A US Secret Service agent has been accused of sexually assaulting a staffer for Kamala Harris in a hotel room, The Independent reported. The alleged incident took place last week when an agent and several Harris staffers were dining and drinking alcohol at a restaurant in Wisconsin during an advance trip. The group reportedly went back to the staffer's hotel room when the unnamed Secret Service agent allegedly forced himself on her and groped her in front of others. Those inside the room then allegedly kicked the agent out into the hallway, where he was said to have been so drunk he passed out.
"The U.S. Secret Service Office of Professional Responsibility is investigating a misconduct allegation involving an employee," a Secret Service spokesperson said in a statement, per The Independent. "The Secret Service holds its personnel to the highest standards. The employee has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation," it added.
The Kamala Harris campaign office also confirmed the incident, saying that it was aware of the allegation. "We have zero tolerance for sexual misconduct," it told The Guardian. "Senior OVP [Office of the Vice President] officials were alerted by the USSS about an incident involving an agent and informed that USSS initiated an investigation," it added.
Secret Service agents have been accused of misbehaviour on trips in the past, including a 2012 scandal where agents in Colombia allegedly brought prostitutes back to a hotel. In 2014, the three agents then-US President Barack Obama were also sent home and suspended for excessive drinking during a trip to Amsterdam.
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Meanwhile, the recent incident comes as the agency tasked with protecting the president and presidential candidates faces enormous pressure after two recent failed assassination attempts against former President Donald Trump. A Senate report found repeated failures of leadership and communication at the July 13 Trump rally in which the Republican leader was shot in the ear by a would-be assassin perched on a nearby rooftop.
"(United States Secret Service) failures in planning, communications, security, and allocations of resources... were foreseeable, preventable, and directly related to the events resulting in the assassination attempt," the report said.
