Three Secret Service staffers placed on leave as misconduct probe widens in Washington
Three U.S. Secret Service employees were placed on administrative leave on Tuesday as the agency opened an internal investigation into possible misconduct. T...
Three U.S. Secret Service employees were placed on administrative leave on Tuesday as the agency opened an internal investigation into possible misconduct. The move has put fresh attention on the Secret Service’s communications office, where the staffers worked.
The agency confirmed only that three non-law-enforcement personnel were sidelined pending a review by its Office of Professional Responsibility. It would not say what conduct was being examined. People familiar with the matter told CNN and CBS News that the group included communications chief Anthony Guglielmi, and that the employees lost security clearances and access to work devices, a standard step during internal probes.
Internal review, few details
So far, the Secret Service is saying little. A spokesperson said the officials were placed on leave “pending an investigation into potential misconduct” and declined to elaborate further. The office handling the case is the agency’s professional standards unit.
The lack of detail leaves open questions about whether the matter involves workplace conduct, a communications issue or something else entirely. The officials were not in law-enforcement roles, according to the agency and people briefed on the action.
Pressure on the agency
The timing adds another layer of strain for an agency already under scrutiny. The Secret Service has faced heightened attention as President Donald Trump has been the target of at least three assassination plots in the past two years, according to the reporting. In April, police said an armed man breached security at the Washington Hilton during the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, an event Trump attended.
That kind of breach cuts deep for an agency built around one promise: failure is not an option. Even a personnel action far from the front line can feed broader concerns about standards, discipline and how the Secret Service manages its communications under pressure.
Communications office in the spotlight
The staffers were all assigned to the communications office, which handles the public-facing side of an agency that normally stays behind the scenes. That office has become unusually visible in recent months as the Secret Service has dealt with questions about its handling of security incidents and public messaging.
For now, the investigation remains open and the names of the three people have not been officially released by the agency. The next step rests with the Office of Professional Responsibility, which is reviewing the matter internally.
