VA staffers improperly peeked at medical records of Vance and Walz: report

At least 12 Department of Veterans Affairs employees are reportedly accused of improperly peeking at vice presidential hopefuls JD Vance’s and Tim Walz’s medical records in July and August.

Roughly a dozen or more employees had snooped at the sensitive medical files, sparking an internal criminal investigation into whether they violated federal health privacy laws, according to the Washington Post.

“We reported to law enforcement allegations that VA personnel may have improperly accessed Veteran records. We take the privacy of the Veterans we serve very seriously and have strict policies in place to protect their records,” VA Press Secretary Terrence Hayes told The Post.

“Any attempt to improperly access Veteran records by VA personnel is unacceptable and will not be tolerated.”

Both Walz, 60, and Vance, 40, are the first pair of dueling veterans running on the vice presidential tickets since 1996 when Republican Jack Kemp and Democrat Al Gore squared off.

Vance had served in the US Marine Corps between 2003 and 2007, while Walz spent about 24 years in the National Guard before retiring to prep for a congressional run in the 2006 cycle.

Authorities uncovered the infringement last month during a routine review of the department’s high-profile accounts.

Officials at the VA notified the Harris-Walz and Trump-Vance campaigns about the breach, which included a contractor and a physician who are believed to have reviewed those files for an extended period of time, according to the report.

At this point, it is not entirely clear whether the perpetrators shared data from those medical records with any outside groups.

Investigators are reportedly scrutinizing the motives behind the breach, with several employees claiming that they were merely curious to learn about the health status of the two VP contenders.

The snoopers are not believed to have obtained access to disability compensation records, as that type of record is generally kept in a more secure setting, per the report.

Shortly after learning about the breach, VA Secretary Denis McDonough penned a memo to personnel at the department underscoring its rules on safeguarding privacy.

“Veterans trust us to respect their privacy and protect the confidentiality of their information,” he wrote in the missive obtained by The Post.

“We earn this trust by adhering to our core values of integrity, commitment, advocacy, respect, and excellence in everything we do – and by making sure that that we follow all laws and policies when accessing and safeguarding Veteran data.”

The 1996 Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act makes it illegal to get unauthorized access to an individual’s personal health data. Violations of HIPAA can result in up to a year behind bars and penalties of up to $50,000.

There are roughly 400,000 individuals who operate in the VA medical system which services over 9 million veterans across the country.

The VA declined to confirm to The Post that Walz and Vance were the victims of the privacy breach, citing an ongoing criminal investigation into the matter, but said VA Inspector General Michael Missal’s office has been probing the alleged breach.

The Post contacted the two campaigns for comment.

Privacy violations have dogged campaigns in the past. For instance, back in 2022, Republican congressional contender Jennifer-Ruth Green accused her rival and Politico of “illegally” disclosing details about her sexual assault.

The public is only allowed access to limited information in official military personnel files. Veterans or their families are able to release additional information if they so choose.