Rep. Brian Mast, R-Fla., has called for the immediate termination of at least a dozen Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) employees who reportedly accessed the medical records of vice presidential candidates Sen. JD Vance of Ohio and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. Mast, chairman of Veterans For Trump, has urged VA Secretary Denis McDonough to take swift action to address these privacy violations and prevent future occurrences.
According to sources, VA employees within the health administration are currently under criminal investigation for improperly accessing the medical records of Vance and Walz. The VA Inspector General's office has informed the candidates' campaigns and shared evidence with federal prosecutors regarding several employees, including a physician and a contractor.
Mast emphasized the need for the VA to dismiss these employees and involve the Justice Department if laws were broken. He also called for a thorough briefing of Congress on the privacy breach and the implementation of new guidelines to prevent similar incidents in the future.
Concerns about potential foreign election interference have been raised, prompting Mast to request coordination between the VA and the FBI to ensure that the candidates' medical information was not shared with foreign operatives. Safeguarding sensitive information about public officials is crucial for national security and the integrity of democracy.
The VA Press Secretary emphasized the agency's commitment to protecting veterans' privacy and stated that any unauthorized access to veteran records by VA personnel is unacceptable.
The motive behind the unauthorized access to medical records is still under investigation, with questions remaining about whether Vance and Walz's information was shared as a result of the breaches. The VA employees accessed the records using their VA computers, primarily from their government offices.
The Department of Justice has refrained from commenting on the report, noting that the breach did not extend to disability compensation records, which have stricter security protocols than health information.
