first on fox – Rep. Brian Mast, R-Fla., is demanding that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) immediately fire at least a dozen employees who allegedly oversaw the medical examinations of vice presidential candidates Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio and Minnesota. The records were accessed improperly. Governor Tim Walz this summer.
Mast, president of Veterans for Trump, wrote a letter to VA Secretary Dennis McDonough urging “quick response and action to prevent such serious breaches of privacy within the VA from happening again.” Florida Republicans are also calling for the FBI to be involved in investigating the possibility of foreign election interference.
“I urge you to hold the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) employee union guilty and immediately fire the employees who were caught snooping into the private medical records of Ohio Senator J.D. Vance and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz – both of whom are running. VA employees know this is not allowed,” Mast wrote in a letter first obtained by Fox News Digital. I rely on the VA for. This isn’t just a legal mistake; This is a violation that undermines veterans’ trust in the VA and raises serious questions about the professionalism of VA personnel.”
The Washington Post first reported Monday that at least 12 VA employees within the agency’s health administration were under criminal investigation after VA investigators found they improperly accessed Vance and Walz’s medical records. The office of VA Inspector General Michael Missal reportedly briefed both candidates’ campaigns and shared evidence with federal prosecutors related to several employees of the health system, including a physician and a contractor who worked for former President Trump and Vice President Harris. “spent extended time” looking at files. ‘Running friends.
Rep. Brian Mast, R-Fla., speaks at the U.S. Capitol on Sept. 9, 2024, regarding competing reports on the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021. (Kent Nishimura/Getty Images)
Mast wrote, “Firing these employees and referring them to the Justice Department for prosecution, provided there is evidence that laws were broken, is the first step the VA should take to restore credibility.” “Furthermore, I urge you to provide Congress with a full explanation of how this breach of privacy occurred and implement new guidelines to prevent such acts in the future.”
Mast, a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, urged McDonough to coordinate with the FBI.
The letter comes a week after Trump’s campaign said it was briefed on “Real and specific threats” From Iran to assassinate the Republican presidential candidate.
“Given the recent foreign interference in our elections – such as Iran’s assassination plot against President Trump – I also urge your department to coordinate with the FBI to ensure that Senator Vance and Governor Walz Medical information should neither be shared with, nor accessed by, foreign operatives,” wrote Mast, who served in the U.S. Army for 12 years and survived a horrific incident while working as a bomb disposal expert in Afghanistan. Lost both legs due to injuries. “Protecting sensitive information about our public officials is critical to national security and the integrity of our democracy.”
Trump responded to the assassination plot and gave a big warning to Iran
The Department of Veterans Affairs building in Washington, DC on July 22, 2019. (Alistair Pike/AFP via Getty Images)
Last month, experts from the FBI, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) released a summary of the current threat environment noting that “three major foreign influence actors, Russia , Iran, and China are all attempting by some measure to exacerbate divisions in American society for their own benefit, and view election periods as moments of vulnerability.”
“Like Russia, Iran has a multi-pronged approach that promotes discord and undermines trust in our electoral process. Tehran also sought cyber access to individuals with direct ties to the presidential campaigns of both political parties While elements have also defamed the former President,” he said. “Iran has a suite of tools at its disposal, as shown in recent reports outlining Iran’s cyber operations. Hack-and-leak operation Against the former president’s campaign. Iran is also conducting covert social media operations using fake personas, and using AI to help publish inauthentic news articles.”
Fox News Digital contacted the VA and FBI regarding Mast’s letter.
In connection with the Post’s reporting on Monday, VA Press Secretary Terrence Hayes said in a statement that the agency “has been informed of allegations to law enforcement that VA personnel improperly accessed veteran records” and “veterans whose We take the privacy of those we serve very seriously and are strict.” “Policies have been put in place to protect their records.”
“Any attempt to unduly Access Veteran Records This is unacceptable and will not be tolerated by VA personnel,” Hayes wrote.
The possible motive for accessing the medical records remains under investigation and investigators are still trying to determine whether Vance and Walz’s information was shared as a result of the breaches, the Post reports.
JD Vance and Tim Walz will debate each other in New York City on Tuesday night. (Getty Images)
Sources told the newspaper that the VA employees under investigation, including physicians and contractors, accessed medical records using their own VA computers and did so mostly from their government offices. Some staffers reportedly told investigators that they were eager to see the files on Vance and Walz, as both candidates had defended their military records during the campaign.
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The Justice Department declined to comment about the report. The breach reportedly did not include access to any disability compensation, which has greater security protocols than health information.
