Monday, April 23, 2012

CARNEY: White House cleared in Secret Service probe -- by Obama's lawyer...

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney announced that White House legal counsel has concluded no White House staff engaged in any "misconduct" in Cartagena.


"The decision to conduct a review here, internally, was simply done out of due diligence," Carney said. "There is no indication of any misconduct by any member of the White House advance team or staff."

He added that "there have been no specific, credible allegations of misconduct by anyone on the White House advance team or White House staff."

Carney refused to give any details on the investigation, such as whether the investigation included checking hotel records in Colombia or interviewing the White House advance team that went to Cartagena.

"There's no point in getting into the details of this internal review except to say that it was conducted," he said.

He also sought to distance the Obama administration from the White House Comunication Agency (WHCA) member under investigation over the Secret Service prostitution scandal.

"WHCA, as we call it, is staffed entirely by military personnel, not by White House staff," Carney told reporters when asked about reports that a WHCA member is under investigation. "They are not members of the White House staff, they are not chosen by the White House."