Outgoing U.S. President Donald Trump's last days in office have been bedeviled by controversy - and now there are accusations Trump's daughter, Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner banned Secret Service agents assigned to protect them from using the toilets in their house.
The couple's 5,000-square-foot home is located in Washington, D.C.'s Kalorama neighborhood - where the Obamas and other prominent political figures and celebrities reside - and has six bathrooms that are only for the exclusive use of the owners.
White House spokesperson Judd Deere denied that Ivanka and Jared banned their Secret Service detail from using the couple's bathroom.
But several reports detailed a toilet saga over months.
So, where did the Secret Service go to answer nature's call? A basement studio outside the couple's house.
The Secret Service detail spent months searching for a comfortable restroom to use on the job, neighbors and law enforcement officials said.
An agreement was struck with a neighbor to rent a basement studio, with a toilet, for $3,000 per month - paid for by taxpayers' money.
Sources say the rental of the pad was not only to provide bathroom facilities, but also to serve as a "downtime break room" and a command post of sorts for agents in the area.
The toilet accommodation was found after a port-a-potty set up outside the couple's house for the agents drew complaints from Kalorama residents in 2017. From Sept. 27 that year and onwards, the security detail rented the 820-square-foot basement. At $3,000 monthly.
That was after the Secret Service used a bathroom in the Obama's nearby garage.
According to the Washington Post, the Secret Service was booted out when the security detail's supervisor "left an unpleasant mess" in the Obama family's bathroom.
Two-mile round trips to U.S. Vice President Mike Pence's residence then followed. Sometimes, the Secret Service were forced to use restaurant toilets just to relieve themselves, according to sources.
"It's the first time I've ever heard of a Secret Service detail having to go to these extremes to find a bathroom," the Post quoted one law enforcement official as saying.
