Secret Service agent accused of sexually assaulting Harris campaign staffer: report
Secret Service details communication error in Trump attack
A U.S. Secret Service probe found communication gaps and a lack of diligence ahead of the July attempted assassination of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at a Butler, Pennsylvania, rally. LiveNOW from FOX host Josh Breslow spoke to Jillian Snider, retired NYPD officer & adjunct lecturer at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, on the latest.
A U.S. Secret Service agent is on leave after he was accused of sexually assaulting a member of Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign staff, reports say.
The Secret Service did not provide details of the incident, but the agency did confirm that an agent has been accused of misconduct. The Secret Service provided the following statement to FOX TV Stations:
"The U.S. Secret Service Office of Professional Responsibility is investigating a misconduct allegation involving an employee. The Secret Service holds its personnel to the highest standards. The employee has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation."
READ MORE: US Secret Service: What to know about one of America’s oldest agencies
According to Real Clear Politics, it happened last week in Green Bay, Wisconsin, where Secret Service agents were with Harris staffers planning for a campaign event that never happened.
FILE - Secret Service officer is seen near the Walter E. Washington Convention Center ahead of the NATO Summit in Washington D.C., United States of America on July 8th, 2024. (Photo by Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
The report says the agent in question had joined several Harris staffers for food and alcoholic drinks at a local restaurant after work. When the group went back to a Harris staffer’s hotel room, the agent reportedly forced himself on a female staff member and groped her in front of other people.
Secret Service agents are prohibited from drinking any alcohol within 10 hours of reporting for duty.
Secret Service under fire
Secret Service to ramp up security on Jan. 6
The U.S. Secret Service (USSS) will ramp up security on Jan. 6, 2025, in an effort to "ensure the safety and security" of the upcoming Electoral College vote count at the Capitol. The agency released a statement noting that Jan. 6, 2025, has been "designated a National Special Security Event by the Secretary of Homeland Security."
The misconduct investigation is yet another blow to an agency already under scrutiny for multiple failures that allowed a gunman to open fire at a July rally for former President Donald Trump.
Similar to the Secret Service’s own internal investigation and an ongoing bipartisan House probe, an interim report from the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee released Wednesday found multiple failures on almost every level ahead of the Butler, Pennsylvania shooting, including in planning, communications, security and allocation of resources.
READ MORE: Secret Service uniformed officer accidentally shoots himself while on duty
The report found the Secret Service was notified about an individual on the roof of the building approximately two minutes before shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire, firing eight rounds in Trump’s direction less than 150 yards from where the former president was speaking.
Trump, the 2024 Republican presidential nominee, was struck in the ear by a bullet or a bullet fragment in the assassination attempt, one rallygoer was killed and two others were injured before the gunman was killed by a Secret Service counter-sniper.
READ MORE: Video shows where Trump assassination suspect lay in wait outside golf course
The House panel is also investigating a second assassination attempt on Trump earlier this month when Secret Service agents arrested a man with a rifle hiding on the golf course at Trump’s Florida club.
Democrats and Republicans have disagreed on whether to give the Secret Service more money in the wake of its failures. A spending bill on track to pass before the end of the month includes an additional $231 million for the agency, but many Republicans have said that an internal overhaul is needed first.
On Saturday, a Secret Service uniformed officer was injured when he accidentally shot himself while handling his weapon while on duty.