Secret Service Recording Accountability Act of 2025
The Secret Service Recording Accountability Act of 2025 would require the Secret Service to record all communications between agents who are deployed to protect a person entitled to protection under 18 U.S.C. 3056. Recordings must be deleted after 90 days unless a specified Congressional committee requests retention for at least 18 months. In cases of an attempt to harm or actual harm to the protected person, the recordings would be available to designated congressional committees (House and Senate Appropriations, House and Senate Judiciary, House Oversight and Accountability, and House and Senate Homeland Security/ Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs). The goal is to increase oversight and accountability of protective operations, but it also raises questions about privacy, security, and how protected information is stored and accessed.
Key Points
- 1Mandate: The Secret Service must record all communications between agents deployed for the protection of a person entitled to protection under 18 U.S.C. 3056.
- 2Retention and deletion: Recordings must be deleted no earlier than 90 days after recording, unless a Committee requests retention for at least 18 months.
- 3Access in harm cases: If there is an attempt or actual harm to the protected person, the recordings must be made available to specified congressional committees upon request.
- 4Committees with access: House and Senate Appropriations; House and Senate Judiciary; House Oversight and Accountability; House Homeland Security and Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
- 5Scope and safeguards: The bill does not specify redaction, privacy protections, or detailed data-security rules, leaving questions about how recordings would be stored, protected, or shared in practice.