JD Vance has suspended a Secret Service agent suspected of leaking his diva demands to the press, according to reports.
A damning report by MS NOW earlier this month revealed that Vance’s security detail was “fed up” with his erratic travel plans, which require agents to drop everything to accompany the vice president’s family, as well as “inappropriate” use of taxpayer-funded protection.
In one example that rankled staff, Vance demanded that a Secret Service detail accompany his young son on a U.S. Marine Corps helicopter so he could attend a golf lesson, a trip that was ultimately canceled due to bad weather.
The team became so sick of the vice president’s last-minute travel demands, in fact, that they made special coins, stickers and badges to mock him. MS NOW obtained images of the objects, which feature slogans such as “Bobcat OTR Survivors Club” and “Advance. OTR. Repeat.”
The phrases refer to how often agents would prepare to provide Vance and his family with security for one trip only for it to be hastily scrapped as the vice president made new travel arrangements. “Bobcat” is Vance’s Secret Service codename.
Now, insiders have told CNN that the person believed to be responsible for leaking this detail to the press has been put on administrative leave. Vance’s whole security detail is the subject of an internal review, another source said.
The Secret Service’s internal affairs component is overseeing the probe, but it remains to be seen what kind of punishment the findings will yield, criminal or otherwise.
A source said that the person is believed to be MS NOW’s source for the story about his travel demands. It caught the attention of the Secret Service, FBI, and White House officials because operational details were explained, a source told CNN.
As part of the article, agents described a morale problem after the aborted helicopter ride for an elementary-school student to have a golf lesson. This was compounded by what some consider an “inappropriate or even unprecedented” use of government resources, compared with those of previous vice presidents.
The Vances are the first family with young children to live at the Naval Observatory since Vice President Al Gore more than 25 years ago.
Vance’s office told MS NOW in a statement at the time, “The Vances are grateful to the men and women of the U.S. Secret Service who serve our country with distinction.”
It continued, “While protecting a Vice President with a large policy portfolio and a young and growing family presents a unique challenge, agents of the Secret Service do so with excellence every day.”
Vance’s office has been approached for an update statement.
Anthony Guglielmi, U.S. Secret Service Chief of Communications, said: “A member of the Vice Presidential Protective Division is the subject of an administrative investigation, and potential criminal inquiry, involving allegations of compromising operational and information security.
“While we will not comment on the specifics of this matter, one principle is unequivocal: any conduct that potentially threatens the safety of a protectee will not be tolerated.”
