Rep. Gosar to Secret Service: I Want Corrective Action, and I Want It Now!

Statement

Today, U.S. Congressman Paul A. Gosar, D.D.S. (AZ-04) released the following statement after spearheading a bipartisan letter signed by 30 members of Congress to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Jeh Johnson and Secret Service Director Joseph P. Clancy demanding that corrective action be taken against all Secret Service employees who broke the law by improperly accessing and leaking private information on House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz:

"This lawless administration has no limitations when it comes to seeking retribution and punishing those who disagree with the president's misguided agenda. We are now all too familiar with the targeting of conservative groups by the IRS. While those incidents are despicable in their own right, it is absolutely atrocious that nearly 50 Secret Service employees would violate Chairman Chaffetz's privacy and access restricted databases. Disclosing the Chairman's sensitive information without an official purpose and breaking federal law in seeking to publically embarrass him is reprehensible. Violations of a U.S. citizen's privacy in this manner cannot be tolerated, regardless of party affiliation. Why has no one at the Secret Service been fired or reprimanded for their involvement in this matter?

"During his short tenure as Chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Chairman Chaffetz has proven to be effective in exposing the rampant waste, fraud and abuse occurring throughout the federal government. Under his leadership the committee was able to uncover the gross and blatant negligence allowed under former Secret Service Director Julia Pierson which ultimately resulted in her removal. We cannot let rogue federal agency employees off the hook for breaking the law and seeking retaliation against someone who is simply doing their job. I demand Secretary Johnson and Director Clancy take immediate action against the Secret Service employees responsible for this data breach."

Following the conclusion of his investigation John Roth, Inspector General (IG) for the Department of Homeland Security stated, "This episode reflects extremely poor judgment and a lack of care on the part of a number of Secret Service employees. Given the sensitivity of the information with which these agents are entrusted, particularly with regard to their protective function, this episode is deeply disturbing. Secret Service leadership must ensure that behavior like this will not be tolerated."

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