Staffers for a House committee overseeing the Secret Service have asked the Obama administration to investigate complaints that agency employees circulated private personnel information that the panel's chairman was rejected for a job as an agent, the Washington Post reports. The staff referred the issue to the Department of Homeland Security after receiving whistleblower complaints that Secret Service staff circulated potentially unflattering information about Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah). He has been an outspoken critic of Secret Service managers after a string of security lapses.
Chaffetz confirmed he unsuccessfully applied for a position as a Secret Service agent in a Western field office around 2003. He thinks he was rejected because he was then, in his mid-30s, too old. DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson, who oversees the Secret Service, said complaints should be “fully investigated.” “If and to the extent the matters reflected in this report are accurate, then the United States Secret Service and the Department of Homeland Security owe the member of Congress an apology,” Johnson said. He added: “If true, those responsible should be held accountable.” Chaffetz's rejection was first reported by the Daily Beast.