Secret Service paying over $30K per month for Malibu mansion to protect Hunter Biden

The luxury rental property has "gorgeous ocean views," according to its listing.

ByJosh Margolin, John Santucci, and Soo Rin Kim
April 4, 2022, 4:54 AM • 11 min read

Hunter Biden is apparently spending his father's presidency living in luxury in Malibu -- and so is his taxpayer-funded security detail. ... The Secret Service detail protecting the president's controversial son has been paying more than $30,000 a month to rent out a swanky Malibu, California, mansion for nearly a year, sources familiar with the matter tell ABC News. ... The agency responsible for protecting the president and his family -- among other ranking government officials -- selected the property in order to be located as close as possible to Biden's own rented mansion where he is paying about $20,000 a month according to property listings, sources told ABC News.

Retired senior Secret Service agent Don Mihalek, now an ABC News contributor, said the arrangement is "the cost of doing business for the Secret Service," adding that under the federal law, the agency has a mandated protective responsibility for the president, the first family, and anybody else the president designates for protection.

"Typically, wherever a protectee sets up their residence, the Secret Service is forced to find someplace to rent nearby at market value," Mihalek said, noting that the agency is also renting out properties to protect President Joe Biden's residences in Wilmington and Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. ... "This isn't new," Mihalek said. "The Service has had to do this in past administrations, and unfortunately, the housing market right now has driven the prices up substantially."

A White House official referred ABC News to the Secret Service for comment. Asked about the cost of the protection, a representative for the Secret Service said only: "Due to the need to maintain operational security, the U.S. Secret Service does not comment on the means, methods, or resources used to conduct our protective operations."

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Key Words

‘The cost of doing business’ — Secret Service is renting $30,000-a-month Malibu mansion to protect Hunter Biden, report says

Last Updated: April 5, 2022 at 9:39 a.m. ET
First Published: April 4, 2022 at 5:13 p.m. ET

By Weston Blasi

It’s typical for Secret Service agents to find housing close to the subject they are protecting, former Secret Service agent Don Mihalek says

Hunter Biden, President Joe Biden’s 52-year-old son, lives in a four-bedroom home in Malibu, Calif., and the nearest property the U.S. Secret Service could rent is a $30,000-a-month, six-bedroom mansion with ocean views, according to an ABC News report.

It’s normal practice for Secret Service agents to find housing close to where the individual they are protecting lives, according to former agent Don Mihalek, who was interviewed for the story.

It’s “the cost of doing business for the Secret Service,” Mihalek said. “Typically, wherever a protectee sets up their residence, the Secret Service is forced to find someplace to rent nearby at market value.” ... “This isn’t new. The Service has had to do this in past administrations, and unfortunately, the housing market right now has driven the prices up substantially,” Mihalek continued.

Mailbu is home to some of the most expensive real estate in the U.S. — Malibu housing expenses are 626% higher than the national average, according to PayScale, a compensation data company.

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