Reps. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) and Zach Nunn (R-Iowa) claim their military records were released without their approval during the midterm campaign season.
On Tuesday, Politico reported on a letter Bacon received on the matter.
The letter was forwarded to Bacon as a “follow-up to your conversation with the Secretary of the Air Force on Thursday, February 2, 2023, where he discussed the unauthorized release of your military personnel records.”
It noted on November 9, 2021, “The Air Force Personnel Center Military Records Branch received multiple requests from Abraham Payton, Background Investigation Analyst with Due Diligence Group, LLC, for your military personnel records.”
The letter pointed out Payton “inappropriately requested copies of your military personnel records for the stated purpose of employment and benefits.”
According to the letter, the investigation did not discover “criminal action or malicious intent by the employee in the records branch.”
The employee was held accountable for failing to follow administrative procedures.
The letter concluded, stating, “We also provided additional training to program managers and record technicians to reinforce our commitment to the importance of safeguarding an individual’s PII and protecting the confidentiality of the individual.”
Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) and Rep. Zach Nunn (R-Iowa) said the Air Force recently alerted them that their military records were improperly released during the midterm campaign.
— Marianne LeVine (@marianne_levine) February 21, 2023
scoop from @olivia_beavershttps://t.co/UMjTcVJo4W via @politico
Politico reported Nunn said in a statement he was informed by the Air Force his records were also released without his authorization.
Bacon told the outlet Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall first revealed an internal probe which discovered 11 people’s records were disclosed.
Kendall reportedly said the Air Force would share the results of the investigation with the Justice Department.
Air Force spokesperson Ann Stefanek explained “virtually all” of the 11 unauthorized releases were made to the same individual “who represented himself as a background investigator seeking service records for employment purposes,” per Politico.
“I understand the evidence has been turned over to the Department of Justice and I expect those who break the law to be prosecuted,” Bacon said in a statement to the outlet.
He added, “This was more than just ‘dirty tricks’ by Democrat operatives, but likely violations of the law.”
Nunn argued the “recent targeting of Members of Congress’s personnel military records [and] the breach of sensitive data … taken by political hacks isn’t only a violation of public trust — it’s criminal.”
