A whistleblower alleges the agency hired an applicant who failed a terrorism polygraph and punished him for reporting it.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
The U.S. Secret Service is under scrutiny following allegations that it failed to investigate a serious insider threat and retaliated against a veteran agent who reported it. According to RealClearPolitics reporter Susan Crabtree, the agency hired an individual who failed the terrorism section of the polygraph exam and subsequently assigned that person to evaluate other agents’ security clearances.
🚨🚨EXCLUSIVE AND BREAKING: SECRET SERVICE ACCUSED OF FAILING TO RESPOND TO 'INSIDER-THREAT' COMPLAINTS
AGENCY HIRED APPLICANT WHO FAILED TERRORISM SECTION OF POLYGRAPH TEST AND NOW ALLOWS HIM TO EVALUATE OTHERS' SECURITY CLEARANCES, WHISTLEBLOWER ALLEGES
The Secret Service… pic.twitter.com/7MUh1ARn9U
— Susan Crabtree (@susancrabtree) March 31, 2025
Failing a polygraph test, particularly the terrorism component, is typically a disqualifying event in the hiring process. However, the whistleblower says the agency exploited a “friends and family” loophole that allowed the applicant to retake the test multiple times. That applicant was later placed in a sensitive security clearance review position.
The whistleblower, a former senior agent who held a supervisory role during the Biden administration, claims he was forced to resign after raising concerns. He has since filed legal complaints and alleges the agency is threatening to revoke his security clearance in retaliation.
“Instead of investigating the individual for posing a potential threat to the agency and the top U.S. officials it protects, including the president and the vice president, the agent alleges he was retaliated against and forced to resign after serving more than 20 years in the Secret Service,” Crabtree reported. “The agent who reported the insider threat concerns alleges that agency officials are continuing to retaliate against him by threatening his security clearance if he doesn’t drop his legal complaints.”
The RealClearPolitics report further notes that the agency does not require mental health screening tests for applicants—unlike the FBI, CIA, and many police departments. The whistleblower also highlighted this as a critical vulnerability, especially in light of two assassination attempts against President Donald Trump in 2024.
The first incident occurred in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, and the second on September 15 at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago golf course. It remains unclear whether the Secret Service’s vetting procedures or internal management failures contributed to security lapses surrounding those attempts.
In a separate controversy reported by RealClearPolitics, Secret Service agent Michelle Herczeg, who was assigned to then-Vice President Kamala Harris, allegedly engaged in violent and erratic behavior at Joint Base Andrews. Witnesses say she shouted incoherently, threw menstrual pads at colleagues, and assaulted a superior officer. Herczeg reportedly had to be physically restrained, disarmed, and transported to a hospital.
“Herczeg then chest-bumped and shoved her superior, then tackled him and punched him,” the RealClearPolitics article states. “The agents involved in restraining Herczeg were especially concerned because she still had her gun in the holster. They wrestled her to the ground, took the gun from her, cuffed her, and then removed her from the terminal.”
Crabtree confirmed the new whistleblower complaint on social media, writing: “EXCLUSIVE AND BREAKING: SECRET SERVICE ACCUSED OF FAILING TO RESPOND TO ‘INSIDER-THREAT’ COMPLAINTS … AGENCY HIRED APPLICANT WHO FAILED TERRORISM SECTION OF POLYGRAPH TEST AND NOW ALLOWS HIM TO EVALUATE OTHERS’ SECURITY CLEARANCES, WHISTLEBLOWER ALLEGES.” Link
The agency has not publicly commented on the insider threat or the whistleblower’s allegations. The absence of a mental health screening requirement and the continued retaliation claims are expected to draw further scrutiny from Congress as the investigation progresses.
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