Secret Service scandal touches a nerve in D.C.

Investigation » Six Secret Service agents have been let go after a dozen were accused of cavorting with prostitutes.

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"If not, why not?" Grassley wrote.

A 12th member of the military, assigned to the WHCA, was implicated in the scandal and on Monday was relieved of his duties at the White House. Presidential spokesman Jay Carney, meanwhile, confirmed that the White House counsel had done his own investigation and ruled out any misconduct among White House employees who helped arrange Obama’s trip.

Distancing the White House from the scandal, Carney said the internal investigation was conducted out of an abundance of caution and not as the result of evidence of misconduct. And he made clear, over and over again, that WHCA, despite its name, is a military unit and not a White House one.

The gender politics that have infused every phase of the 2012 election make the issue especially sensitive.

"I can’t help but wonder if there’d been more women as part of that detail if this ever would have happened," Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said Sunday on ABC News’ "This Week."

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