Secret Service agent placed on leave after accusations of sexual assault on Harris campaign staffer
To say that the U.S. Secret Service has had a bad year in the media would be a massive understatement, and it keeps getting worse.
According to Fox News, the federal agency is investigating one of its own agents who was accused of sexually assaulting a staffer working on Vice President Kamala Harris' presidential campaign.
Real Clear Politics originally published the bombshell report, and multiple sources within the agency confirmed to the outlet that the alleged incident took place last week in Wisconsin.
The alleged incident happened while a team of agents were working on security measures in Green Bay for the Harris campaign.
What's going on?
Ultimately, the campaign event in Green Bay was canceled and Harris' campaign switched the event to take place in Atlanta, Georgia, which would be followed by a rally last week in Madison, Wisconsin.
The sources reported that after the team finished up their work in Green Bay for the evening, a group of agents and staffers went out for drinks that evening. The party was later moved to the alleged victim's hotel room.
Reports indicated that the alleged sexual assault took place in the hotel room.
#SecretService can’t catch a break!
New Report: SS agent is accused of sexual assault on VP Harris staff & are already placed “on leave”. That’s correct & quick action.
Would be nice if agents responsible for debacle in Butler, PA received same quick reprimand. Still waiting… pic.twitter.com/fPesR1heME
— Jenny Korn (@JennySKorn) September 26, 2024
Fox News noted:
The suspect, who was intoxicated at the time, had forced himself on the victim and began groping her, the report claims. The incident was witnessed by other people.
The suspect was reportedly so drunk that his coworkers kicked him out of their hotel room, and he fell asleep in the hallway.
A spokesperson for the agency released a statement in the wake of the shocking allegations.
"The U.S. Secret Service Office of Professional Responsibility is investigating a misconduct allegation involving an employee," the spokesperson said. "The Secret Service holds its personnel to the highest standards."
Disciplinary action
The Secret Service also noted that the person involved was placed on leave.
"The employee has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation," the Secret Service said in the statement.
Harris' campaign released a generic statement saying that it has a zero-tolerance policy for such actions. No further details were provided.