A Secret Service agent assigned to protect the vice president was apparently caught on camera openly sharing secret details of JD Vance’s security to a stranger who turned out to be an undercover reporter.
Tomas Escotto, who became a citizen in 2018 and a Secret Service (SS) agent soon after, not only told an undercover journalist about his anger against the Trump administration — especially ICE — and his previous vote for Joe Biden, he also provided many sensitive details about shift changes, travel routes, and security measures for Vice President Vance. While his political opinions are his constitutional right to express, his dangerous information dropping and photo texting potentially endangered Vance and violated the SS code of conduct.
BREAKING: U.S. Secret Service Agent Assigned to VP JD Vance Leaks Sensitive Security Information to Undercover Reporter.
— James O'Keefe (@JamesOKeefeIII) January 13, 2026
Escotto is a holdover from the Biden administration and stated that he voted for Joe Biden, while expressing opposition to ICE & the Trump administration’s… pic.twitter.com/AyAjrt3XY4
The undercover video comes from O’Keefe Media Group (OMG), though James O’Keefe assured viewers that his team had coordinated with Vance‘s team in advance of the release to ensure that no information Escotto shared that could compromise the vice president’s safety in the future would be included in the video. Certain texts and words are therefore bleeped or blocked out in the video, such as the details on when exactly the Secret Service shifts are.
Escotto even sent the undercover journalist photos of himself at Vance’s residence and next to transports, and other images related to the vice president with location metadata. Escotto’s actions potentially violated 18 U.S. Code § 793, O’Keefe argued, and certainly violated the SS code of conduct. Indeed, Escotto himself acknowledged in a note that he had signed paperwork agreeing not to disclose sensitive information. O’Keefe wrote on X that the government notified his team that they suspended Escotto’s clearance and revoked his access to agency facilities, as the disgraced SS agent is on administrative leave.
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O’Keefe referred to a recent violent break-in at Vance’s Ohio residence and the SS failures surrounding the 2024 Butler shooting of Donald Trump to emphasize the importance of Escotto’s irresponsibility. Imagine if Escotto had been speaking to a leftist terrorist instead of an undercover journalist interested in protecting Vance?
Besides his casual dinner discussions about security formations, shifts, and complaints about protecting the Vance children, Escotto would also text the undercover journalist. For instance, Escotto mentioned the building at which he picked up Second Lady Usha Vance and then his location at the time of the message with VP Vance, along with a laughing emoji. Escotto sent her selfies and photos of others in the convoys while he was on duty, even when he was overseas.
While Escotto did not always send the photos right after taking them, he should not have been taking the photos on his personal iPhone and sharing them with anyone at any time. Even worse, Escotto sometimes sent the undercover journalist details about Vance’s upcoming travel plans, including which plane the VP would use and his timetable.
But, as the video shows, Escotto might have been cavalier because he dislikes the Trump administration's policies. He confirmed that he had previously voted for Joe Biden. Asked about the “ICE stuff”, Escotto said, “I don’t like that… I don’t understand why they’re covering their face. I don’t agree with that at all,” he added of ICE officers, totally ignoring the 1,340%+ increase in assaults on ICE. “That is actually a sad thing, I hate that s**t.” While he is allowed to critique his bosses, it seems Escotto — who previously served on Kamala Harris and Doug Emhoff’s detail — regrets Vance is in office, indicating a motive for his actions.
SS is supposed to be composed of individuals who, whatever their political opinions might be, are willing to protect whichever politician is their assignment as honestly and securely as possible. If loose lips sink ships, Escotto could have (figuratively) sunk an entire fleet.
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