Accused of groping aide

Secret Service agent accused of groping aide to Kamala Harris

Sam Cabral, Courtney Subramanian

A US Secret Service agent has been placed on administrative leave over allegations of sexual misconduct against a member of Vice-President Kamala Harris's staff.

The Secret Service confirmed to the BBC on Wednesday it was investigating an unidentified agent, but did not provide details, adding that it "holds its personnel to the highest standard".

The vice-president's office said it had been alerted to the incident and the inquiry, but declined to elaborate. A source confirmed to the BBC the incident involved a Harris aide.

It comes amid growing scrutiny of the law enforcement agency tasked with protecting the president, vice-president and other high-profile officials.

The vice-president's office said in a statement to the BBC that "we have zero tolerance for sexual misconduct".

The agent under investigation was reportedly on a trip with Harris staff members in Wisconsin last week to work out logistics ahead of a visit by the Democratic presidential nominee.

After dinner and drinks, the agent in question allegedly groped the Harris aide in a hotel room in front of others, according to the BBC's US partner CBS. The agent appeared to be drunk, reports the Associated Press, citing sources.

The vice-president's staff and Secret Service officials were in the city of Green Bay last week scouting locations for an event that was due to take place last Friday.

Harris, however, opted to go to Atlanta, Georgia, instead.

The revelations came as a congressional panel released a scathing report into numerous failures by the Secret Service ahead of the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump at a campaign rally in July.

The Republican nominee was put at risk because of a "foreseeable" breakdown in communication and co-ordination between law enforcement partners, the Senate Homeland Security committee said.

The agency is currently seeking a $3bn (£2.2bn) increase in its annual budget so it can hire more agents, update equipment and expand training to perform its mission in what it calls "a hyper-dynamic threat environment".

A Gallup poll released on Monday registered a 23-point decline in the percentage of Americans who rate the Secret Service's performance as satisfactory.