Employee is on leave as agency, under fire for lapses before assassination attempt on Trump, investigates accusations

The US Secret Service has confirmed it is investigating accusations of sexual assault against one its agents, reportedly with the alleged victim being a female staff member of US vice president Kamala Harris’s election campaign team.

The federal agency, already under fire over operational lapses that preceded the attempted assassination of Donald Trump in July, confirmed to NBC News on Wednesday: “The employee has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.”