Nov. 22 (UPI) — Three military personnel who’d been assigned to President Donald Trump during this month’s visit to Asia have been reassigned for having improper contacts with foreign women on the trip, Pentagon officials said Wednesday.
The personnel, part of the White House Communications Agency, broke curfew while in Vietnam, The Washington Post reported.
Trump visited Danang, Vietnam, on Nov. 10 and Hanoi the next day during his 12-day Asian trip.
A senior U.S. defense official confirmed the report to Fox News, and a Pentagon official told USA Today investigators are looking into the reports.
“We are aware of the incident, and it is currently under investigation,” Department of Defense spokesman Mark Wright said.
The White House Communications Agency handles technical support for presidential and vice presidential events and provides secure communications. The agency employs 1,200 staffers from all branches of the military.
The noncommissioned Army officers could lose their security clearance or be court-martialed if found guilty.
This summer, four Army and Air Force personnel with the WHCA assigned to Vice President Mike Pence were removed from their duties after being caught on video bringing women back to their hotel in Panama. A White House official told NBC News that Pence was still in the United States when the incident occurred.
In 2012, several Secret Service agents performing advance security preparations in Colombia for President Barack Obama were disciplined for bringing women to their hotel rooms.
Eight of the agents resigned, one lost security clearance and one was cleared of misconduct. At the time, Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan said the agency has “zero tolerance for this type of behavior.”
