The Secret Service sex scandal just keeps getting worse and worse. The latest says that some of the prostitues involved were even under age and they may have even compromised the President's schedule! Dan Bongino is a former Secret Service agent who served under both the Bush and Obama administrations. What does he think about the allegations being levied at the world’s premiere protective force? Any chance this actually happened or is a set up more likely? Bongino offered his unique perspective on the scandal to Glenn on radio this morning.
Rush Transcript of Interview:
GLENN: Investigators probing the secret service process substitute scandal are looking into whether the girls involved now were underage. This story gets worse and worse and worse and one of the guys who I have great faith in is a -- is a decent, honorable man. Of course, I've never asked him if he's ever been with hookers -- is Dan Bongino. He is running for Congress in Maryland. He is a guy who -- what?
STU: Senate.
PAT: Senate.
GLENN: And he's -- he's -- was with the secret service, did advance work for the secret service under Bush and Obama. Right, Dan?
BONGINO: That's right, Glenn.
GLENN: Okay.
BONGINO: Thanks for having me.
GLENN: And I'm reading this story, Dan, and I've wanted to talk to you for the last few days. What is going on here?
BONGINO: What a mess, Glenn. I mean, personally for me, professionally, we have been out on this story from the start. You know, we don't only do the good stories, unlike most politicians who go and hide under a rock. We are -- this is a disgrace. I have a brother who was on the trip who has been providing information. Thank God he's not involved in any prostitution component of it, but has been actively involved in it and it is -- it's an embarrassment. It's a disgrace to the secret service and I really hope and, Glenn, you know a lot of secret service agents. We've known each other for awhile, that this does not forever tarnish --
GLENN: So you're saying that all of this stuff is true, that this is --
BONGINO: I don't know about all of it because I don't even know at this point who knows when something else if going to leak out or come out at this point, but, yeah, unfortunately a lot of what's come out is true and --
GLENN: Do you believe that there is any kind of foreign influence that these guys were set up at all?
BONGINO: I can't say. I don't know, but I really can't say for sure, but, you know, certainly, you know, there's always potential for things like that when you get involved of situations of tremendously poor judgment. That may be the understatement of the year.
GLENN: Tremendously poor judgment. Hang on just a second. 11 secret service agents? Is this the kind of behavior that you saw with your comrades?
BONGINO: You know, Glenn, I've always been straight with you and absolutely not. This is a -- on the presidential protection division where I was, I gave a quote to the New York Times that these guys lived like monks and I meant it. I meant every word it. I mean, these guys -- all they -- they used to go to the hotel and they would be (inaudible) to work out.
PAT: Did you ever -- did you ever go on a secret service trip to Columbia, Dan?
BONGINO: Couple of times. I've been to Bogota. I've been to Cartagena, yeah.
GLENN: Have you stayed at that hotel?
BONGINO: No, no. I stayed in the old city, there's a city in the new city and they were in the new city.
PAT: How many hookers were you involved with?
BONGINO: Oh, Glenn.
PAT: Could you even count?
GLENN: That's Pat. I'm not asking that. I want to know how many were underage, but that's a different -- that's a different story. So, hang on just a second. So, I you've never seen this behavior?
BONGINO: No.
GLENN: So, this is a wild aberration?
BONGINO: Yeah, it is.
GLENN: And did you -- did or did you not receive training and instructions that -- that you have to be on the straight and narrow when you're in a foreign country or even in our country because that puts you in a compromised position?
BONGINO: Sure. It's almost to the point -- with the training they give you, you've got to take a lot of the online courses and go to -- you know those courses, just click next, next, you have to read them and take tests with them, that I remember people saying, I can't remember we have to take this course again on expected behavior. The secret service stakes its reputation, I mean, obviously --
GLENN: The reputation --
BONGINO: -- the President of the United States.
GLENN: The reputation of the secret service under this President I contend is being so tarnished. The limo was stuck and bottomed out. I mean, I -- who didn't -- who didn't drive that route in advance? Do you remember that?
BONGINO: Yeah. Actually --
PAT: It was high centered? Yeah.
GLENN: It was high centered. Ridiculous. They're questioning a little kid up in Oregon in the Seattle area. All kinds of stuff that have happened with the --
PAT: With the unwanted guests at the parties.
GLENN: Yeah.
PAT: That got through security around the President.
GLENN: Dan, how did that happen? How did two guests get into the White House?
PAT: Is this a whole new secret service under Obama or what is going on? How could it have gone so far afield in just the last few years since you've been there, Dan?
BONGINO: As a matter of fact, with the change in administration, some of these agents are the same ones that were with President Bush. I was there for the transition. I didn't (inaudible) Bush administration in two years with President Obama. So, those are problems -- I don't work for the secret service anymore. I haven't been there for a year, but I have (inaudible) campaign to the former secret service agent and it was my responsibility to get out here and say, Yeah, what you're saying is true. They've had some real black eyes and it's unfortunate this black eye cements to be the blackest eye of all and at some point they're going to have to move forward.
GLENN: Is our President in danger, Dan?
BONGINO: No, no, not -- although --
GLENN: Well, if you have 11 -- if you have 11 secret service agents with such bad judgment that while he's in one of the most dangerous countries in the world, that they are -- they're having underage -- possible underage sex with hookers, how can we be -- how can we be assured at all?
BONGINO: I know. This is not a moment where America's proud of our secret service, but I want you to assure you that the guys, a lot of -- I mean, I missed countless birthdays. I mean, my daughter once told me when I came home -- I was on the road 300 days one year -- you know, dad, I hope you sleep good tonight (inaudible) because I was gone so often. I mean, these are guys that have really sacrificed, Glenn. They've sacrificed a lot and they would (inaudible.) And I really hope this doesn't permanently tarnish those guys. These guys fools. They made foolish decisions. Again, one of them (inaudible.) Terrible decisions, Glenn, and no one is apologizing for it, but I really hope that those guys who put in blood, sweat, and tears to keep our President alive and have been successful for decades, since the Reagan incident, I really hope this doesn't tarnish for them. It's embarrassing for them. It really embarrasses me. I don't even work for them anymore. It really stinks having to do these kind of interviews.
STU: It's certainly not something to beat up the secret service and just by the evidence that we've had over the years of talking to so many people from the secret service, this is hard to believe this is anything but an exception.
GLENN: A total aberration. To me it doesn't make any sense, but then I hear this report. This is out today and I'd love to get your comment on this. Your phone is breaking up a little bit. I don't know if you're moving into a bad section, but listen to this audio.
(Audio played.)
VOICE: They don't even insist on regular physical fitness testing or regular firearms requalification testing. Sometimes they will ask agents to fill out their own test scores on these things which is just dishonest. All this culture filters down and I think led to this really scandalous situation.
GLENN: Is that true? Is any of that stuff true?
BONGINO: No. I think he's talking about moments where, you know, if you were at a UN, during a really busy time, United Nations where no one's in their field office, where you go to a gym at the hotel and do a fitness test because there was just nowhere around. I mean, that's how you may have filled it out, but there's nothing unusual about it. That wasn't a big conspiracy. As for the firearms, if you don't -- you have to shoot every month on the presidential detail. If you miss a month, that was it. You were done. (Inaudible.) So, I never saw that.
GLENN: Okay. All right.
BONGINO: But, yeah (inaudible.)
GLENN: All right. That's good news. Help me out on one more thing and, that is, according to NBC news, the incident raised a possibility of potential security breach, telling NBC news that all secret service personnel had been given copies of the President's schedule which they were told to lock up safe in their hotel rooms. If they had hookers in their hotel rooms, didn't that pose a danger to the President of the United States?
BONGINO: You can lock up your paperwork on a secure floor (Inaudible.) The entire floor, every room. That's the code. That's what you do. If you didn't do that, of course -- and I can't say that happened on this trip. From my source, it did not. There was no paperwork. I can't attest to that personally, Glenn, me not being there, but, yeah, that's wrong if that was the case and forget about a hooker. Anyone who is a foreign national who is in your room with the President's itenary, that would be disastrous. I'm hearing that is not the case here, that all the paperwork was properly secured. You know, I hope, but, again, I wasn't there and I'm not privy to the investigation, but I'm speculating on that.
GLENN: Dan, I appreciate your honesty and, I mean, that's why I called you, because you are a -- you are a guy that I trust. I have seen you in action. I've seen your honor and integrity over the years and I respect you and I respect the guys -- you know how I feel about the secret service.
BONGINO: Yeah. We've had this conversation many times. He's not lying to you. On the air, off the air, he's telling the exact same thing.
GLENN: All right. Thanks a lot, Dan. God bless you.
STU: He's running for U.S. Senate in Maryland. Bongino.com is his website.
GLENN: And if I were living in Maryland and had a guy to vote for, Dan Bongino would be the guy. Did we put the thing up there about all the different people that we're -- that like Dan that I've met with personally? Is that up at glennbeck.com?
STU: I think it is, yeah.
GLENN: People that I've met with -- if you're looking -- and there's only about 10 of them up there. If you're looking for, you know, is this guy good, bad guy, I can just tell you I've met with -- I don't know -- 6 or 10 of these guys around the country and this is a list of people that I say I would feel comfortable with these guys. I think more than comfortable with these guys. And you can find that list at glennbeck.com and Dan is clearly one of them.
