A laptop computer containing floor plans for Trump Tower, details on the criminal investigation of Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server and other national security information has been stolen from a Secret Service agent’s vehicle in New York City.
The law enforcement agency told ABC News that an agency-issued laptop was stolen, but it did not offer details on its contents.
The Secret Service did say the stolen laptop itself could not have contained classified material but could have been used to access such material on a server.
In addition to the laptop, the thief made off with official Secret Service lapel pins, according to law enforcement sources with knowledge of the matter.
“The U.S. Secret Service can confirm that an employee was the victim of a criminal act in which our Agency issued laptop computer was stolen,” the agency said in a statement on Friday.
“Secret Service-issued laptops contain multiple layers of security including full disk encryption and are not permitted to contain classified information,” the statement continued.
The agency said an investigation is ongoing and that it would withhold further comment “until the facts are gathered.”
Authorities are still searching for the laptop, according to law enforcement sources. Police expect to quickly identify the suspect from video evidence, the sources said.
The computer is encrypted and authorities are able to wipe the hard drive remotely if needed.
The device, which belonged to a female Secret Service agent, was stolen during a break-in in Brooklyn, New York, law enforcement sources said. The burglary happened Thursday morning at 8:40 a.m. in the Bath Beach section of Brooklyn. Police are still working to identify the perpetrator.
Source: abcnews.go.com
