Obama Blames 'Knuckleheads' for Scandal at Secret Service

3 more agents are out of jobs
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 24, 2012 5:48 PM CDT
Obama Blames 'Knuckleheads' for Scandal at Secret Service
A member of the Secret Service waits with a limo while President Obama arrives at Raleigh-Durham International Airport on April 24.   (Getty Images)

President Obama tried to defuse the Secret Service scandal a bit during an interview with Jimmy Fallon that airs tonight, reports USA Today. The agents on the whole are "incredible," said Obama. “They protect me, they protect our girls. A couple of knuckleheads shouldn’t detract from what they do. What they were thinking, I don’t know. That’s why they’re not there anymore.”

Along those lines, three more agents involved in the Colombian scandal lost their jobs today, reports the Washington Post. Two resigned and another lost his security clearance, which disqualifies him from the Secret Service (pending appeal) but not necessarily from work at another federal agency. Two others were cleared of serious charges but face administrative action. That settles all 12 cases. Of those, nine agents are (or will be) gone from the service and three were cleared of serious misconduct. (More Secret Service sex scandal stories.)

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