The Washington Post reported that dozens of Department of Veterans Affairs employees viewed the medical records of VP candidates Sen. JD Vance and Gov. Tim Walz without authorization.
“We take the privacy of the Veterans we serve very seriously and have strict policies in place to protect their records,” stated VA press secretary Terrence Hayes. “Any attempt to improperly access Veteran records by VA personnel is unacceptable and will not be tolerated.” He referred further questions to the Justice Department.
The VA health system has 40,000 employees and serves over nine million registered voters.
The department alerted both campaigns of the breach.
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 with federal prosecutors on the actions of several employees in the health system, including a 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.Like the others, the physician and contractor used their VA computers to get into the records, mostly from their government offices.
The department launched an investigation.
The employees accessed the records in July and August.
It’s easy for employees to access records “to ensure quick access for doctors inside and outside VA in an emergency.”
Missal responded when alerted about the access:
Shortly after the misconduct by his employees was discovered, VA Secretary Denis McDonough sent a missive to the agency’s workforce of more than 450,000 employees to remind them of the rules surrounding veterans’ privacy.“Veteran information should only be accessed when necessary to accomplish officially authorized and assigned duties as an employee, contractor, volunteer, or other personnel,” McDonough wrote in an Aug. 30 email. “Viewing a Veteran’s records out of curiosity or concern — or for any purpose that is not directly related to officially authorized and assigned duties — is strictly prohibited.”McDonough noted that any violation of the rules could bring disciplinary action, including possible removal, as well a referral to law enforcement agencies for civil penalties and criminal prosecution.Any employees who are not criminally charged after the incident could still face administrative sanctions, VA officials said.The investigators want to determine the motive and if any of them shared the private information.
The employees’ intent and how long they looked in the files determine how prosecutors will proceed with a case.
A few employees cited curiosity since their “military service has faced scrutiny during the presidential campaign.”
Well, ACKSHUALLY, people have tried to scrutinize Vance’s military service only because Walz’s military service is filled with lies and deception.
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