JD Vance Travel Leak Triggers Investigation of Secret Service Agent

A member of Vice President JD Vance‘s own security detail is now at the center of a federal investigation.

As Globe previously reported, Vance, 41, sparked frustration within his Secret Service detail after attempting to use a military helicopter to fly his young son to a golf lesson, a request agents said had no precedent.

Now, the fallout has taken a serious turn. According to a report TMZ published on Thursday, July 23, a Secret Service official confirmed, “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.”

The statement comes one day after CNN reported that the unnamed agent was placed on administrative leave pending an internal review into whether they were a source for the story detailing Vance’s travel habits.

Per the report, Secret Service Chief of Communications Anthony Guglielmi released this statement, “While we will not comment on the specifics of this matter, one principle is unequivocal: any conduct that undermines the trust and confidence between a protectee and their protective detail is fundamentally incompatible with our mission and will not be tolerated.”

According to CNN, a White House official called the leaks “treasonous,” while a former agent said the situation exposes an “intrinsic vulnerability within the Secret Service,” adding, “You telegraphed movement of two protectees, one of which is a minor, and it puts them in the spotlight. The whole purpose is to keep them out of the spotlight,” and “This is negligence at the highest degree.”

The investigation comes at a particularly personal time for the vice president, who recently welcomed his fourth child, son Alec, with wife Usha on July 19. The couple are also parents to Ewan, 9, Vivek, 6, and Mirabel, 4.