A Secret Service detective agent spills something to JD Vance

The US Secret Service (USSS) has announced that a member of US Vice President JD Vance’s security team has been suspended and is under investigation for leaking classified information.

Details of the leak have not been made public, but the Secret Service said the agent faces a “potential criminal investigation” over allegations of “compromising operational and information security.”

Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said: “Any conduct that endangers the safety of a defender will not be tolerated.”

The White House declined to comment on the investigation.

Guglielmi did not say what information was released.

But last week, US TV network MS NOW published a story citing anonymous sources saying some of Vance’s security team were upset with the family’s trip. According to CNN, the agent’s suspension is related to this report.

MS now reports that the agents have been on the inside about some of the trips, including a planned military helicopter flight for Vance’s young son to take golf lessons and Vance to go house hunting in the Washington, D.C., area.

The BBC has not independently verified the report.

In a statement to MS NOW in response to last week’s report, the vice president’s office said: “Vance is grateful to the men and women of the U.S. Secret Service who serve our country with distinction.

“While it presents a special challenge to protect the vice president with a large policy portfolio and a young and growing family, Secret Service agents do well every day.”

It comes as agency officials, including President Donald Trump, warn that threats against defenders are on the rise.

Vance and his family are required to have Secret Service protection around the clock.

On Wednesday, Secret Service Director Sean Curran said the agency was working in what he described as the most dangerous threat environment in his 24-year career.

Speaking to reporters ahead of the White House Correspondents’ Dinner – set for Friday after the first alleged assassination attempt in April – he was hired for Friday – Curran said the threat level facing the Secret Service is “off the map”.

“The environment has changed a lot, and that’s just across the board,” Curran said. “The image and location of the disaster is as big as I’ve ever seen it.”

Agents have opened nearly 10,000 threat investigations since January.

Officials say the increase is driven by a mix of online threats, lone actors, ideological extremism, foreign enemies and individuals with mental health crises.

He added that most threats are now online, replacing handwritten letters and other traditional means of communication as the primary source.