Washington
(AFP) - The US authorities have disciplined 41 Secret Service personnel
for improperly accessing and leaking the personal information of a
congressman who had scrutinized the agency, the Department of Homeland
Security said.
The
announcement comes after a report in September by the Department of
Homeland Security Inspector General accused the Secret Service employees
of accessing the personal files of Republican congressman Jason
Chaffetz of Utah, chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and
Government Reform, who has led several inquiries into alleged misconduct
at the agency.
They
were punished with measures ranging from a letter of reprimand to
suspensions without pay for up to 45 days, Secretary of Homeland
Security Jeh Johnson said in a statement on Thursday.
One person found to have given information about Chaffetz to the Washington Post resigned from the service, he said.
"Like
many others I was appalled by the episode reflected in the Inspector
General's report, which brought real discredit to the Secret Service,"
Johnson said.
Federal privacy laws prevented the disclosure of more details, he added.
Secret
Service employees had accessed Chaffetz's job application more than 60
times -- even though they had "no official need to query Chairman
Chaffetz' name," the report in September said.
Soon
after Chaffetz held a hearing on the agency in March, he was reported
to have been rejected for a Secret Service job in 2003.
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