A United States Secret Service agent assigned to protect Vice President JD Vance has been placed on administrative leave following allegations that he disclosed sensitive security information during a personal encounter.
The agent has not been publicly identified by the Secret Service.
According to reports, the information was shared with a woman who was later revealed to be an undercover journalist working with conservative media figure James O’Keefe.
The interaction was secretly recorded and later released by O’Keefe.
The footage shows the agent discussing classified details about Vice President Vance’s protective arrangements and travel coordination.
In the recording, the agent outlined advanced security procedures used by the Secret Service when safeguarding the vice president.
He also displayed his official badge and shared photographs of himself aboard Air Force Two.
The disclosures were made despite the agent acknowledging on camera that he had signed nondisclosure agreements prohibiting him from sharing such information.
NewsNation reported that the agent has served in the Secret Service for approximately five years, beginning during the Biden administration.
During the recorded conversation, the agent stated that he voted for Joe Biden over former President Donald Trump.
He also commented on federal immigration enforcement, stating, “I hate that [ICE] s***.”
Following the public release of the video, the Secret Service placed the agent on administrative leave and suspended his security clearance pending further review.
Deputy Secret Service Director Matthew Quinn confirmed that the agency is investigating the incident.
“The US Secret Service has no tolerance for any behavior that could potentially compromise the safety, privacy or trust of our protectees,” Quinn said, according to reports.
Quinn added that the agent could face additional disciplinary action depending on the findings of the investigation.
He also announced that the agency has ordered all personnel to complete renewed anti-espionage training.
“The US Secret Service has also issued an order for all personnel to retake the agency’s required anti-espionage training in order to ensure employees are aware of the threats posed by individuals aiming to exploit agency employees for information about our protective operations,” Quinn said.
Quinn referenced the agency’s longstanding professional standards, citing its “160-year-old tradition of discretion,” and said there is “no tolerance for employees who fail to meet this standard.”
In a statement addressing the breach, Quinn said, “The U.S. Secret Service deeply apologizes to the Vance family for this violation of their trust and privacy.”
O’Keefe later stated that Quinn had circulated an internal memo within the agency asserting that the agent “was deliberately targeted and manipulated by a citizen-journalism media organization that misrepresented itself in an effort to get close to the employee and expose sensitive information.”
The disclosure occurred days after a separate security incident at Vice President Vance’s Cincinnati residence prompted an emergency law enforcement response.
According to police reports, a man armed with a hammer damaged multiple windows at the residence, which serves as a secondary home for Vance, his wife Usha, and their three children.
William DeFoor, 26, was arrested and charged with obstructing official business, criminal damaging or endangering, criminal trespass, and vandalism.
Secret Service agents on duty reported hearing a loud noise near midnight and observed DeFoor fleeing from the residence.
Agents detained him shortly afterward, Resist the Mainstream previously reported.
Last week, Resist the Mainstream reported that federal authorities arrested a security professional assigned to protect Ohio Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy’s family on significant drug trafficking charges in December.
Justin Salsburey, 43, from Bellefontaine, Ohio, was taken into custody alongside his wife, Ruthann Rankin, an Urbana schoolteacher, on Dec. 30.
Law enforcement officials reportedly seized evidence linked to an alleged distribution network involving 261 parcels shipped through the mail system between August 2024 and December 2025.
