The Secret Service said it would take “appropriate action” Tuesday after one of its agents suggested she would not protect President Trump if someone were to shoot him.
Kerry O’Grady, a senior agent in the Denver field office, posted on Facebook during the campaign that she supported Democrat Hillary Clinton and that she would not follow the Hatch Act, a federal law that prohibits agents and some other federal employees from publicly voicing their political beliefs, CNN reported.
“As a public servant for nearly 23 years, I struggle not to violate the Hatch Act. So I keep quiet and skirt the median,” she wrote in one Facebook post, as reported by the Washington Examiner. “To do otherwise can be a criminal offense for those in my position. Despite the fact that I am expected to take a bullet for both sides.”
“But this world has changed and I have changed. And I would take jail time over a bullet or an endorsement for what I believe to be disaster to this country and the strong and amazing women and minorities who reside here. Hatch Act be damned. I am with Her,” she wrote.
She has now deleted those posts after the Examiner report came out, and she said in an interview with the Examiner that she was not trying to imply that she would not take a bullet for Trump or anyone in the Trump administration.
The Secret Service said in a statement Tuesday that they would not comment on any specific personnel matters but added that they were “aware of the postings and the agency is taking quick and appropriate action.”
“All Secret Service agents and employees are held to the highest standards of professional and ethical conduct,” the agency said. “Any allegations of misconduct are taken seriously and swiftly investigated.”
Even though the postings were on her personal account, the Secret Service is trying to determine whether they were made during work hours.
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