US Secret Service punishes 41 over leak of lawmaker's data

WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 15: Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-UT), speaks during a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing, about the Flint, Michigan water crisis, on Capitol Hill March 15, 2016 in Washington, DC. The committee heard testimony regarding the Federal Administration of the Safe Drinking Water Act in Flint, Michigan. Mark Wilson/Getty Images/AFP == FOR NEWSPAPERS, INTERNET, TELCOS & TELEVISION USE ONLY ==

WASHINGTON: Forty-one US Secret Service employees have been disciplined over a media leak of the personal files of a congressman who had criticised the agency's security lapses, the Department of Homeland Security said on May 26.

Punishments ranged from a letter of reprimand to suspensions without pay for up to 45 days, Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson said in a statement.