US drug agency chief Michele Leonhart to retire over DEA prostitute party scandal
Date April 23, 2015 - 4:13AM
Julie Hirschfeld Davis
New York Times
Leonhart spent 35 years working with the DEA. Photo: AFP
Washington: The Obama administration's top drug enforcement official will step down next month, US Attorney-General Eric Holder said, after her agency was tarnished by a scandal over sex parties with prostitutes and she broke with President Barack Obama on drug policy.
Michele Leonhart, the administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration, told Holder that she intended to retire, ending a 35-year tenure at the agency. In a statement, he called her a "trailblazer for equality" and a "good friend," but in recent years she had faced accusations of mismanagement.
Michele Leonhart has clashed with President Obama over marijuana policy. Photo: AP
Leonhart's impending departure after eight years in the top job follows a hearing last week in which lawmakers on the House Oversight Committee expressed outrage about her handling of reports that DEA agents in Colombia had participated in sex parties with prostitutes paid for by drug cartels.
It also comes after Leonhart parted with the White House on marijuana policy, opposing moves by states like Colorado and Washington to legalise its use, even as the president said they should be allowed to go forward, and resisting a push to reduce penalties for its use and distribution.
Her retirement could set off a battle on Capitol Hill over the nomination of her successor, with some liberal Democrats calling for Obama to name an administrator who backs a change in policy on marijuana, and conservative lawmakers opposing such a move.
"I encourage the president to use this as an opportunity to fill this important role with someone who understands the outdated federal approach to marijuana isn't working," said Oregon's Democratic congressman Earl Blumenauer. He added: "The American public has moved on. Most now feel marijuana should be legalised."
While some of Leonhart's views on drug enforcement had long been in conflict with Obama's, the deciding factor in her decision to step down appeared to be her management of the prostitution scandal.
Seven agents who admitted to the accusations were given suspensions of two to 10 days, and under harsh questioning from the House panel, Leonhart said that she had been powerless to take more aggressive action such as firing them or revoking their security clearances.
Holder has ordered a review of the DEA's Office of Professional Responsibility, including over how to improve investigations of misconduct and disciplinary procedures, said Emily Pierce, a Justice Department spokeswoman.
After the hearing last week, Josh Earnest, the White House press secretary, pointedly refused to defend Leonhart or say that the president had confidence in her. He said only that the allegations against the DEA agents were "troubling" and that Mr. Obama had "high expectations" for everyone serving in his administration.
