Federal Air Marshal Service misconduct under scope at House panel hearing

A scandal regarding two Federal Air Marshals who posed as pornography producers as they hired prostitutes and filmed their sexual encounters on government-issued cellphones came to light as the agency investigated a fraudulent disability claim, according to testimony given Thursday at a congressional oversight hearing.

Lawmakers digging into the latest sex scandal to hit a federal law enforcement agency said Thursday they were pleasantly surprised with the handling of the incident by the agency’s management.

Two air marshals have had their security clearances revoked and are on continued suspension without pay while the investigation proceeds, said Roderick Allison, director of the Federal Air Marshal Service. A third has since resigned from the agency.

“We found about this in June, and by mid-July all these individuals were suspended without pay,” Mr. Allison said during Thursday’s hearing before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

The director went further, saying his hope is that the remaining two marshals also will be forced out of the agency.

“For law enforcement officers to engage in this conduct, that really contributes to the scourge of human trafficking, is reprehensible,” Mr. Allison said. “These individuals are a disgrace to the profession. I am going to take a personal interest in making sure these people are shown the door.”

The marshals were not supervisors, and their sexual encounters were not believed to have involved minors or foreign nationals, Mr. Allison said. Prompted by questions about whether the activity had been ongoing for any length of time, Mr. Allison said he suspected that it had.

He also noted that the investigation into disability fraud had been turned over to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for potential prosecution.

Officials declined to say how the fraud investigation led to the sexual misconduct investigation. However, CNN reported that the videos taken of two marshals engaged in sexual activity with prostitutes was discovered while one marshal was showing investigators video to disprove another marshal’s workers’ compensation claim.

Rep. Jason Chaffetz, chairman of the oversight committee, praised the Federal Air Marshal Service’s handling of the allegations with those of the Secret Service, which in 2012 faced its own sex scandal.

“I really thought what we were going to find was yet another agency that wasn’t dealing with that in an appropriate way,” said Mr. Chaffetz, Utah Republican. “I have been very impressed with the openness and transparency with the Federal Air Marshal system, their interaction with our committee and what they did in a very decisive and swift manor.”

Nearly two dozen Secret Service agents were disciplined or fired after agents brought prostitutes into their hotel in Cartagena, Colombia, ahead of President Obama’s 2012 trip there.

The former head of the Drug Enforcement Administration also came under fire earlier this year amid allegations that drug agents attended sex parties with prostitutes while stationed overseas.

Prior reports about misconduct by air marshals surfaced earlier this year, with news outlets reporting that marshals’ schedules were being rearranged for the purpose of sexual trysts and at times leaving high-risk flights without law enforcement coverage.

Mr. Allison said the investigation into those incidents is ongoing. He added that he did not believe the disclosure of the latest allegations was indicative of a cultural problem within the agency.