The US Secret Service is paying more than $30,000 a month to rent a Malibu mansion, in order to protect Hunter Biden.
To house agents protecting Joe Biden’s son, the agency has rented a Spanish-style estate that according to a property listing features “gorgeous ocean views” and “resort style living at its finest”.
In addition to six bedrooms, six baths, a gym, a tasting room and a guesthouse, the property features a built-in barbecue space, pool and a spa.
The house also has a spiral staircase that leads to a “castle-like tower … the master retreat with a wet bar”, thereby offering “a perfect retreat for discerning clientele”.
The mansion is close to Hunter Biden’s own rented mansion, for which he is reportedly paying about $20,000 a month. That sum gets the president’s son a four-bedroom, three-bathroom “resort-style” home with French doors, alfresco dining and vaulted ceilings.
The Secret Service chose its property so it could be as close as possible to Biden, according to sources familiar with the matter who spoke to ABC News.
The agency said: “Due to the need to maintain operational security, the US Secret Service does not comment on the means, methods, or resources used to conduct our protective operations.”
The use of taxpayer funds to protect presidential families has come under growing scrutiny.
During the presidency of Donald Trump, the Secret Service announced that it was running out of money to protect the president’s family. In the first year of the Trump administration, the agency requested an additional $60m to fulfill such duties.
The Secret Service is required by law to pay whatever is required to rent rooms near its clients. Presidents continue to receive protection after leaving office. Last year, Trump charged the Secret Service nearly $10,200 for the use of guest rooms at his New Jersey golf club.
In 2021, reports emerged that the Secret Service had to rent a basement studio in Washington DC for the sole purpose of allowing agents to go to the toilet, after Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner refused to let their security detail use bathrooms in their house. The rental cost taxpayers about $3,000 a month.
During the Barack Obama administration, a family trip to Martha’s Vineyard in 2016 cost the agency $2.7m, according to records obtained by Judicial Watch, a rightwing watchdog. The Secret Service spent $2.5m on hotels and $90,000 on rental cars.
When the Obama family visited Honolulu in late 2016, the agency spent $1.9m, including $1.8m on hotels. Michelle Obama’s trips to Aspen, Colorado, from 2014 to 2016 cost the agency more than $319,000. The 2016 trip cost $166,000 alone.
During Joe Biden’s vice-presidency, Biden charged the Secret Service a monthly rent of $2,200 for use of a cottage on his Delaware property.
