21 Prostitutes May Have Visited Secret Service Hotel

Up to 21 prostitutes may have joined 11 Secret Service agents and not five but as many as nine military personnel in their hotel in Colombia, officials now say. As those numbers tick up, other numbers emerge—related to the payment that brought the scandal to light. The Washington Post talked to insiders in Cartagena who say agents paid $60 each to strip club owners to bring two women to the Hotel Caribe. The next day, one woman sought another $170, prompting the argument that brought the scandal to light.

MSNBC, however, talked to a government source who said the prostitute demanded more money for servicing two men, but the source said the argument was over another $40 to $60. In other financial news, it's emerged that two of the Secret Service agents involved were compensated at the top of the agency's pay scale, likely taking in at least $110,000 a year. Secret Service head Mark Sullivan is pushing for an independent investigation of the matter, Sen. Chuck Grassley tells the AP; Sullivan apparently claims he has been getting conflicting reports about whether the women were actually prostitutes. (More Secret Service stories.)