fast and Furious as cover-ups. This now may be another cover-up. The new information now brings renewed scrutiny. Will wrongdoers in the Obama administration get a pass to misbehave, or will they rely on their family connections to bail them out of trouble? The overall message from this new information leak is that the commander-in-chief needs to run a competent and capable government. This issue, once thought resolved, may lead to trouble during the next presidential election.