Secret Service agent accused of sexually harassing Kamala Harris campaign staffer in hotel room

A US secret service agent is accused of sexually harassing a Kamala Harris employee in a hotel room. The Independent reported. The alleged incident occurred last week when an agent and several Harris aides were eating and drinking alcohol at a Wisconsin restaurant during a pre-trip. The group reportedly went back to the aide's hotel room when the unnamed Secret Service agent allegedly forced himself on her and groped her in front of others. Those in the room then allegedly threw the agent into the hallway, where he was reportedly so drunk that he passed out.

“The Office of Professional Responsibility of the U.S. Secret Service is investigating an allegation of misconduct by an employee,” a spokesman for the secret service said in a statement via The Independent“The Secret Service places the highest demands on its personnel. The employee has been placed on leave pending the outcome of the investigation,” it said.

Kamala Harris' campaign office also confirmed the incident and stated that they were aware of the allegation. “We have zero tolerance for sexual misconduct,” they said. The Guardian. “Senior OVP [Office of the Vice President] Officials have been notified by the USSS of an incident involving an agent and informed that the USSS has initiated an investigation,” it said.

Secret Service agents have been accused of misconduct while traveling in the past, including a scandal in 2012 when agents in Colombia allegedly took prostitutes to a hotel. In 2014, then-US President Barack Obama's three agents were also sent home and suspended for drinking excessive amounts of alcohol during a trip to Amsterdam.

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The latest incident comes as the agency tasked with protecting the president and presidential candidates is under enormous pressure following two failed assassination attempts against former President Donald Trump. A Senate report found repeated leadership and communication failures at the July 13 Trump rally, during which the Republican politician was shot in the ear by an assassin perched on a nearby roof.

“The U.S. intelligence failures in planning, communications, security, and resource allocation … were predictable, avoidable, and directly related to the events leading up to the assassination,” the report said.