Fox's first appearance – Florida Republican Rep. Brian Mast has called for the immediate firing of at least a dozen employees who allegedly illegally accessed the medical records of vice presidential candidate Sen. J.D. Vance (Ohio and Minnesota). request to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Governor Tim Walz took office this summer.
Mast, president of the Trump Veterans Association, wrote a letter to Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough asking for “immediate response and action to prevent such egregious privacy violations within the VA from happening again.” Florida Republican lawmakers are also seeking the involvement of the FBI to investigate possible foreign election interference.
“We stand against the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) employee union and urge them to immediately fire the employees who were peeking into the personal medical records of Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz. Both of them are running for the next presidential election, and VA employees know that's not allowed to be vice president,'' Mast said, as first obtained by Fox News Digital. I wrote it in a letter. “As a combat-wounded veteran, I rely on VA medical care. This is not just a legal error, but a violation of veterans' trust in the VA and the professionalism of VA personnel.” raises serious questions.”
The Washington Post first reported on Monday that at least 12 VA employees within the health department were under criminal investigation after VA investigators discovered they had illegally accessed the medical records of Vance and Walz. . The Department of Veterans Affairs Inspector General Michael Missal's office has reportedly notified both candidates' campaigns that health system employees, including doctors and contractors, “spent extensive amounts of time” viewing former President Trump and Vice President Harris' files. He said he shared evidence relating to several people with federal prosecutors. “Running mate.
VA Officials Unauthorizedly Accessed J.D. Vance, Tim Walz's Medical Records, Prompting Criminal Investigation: Report
Rep. Brian Mast, R-Florida, speaks at the U.S. Capitol on September 9, 2024, regarding competing reports on the 2021 U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. (Kent Nishimura/Getty Images)
“If there is evidence of a violation of the law, firing these employees and referring them to the Department of Justice for prosecution is the first step VA should take to restore trust,” Mast said. I wrote. “Furthermore, we urge Congress to fully explain how this privacy violation occurred and introduce new guidelines to prevent such behavior from occurring in the future.”
Mr. Mast, a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, implored Mr. McDonough to work with the FBI.
The letter was sent a week after the Trump campaign said it had been briefed on a “real and concrete threat” from Iran to assassinate the Republican presidential candidate.
“In light of recent foreign election interference, including Iran's assassination attempt against President Trump, we are ensuring that the medical information of Senator Vance and Governor Walz is not shared with or accessed on behalf of foreign agents. I also urge your department to work with the FBI on this matter,” Mast said. He wrote this after serving in the U.S. Army for 12 years and losing both legs to a fatal wound sustained while working as a bomb disposal specialist in Afghanistan. “Protecting sensitive information about public officials is critical to national security and the integrity of our democracy.”
President Trump responds to assassination plot with grave warning to Iran
July 22, 2019 at the Department of Veterans Affairs building in Washington, DC. (Alastair Pike/AFP via Getty Images)
Last month, experts from the FBI, Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) released an overview of the current threat environment, stating that “three major foreign influence powers, Russia and Iran, ” cited how it was influenced. , and China are all seeking to exacerbate divisions in American society in some way for their own interests, and view the election period as a vulnerable period. ”
“Like Russia, Iran is taking a multipronged approach, aiming to sow discord and undermine confidence in our electoral process. Tehran also has direct ties to the presidential campaigns of both political parties. “While seeking cyber access to individuals who want to protect Iran, elements are also slandering Iran,” they said. “Iran has an array of tools at its disposal, as shown in a recent report outlining Iran’s cyber operations, including a hack-and-leak operation against the former president’s campaign. They also run covert social media operations using personas of AI to help publish inauthentic news articles.”
Fox News Digital reached out to the Veterans Administration and the FBI regarding Mast's letter.
Regarding Monday's report in the Post, Veterans Affairs spokesman Terrence Hayes said in a statement that the Veterans Administration is “not reviewing allegations that VA employees may have improperly accessed veterans' records with law enforcement.” “We take the privacy of our veterans very seriously and protect it strictly.'' Policies are in place to protect their records. ”
“Attempts to commit fraudulent acts are Access Veteran Records Statements made by veterans are unacceptable and will not be tolerated,” Hayes wrote.
The potential motive for accessing the medical records is under investigation, and investigators are trying to determine whether Vance and Walz's information was shared as a result of the breach, the newspaper reported.
J.D. Vance and Tim Walz are scheduled to debate Tuesday night in New York City. (Getty Images)
Officials told the newspaper that the investigated VA employees, including doctors and contractors, used veterans' computers to access medical records, primarily from government offices. That's what it means. Some of the staffers in question told investigators they simply wanted to see Vance's and Walz's files, given that both candidates have defended their military records on the campaign trail. It has been reported.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
The Department of Justice declined to comment on the report. The breach reportedly did not include access to disability coverage, which requires more security protocols than health information.
