Secret Service Agents, Timothy Barraclough and Ignacio Zamora Jr., Fired From Obama’s Detail For Alleged Misconduct

Two Secret Service supervisors have been fired from President Barack Obama’s security detail following the discovery that they were sending sexually suggestive emails to a subordinate female agent, reports The Washington Post. Their removal was the result of an investigation following an incident when one of them allegedly attempted to force his way into a woman’s room.

During the May incident at the famous Hay-Adams Hotel in Washington, Ignacio Zamora Jr., a senior supervisor, was found trying to force his way into a woman's room after he accidentally left a bullet from his weapon, authorities said. As officials investigated that occurrence, they uncovered emails that were sent by Zamora and a second supervisor, Timothy Barraclough. The emails were described as sexually suggestive by a source close to the case who spoke with The Post. As a result of the investigation, Zamora has now been removed from his role and Barraclough is no longer on the president’s detail and working with another area of the division.

Four people who were briefed on the case provided the details of the Hay-Adams incident, but agency spokesman Ed Donovan told the Post that no employees wished to comment. According to The Post, the inspector general’s office remained unaware of the incident at the Hay-Adams until the paper began asking questions in October. Sources say the case wasn’t referred to the inspector general until Oct. 28.

This latest incident is an additional blow to the service after it was discovered that several male agents brought prostitutes back to their rooms in Cartagena, Colombia, after a night of drinking during a presidential summit in April 2012. This incident led to an investigation of the incident and ultimately the resignation of then-director Mark Sullivan in response to the scandal. He was replaced by the service’s first female director, Julia Peterson, this March.