Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) workers are accused of improperly accessing medical records belonging to vice-presidential nominees Sen. JD Vance (R-OH) and Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN).
Investigators say at least a dozen employees “improperly accessed” the records over the summer, an alleged move that would violate federal health privacy laws, the Washington Post reported Monday.
The outlet continued:
VA officials notified the Vance and Walz campaigns about the breaches after discovering the unauthorized viewing by employees at the agency’s massive health care arm, the Veterans Health Administration, according to people familiar with the investigation who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the ongoing investigation.
VA Inspector General Michael Missal’s office has shared evidence to federal prosecutors on the actions of several employees in the health system, includinga physician and a contractor who spent extended time looking at the candidates’ medical files, according to law enforcement officials, raising investigators’ concerns about their motives.
Now, investigators are trying to determine if the records were shared as they probe the motives behind the alleged breach.
“Some employees told investigators that they were simply curious to see Walz and Vance’s medicalrecords, as both nominees’ military service has faced scrutiny during the presidential campaign,” the Post article read.
In August, Vance, who is a U.S. Marine veteran, criticized Walz for lying about his military service, according to Breitbart News.
The article said Vance highlighted the fact that “Walz — a retired Army National Guard sergeant major — not only dropped out of the Army before his unit deployed to Iraq, but has lied about his military service, claiming that he carried weapons ‘in war’ — when he never served in combat or war.”
The Minnesota National Guard has since revealed that Walz had his rank reduced to master sergeant the day before he retired, “which means that he never retired as a command sergeant major as he has claimed numerous times in political ads and in political settings,” Breitbart News reported on August 17.
Vance and Walz are scheduled to debate on Tuesday as the 2024 presidential election intensifies and as Americans get ready to vote in November, the Associated Press (AP) reported on Sunday.
