After the prostitution scandal, many wondered if the agency suffered from deep-seated cultural problems. Which is exactly what a group of black agents — including Paula Reid, the woman who blew the whistle on the scandal — have been alleging for over a decade.
Agents accompany President Obama in Florida.
(Getty Images / Joe Raedle)
The Secret Service's new head of South American operations — the woman who blew the whistle on a prostitution scandal rocking the agency — was also among the black Secret Service agents who filed a class action lawsuit alleging that they were systematically passed over for promotions because of institutionalized racism within the agency. The suit by the agent, Paula Reid, and her colleagues paints a picture of exactly the kind of "macho culture" invoked by, say, a night of haggling over cash with Colombian prostitutes.
Reid, who is black, gave a statement in the 2000 lawsuit, Moore vs. Chertoff, alleging that black agents were given lesser assignments than their white coworkers. She also told USA Today in 1997 that her supervisors often overlooked her in favor of male agents.
Last week, CNN asked "whether a strong macho element in the culture of the U.S. Secret Service could pose a threat to security." But it looks like Reid already knew the answer to that question — she just wasn't in a position to help fix it until she entered her new role.
