PITTSBURGH (AP) — A U.S. Secret Service agent has been accused of groping and sexually harassing a member of Vice President Kamala Harris’s official staff during a trip last week, three people familiar with the matter said.
The Secret Service Office of Professional Responsibility is investigating an allegation of misconduct involving an employee, according to the law enforcement agency charged with protecting the president, vice president, candidates and some members of Congress. “The Secret Service holds its personnel to the highest standards,” the statement released Wednesday said.
Harris’ office said in a statement that “we have zero tolerance for sexual misconduct” and that the office “takes staff safety seriously.”
The agent was traveling with Harris staffers in Wisconsin last week to scout possible locations for a visit by the Democratic presidential candidate when the group went out for dinner and drinks. The agent, who appeared to be intoxicated, is accused of groping the woman in front of others after they returned to the hotel, according to the people, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation.
The employee was removed from his unit and placed on administrative leave pending the results of the investigation, the Secret Service said.
The news comes as the agency faces a mountain of criticism over two attempted assassinations of Republican candidate Donald Trump. On July 13, Trump suffered a graze wound to his ear when a gunman targeted him at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. A second failed assassination attempt was carried out on September 16 at Trump’s golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida.
A damning bipartisan congressional report released Wednesday on the first attempted assassination found that there was no clear chain of command between the Secret Service and other intelligence agencies and no plan for covering the building where the gunman positioned himself on the roof to fire the shots into Butler. The gunman was killed by the Secret Service.
