(Photo Credit: Julia Demaree Nikhinson for the AP)
A Secret Service agent assigned to Vice President JD Vance has been placed on leave on Wednesday after he was caught on undercover video spilling details about Vance’s travel plans and how the vice president is protected.
Reporter James O’Keefe shared the 14-minute report on X on Tuesday. The agent, identified as Tomas Escotto, believed he was on a date with woman while he was blabbing about Vance; the woman turned out to be a reporter for O’Keefe Media Group.
Escotto talked about how the vice president is protected and the security measures agents take. He also told the woman he voted for ex-President Joe Biden and “I hate that sh*t” when talking about President Donald Trump’s ICE raids.
The agent later texted the woman on Dec. 26 about Vance’s travel plans for the next week, revealing he would be in Ohio and Florida for a handful of days. He also sent the reporter pictures of him aboard Air Force 2 and also pictures that provided metadata on where the president’s convoy was located.
He knew he was not allowed to share much of the information he was talking about. At one point he texted the woman, “I sign[ed] paperwork , so if i don’t have to give out information, I never do, otherwise I get in trouble.”
Less than a day later, Escotto was placed on leave. The New York Post reported his security clearance was suspended and his access to Secret Service buildings and systems was revoked, pending an internal investigation.
“The US Secret Service has no tolerance for any behavior that could potentially compromise the safety, privacy or trust of our protectees,” Deputy Director Matthew Quinn told the Post.
He added, “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.”
Covertly recording government officials has been a staple of O’Keefe’s reporting over the years, including when he captured Attorney General Pam Bondi on undercover camera last May.
Watch the video above.
