Vicky Arias, FISM News
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The United States Air Force notified lawmakers via a letter on Friday that the military records of 11 people were improperly released between Jan. 1, 2021, and Jan. 3, 2023.
During that time, seven of the compromised 11 servicemembers ran for Congress. All seven were Republican candidates in their respective races and their records were released to the Due Diligence Group (DDG), a reportedly Democratic-leaning research company.
According to the Washington Examiner,
The Democratic Senatorial Campaign, which seeks to elect Democrats to the Senate, gave the Due Diligence Group $173,000 during the 2022 election cycle as well as another three payments of more than $30,000 after the election, according to the Federal Election Commission. Additionally, the political research firm received more than $110,000 from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee between January 2021 and December 2022, filings show.
Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Monday said an investigation should take place to look into whether or not this conduct was isolated or widespread.
“This isn’t going to go away quietly,” McCarthy said. “It wasn’t on just one person. It was all these Republicans running. We’re gonna have to … look to see if it’s happened anywhere else.”
The candidates’ records were released without their consent. Those affected were Rep. Donald Bacon (R-Neb.), Rep. Zachary Nunn (R-Iowa), Eli Bremer, Kevin Dellicker, Jennifer-Ruth Green, James Majewski, and Samuel Peters.
FALSE PRETENSES
The DDG reportedly obtained the information through FOIA requests. However, according to the New York Post, “the group did so under false pretenses, according to Air Force spokesperson Ann Stefanek.” False pretenses could include requesting information under the guise of an employment screen or other avenues.
The Air Force said in their letter that all seven congressional candidates were notified of the breach. However, Majewski and Bremer claim they never received official notification of the leak.
According to Politico, Majewski, who ultimately lost to his Democrat opponent, believes that his records were released ahead of an Associated Press report highlighting inconsistencies in his recounting of his time in the military. According to that report, Majewski stated that he was deployed to Afghanistan but was, instead, reportedly stationed in Qatar.
FORCING A SURVIVOR TO RECOUNT HER TRAUMA
Additionally, as a result of the release, Green, a lieutenant colonel and commander and chief information officer of the Indiana Air National Guard, was forced to publicly discuss a sexual assault she endured while serving. Green lost to her Democrat opponent by just over 12,000 votes.
“I’m a survivor of sexual trauma in the military, and I am being forced to discuss it publicly for the first time because [Democrat] Congressman Mrvan or his supporters obtained — either illegally or by egregious error — military records describing my sexual assault as well as performance reviews, and peddled those records to the media with the intent [to] smear me and my military career,” Green wrote in a statement to Politico, according to the Republican National Committee.
Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) condemned the release of Green’s record on Twitter.
“The decision by [Rep. Mrvan] to illegally obtain & leak [Green’s] military records, knowing they would out her as a survivor of sexual assault, is not only a shameful new low for politics & the media, it’s a horrific attack on survivors everywhere,” Stefanik posted.
In a press release, Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, and Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), Chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, demanded answers on how the leak occurred.
“The Office of the Secretary of the Air Force (OSAF) has informed the Committee that it released 11 individuals’ records … to a private research firm which allegedly misrepresented itself in order to obtain access to the personnel records without authorization or consent,” the release states.
“The recent broader release of additional servicemembers’ records highlights not only the inadequacy of procedures to secure military personnel files but also raises concerning questions of possible illicit motive or political partisanship,” the release continues. “This conduct by the Air Force is, at a minimum, unacceptable. The conduct by the research firm is quite possibly criminal.”