The House Select Subcommittee on Armed Services is investigating the Air Force for improperly releasing military service records to a political opposition research group.
In a letter to Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall on Thursday, committee chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, demanded that the service turn over all documents and communications related to the release of official military personnel files to Due Diligence Group, LLC, a research firm that obtained the records of several Republican candidates ahead of the midterms. elections in 2022.
Representative Chis Stewart, R-Utah, signed the letter.
An internal Air Force investigation found last month that the service improperly released the military service records of 11 people. The investigation was launched after the military information of Indiana Republican House candidate Jennifer-Ruth Greene was revealed in the run-up to the midterm elections.
Since then, several other GOP candidates have said their military records were improperly released.
Two sitting members of Congress, Republicans Don Bacon of Nebraska and Zach Nunn of Iowa, were also among those whose records were illegally released.
In a letter to Mr. Bacon last month, the Air Force said a Due Diligence Group employee posing as an investigator had requested his records.
“Employees of the Department of the Air Force did not follow proper procedures that require a member to sign a release consent,” Air Force spokeswoman Ann Stefanek told CNN last month. “There was no evidence of political motivation or ill intent on the part of any employee.”
She said the Air Force would “seek to prevent such unauthorized disclosure of private information from recurring” and would conduct monthly audits.
Ms. Stefanik told Politico that “virtually all” of the 11 unauthorized records requests came from the Due Diligence Group.
Mr. Jordan said Thursday that the improper releases “may have violated Defense Department policy and federal law.”
“While the Air Force has rightly taken responsibility for these inappropriate OMPF disclosures, questions about the US Air Force’s collection, retention, and distribution of this confidential information remain unanswered,” Mr. Jordan wrote.
