House Republicans Condemn ‘Unacceptable’ DOD Delay in Responses to Improper Disclosure of Military Documents

EXCLUSIVE: Two senior Republicans in the House of Representatives are angry that the Department of Defense is delaying responses to a series of questions regarding the improper release of military documents belonging to at least 11 people, including several Republicans who ran for Congress in last year’s midterm elections.

Earlier this month, House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, D-A, and House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, D-K, sent a letter to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin demanding an answer to a question about the Air Force’s release of military personnel records. military personnel apply for an elected position in an opposition research firm.

In a letter sent Feb. 13, Austin asked for the committee to be provided with a list of inappropriately released records of congressional candidates over the past two years, a status report on notifications to those affected by the inappropriate release, and rules and policies regarding remedies for proper release.

Comer and Rogers also requested information on whether there are any active investigations or criminal cases related to the leak.

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House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, Alabama, right, and House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer are frustrated at the Department of Defense’s delay in responding to their Feb. 13 letter. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc., Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg, Eric Lee/Bloomberg)

Lawmakers have given a February 27 deadline for responses, but the Department of Defense has yet to respond. A source with knowledge of Republicans’ eagerness to get answers to the leaked tapes told Fox that the Defense Department told the committee it would provide a response to Rogers and Comer’s letter by March 17.

“It is unacceptable that the Department of Defense continues to delay responding to our committee about flagrant mishandling of private military records,” Rogers told Fox News Digital on Wednesday. “Our military personnel deserve the best. We will continue to put pressure on the Department of Defense until we get answers.”

Similarly, Comer told Fox that the Defense Department’s behavior “sets a dangerous precedent” for those whose information has been leaked.

The seal of the US Department of Defense at a lecture in the media briefing room at the Pentagon December 12, 2013 in Washington, DC. (Ol J. Richards/AFP via Getty Image)

“The inability of the Ministry of Defense to provide timely The responses to a congressional investigation into the release of official records to a private research firm are discouraging news for the men and women of the armed forces who have lost faith in their privacy, Comer said. “This behavior by a government agency sets a dangerous precedent for the victims of the leak.

“Chairman Rogers and I are keen to get answers about how this personal data was obtained and disclosed without consent. We will not accept any other response from the Department of Defense.”

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“It is important that men and women in the military have confidence in their leadership’s ability to protect personal personal data from inappropriate disclosure,” the GOP congressmen said in the letter. “Disclosure of official personnel files (OMPF) outside of proper procedures violates Department of Defense (DOD) policy and the Privacy Act of 1974, and, if done at the request of the public, may also violate the protections provided by the Freedom of Information Act. (FOIA)”.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

The letter added that air force told the committee that between October 2021 and December 2022, he provided records of 11 individuals to a private research firm that “allegedly misrepresented itself” to obtain the records.

“This behavior of the Air Force is at least unacceptable. It is possible that the behavior of the research firm is criminal, ”the congressmen wrote.

It was revealed last week that the Due Diligence Group, a research firm that obtained data on the military personnel of congressional candidates, was funded by two campaign groups working to elect Democrats to the House and Senate.

According to Federal Election Commission (FEC) documents, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) awarded the Due Diligence Group $173,000 during the 2022 election season, including three separate payments of more than $30,000 after the election.

STUDY GROUP WHICH WRONGLY RECEIVED GOP MILITARY CANDIDATES GOT TWO DEM COMMITTEES PAYING

The firm also received more than $110,000 from the Congressional Democratic Campaign Committee (DCCC) between January 2021 and December 2022, according to publicly available FEC documents.

Located in Arlington, Virginia, across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C., the Pentagon has served as the epicenter of the U.S. military, housing the Department of Defense, Army, Navy, and Air Force since the 1940s. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc.)

According to searches of the FEC records, other than the DSCC and DCCC, no other campaigns, PACs or committees that detail payments have used the Due Diligence Panel.

Earlier this month, the Air Force said Abraham Payton, a partner at the Due Diligence Group, requested and received personal military records from several Republican interim candidates before their election.

Payton’s bio page is no longer available online, but an archived version of the Due Diligence Group website shows that he “joined the Democratic SuperPAC in 2011” where he “produced over 100 opposition research books and handled over 4,000 requests for public records” .

On Feb. 8, interim GOP candidates Sam Peters of Nevada and Kevin Delliker of Pennsylvania were reportedly notified that Due Diligence Group’s Payton had made “numerous inquiries” on their military personnel records last year.

Democratic-affiliated firm specializes in “using public record research to provide our clients with the knowledge and insights they need to make strategic decisions,” its website says.

Congressman-elect Zach Nunn, R-Iowa, attends an orientation for newly elected members of the 118th U.S. Congress after the 2022 midterms at the Hyatt in Washington, November 13, 2022. (REUTERS/Michael A. McCoy)

Representatives Don Bacon, R-Nebraska, and Zach Nunn, R-Iowa, called for an investigation into potential illegal activity related to the publication of their recordings after they were both notified air force that their military lists were improperly published during their campaign for the 2022 midterm elections.

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Former GOP candidate Jennifer-Ruth Green was another veteran whose personal records, including details of sexual assault that occurred while she was in the Air Force, were made public without her consent. In the letter, the Air Force acknowledged that its records of military personnel were given to a third party “without proper editing.”

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, D-Fla., also blamed the Air Force on Monday for a possible leak of her military documents and a failure to respond to official correspondence demanding answers about a series of leaks that have affected a number of other GOP lawmakers and former candidates.

The Pentagon did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Brandon Gillespie of Fox News, Aubrey Spady, Thomas Phippen and Aaron Kligman contributed to this article.