Secret Service Agent on Leave as JD Vance Detail Leak Probe

By Michael Mann | Ethics Watch USA

A Secret Service agent assigned to Vice President JD Vance’s protective detail has been placed on administrative leave after investigators suspected the agent leaked information to the press about the vice president’s alleged “diva demands,” complaints that reportedly frustrated fellow agents enough to create mocking challenge coins and stickers.

The agent, who has not been publicly identified, is believed to be the source for an MS NOW report published earlier this month describing agents who were “fed up” with Vance’s frequently changing personal and family travel schedule, CNN reported Wednesday.

Vance’s entire protective detail is now the subject of an internal review, a second source told the network.

The Secret Service’s internal affairs division is leading the investigation, and officials have not ruled out a criminal inquiry.

“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,” Secret Service Chief of Communications Anthony Guglielmi said.

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“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,” he added.

The MS NOW report that triggered the investigation included an allegation that Vance requested a Secret Service detail accompany his young son aboard a U.S. Marine Corps helicopter so the child could attend a golf lesson. According to The Daily Beast, the trip could have cost tens of thousands of dollars before it was ultimately canceled because of bad weather.

Agents reportedly became so frustrated with the repeated schedule changes that they commissioned challenge coins, stickers, and badges mocking the vice president, according to images obtained by MS NOW. One reads “Bobcat OTR Survivors Club.” “Bobcat” is Vance’s Secret Service codename. Another reads, “Advance. OTR. Repeat,” a reference to agents repeatedly preparing trips only to see them canceled at the last minute.

Some agents reportedly described the family’s use of taxpayer-funded protection as “inappropriate or even unprecedented” compared with previous vice presidents.

The disclosures caught the attention of the Secret Service, the FBI, and the White House because the report allegedly included operational information that security professionals generally consider sensitive. Advance travel plans, staffing patterns, and protective procedures are closely guarded because even limited details can expose potential security vulnerabilities.

The investigation marks the second public controversy involving Vance’s protective detail this year.

In January, agent Tomas Escotto was placed on administrative leave after James O’Keefe released a hidden-camera video that appeared to show him discussing the vice president’s travel schedule and protective operations during what he believed was a Tinder date with an undercover operative, according to The Hill.

The Vances are the first vice presidential family with young children to reside at the Naval Observatory since Vice President Al Gore’s family more than 25 years ago.

“The Vances are grateful to the men and women of the U.S. Secret Service who serve our country with distinction,” the vice president’s office said in a statement provided to MS NOW following the original report.

“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,” the statement continued.

Whether the investigation ends with criminal charges, administrative discipline, or simply the end of one agent’s career now rests with investigators.