On Friday, Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee Mike Rogers and Chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform James Comer released a statement saying that they are “disappointed’ with the Department of Defense for failing to protect servicemember records after receiving a response from the DoD on the matter.
“The Department of Defense failed to protect the private information of our servicemembers,” Rogers and Comer wrote. “To publicly rectify this unacceptable mistake, we hoped DoD would provide full transparency in their response – unfortunately, full transparency is not what we received.”
“We are extremely disappointed in DoD’s inadequate response to our questions,” Rogers and Comer wrote. “We asked Secretary (Lloyd) Austin for information on all servicemembers who had their records improperly released to the Democrat-aligned research firm Due Diligence Group. However, DoD only provided our committees with answers from the Department of the Air Force, despite public reporting that DDG attempted to gather information from other services.”
“DoD’s response did not give us confidence that all services have put safeguards in place to ensure that servicemembers’ private information is not mishandled,” Rogers and Comer stated. “DoD also failed to provide our committees with information on what actions were taken with the individuals involved in the mishandling of servicemember records and if criminal referrals have been made. We will be demanding the Secretary provide full transparency and accountability on this matter. It is imperative the Secretary take every action possible to ensure this egregious incident will never happen again. We will continue to fight on behalf of our servicemembers and their privacy.”
This follows recent public reports that the Office of the Secretary of the Air Force (OSAF) improperly released information from several servicemembers’ personnel files to political operatives. The released information includes at least two Members of Congress, reportedly released to an opposition research firm Due Diligence Group that received money from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC).
Congressman Chris Stewart and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan last week sent a letter to U.S. Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall demanding information on the breach of servicemembers’ personal information without their knowledge or consent.
“The Committee on the Judiciary and the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government are investigating the mass collection and dissemination of information about American citizens by federal agencies,” Stewart and Kendall wrote. “Following reports last fall, Members of Congress, including Congressman Stewart, corresponded with Air Force Inspector General Lieutenant General Stephen Davis regarding the steps his office is taking to investigate the circumstances of this improper release of personnel materials. Recent public reports have disclosed that the Office of the Secretary of the Air Force (OSAF) improperly released information from several additional servicemembers’ personnel files to political operatives. As alleged in the reporting, this is a serious breach of law and servicemember privacy. To advance our oversight and to inform potential legislative reforms, we write to request information about this serious breach of our servicemembers’ personal information.”
Mike Rogers is in his eleventh term representing Alabama’s Third Congressional District.
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