Two More Republicans Say Defense Department Leaked Their Files to Dem Oppo-Research Group

Drip, drip, drip. As more Republicans speak out, the scandal of politicization at the Department of Defense continues to grow. Two other Air Force personnel have been made public by notices that their confidential files were being handed to Abraham Payton, of Due Diligence Group(DDG), a Democrat oppo research firm that was employed last cycle by House Democrats.

And kudos to Staying on top of politics, too:

Sam Peters, a Republican who challenged Rep. Steven Horsford (D-Nev.) in November, and Kevin Dellicker, who fell short in the GOP primary race to take on Rep. Susan Wild (D-Pa.), both received Feb. 8 letters from the Air Force notifying them that Abraham Payton of Due Diligence Group made “multiple requests” For their records as military personnel last year.

Both Peters’ and Dellicker’s cases were referred to the Air Force by Payton, who was the former research director of the Democratic group American Bridge. “inappropriately requested” You can get copies of their records “for the stated purpose of employment and benefits.”

Yesterday we learned that Zach Nunn, Rep. Don Bacon, and Zach Nunn were also among the eleven candidates who had their files leaked to DDG. This has increased pressure to get answers to the DoD. James Comer and Mike Rogers, the committee chairs, have already Documentary response required Lloyd Austin provides insight not only about the scope of the leaks, but also about who was involved and the disciplinary and prosecution efforts that are underway within the DoD or the Air Force.

The claim of the technique involved here suggests that it may have been more than just the eleven cases cited above by the Secretary. Want to bet that DDG pulled the same trick on the other service branches — assuming that this is even accurate? It worked with the Air Force. Why would Payton or DDG limit it only to these eleven files when it worked with the Air Force?

This explanation, even though it is plausible, seems too general to be taken at face value. For records to be used to verify benefits and employment, legitimate requests must include signed releases from the veterans. Either someone falsified releases, (b), the DoD records officer handling each request was exceptionally careless in handling confidential records or (c) Payton/DDG have a source willing and able to leak the records. It’s hard to believe Payton would face criminal prosecution for using (a). It’s also difficult to believe that Payton was able to make it work. Eleven times in explanation (b). Option (c) seems the most realistic — and if so, it won’t have stopped at eleven.

Peters and Dellicker believe that others may also be involved in the effort. As an example, the House Democrats’ campaign committee.

The affected Republicans would like to know, if at all, what role the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee played in receiving and using the information that was improperly disclosed by the Air Force.

“Look, you sanction a hitman to kill somebody, you’re guilty of a crime. You sanction somebody to steal, you’re guilty of a crime,” Peters spoke in a telephone interview on Wednesday. “And the DCCC needs to be [held to account], and I fully intend on making sure they are.”

This is an excellent question. While it is clear that the DCCC or DDG can keep fingerprints on these tactics isolated, this may not be sufficient, particularly when considering the material at stake. House Democrats exploited Jennifer Ruth Green’s experience with sexual assault while serving as an Air Force pilot, and the DCCC needed to know that the information could only have been obtained from a leak of her confidential records. If other Republicans are able to point out specific attacks made by Democrats based off such records, they will also point back at the DCCC, regardless of the firewalls they may have put in place between themselves and Payton.

As I mentioned, Kudos to Politico in keeping on top of the scandal. This adds to the evidence that the federal bureaucracy is partisanized and politicized. The Washington Post doesn’t mention this story. Searches for “” will not bring up the article.Due Diligence“Jennifer-Ruth“Producing no links to the scandal within the past week. For the New York Times, see “Jennifer-Ruth” und “Due Diligence.” Credit to CNN This will be covered Tuesday, but they never bothered to report that DDG is a Democrat oppo-research group — and haven’t updated the story since.

Media wonder why its industry is facing a credibility and financial crisis.

Update: Bacon believes that the DCCC is also behind this.It is amazing when you consider how much they paid DDG.

HEMMER: “Here’s one of those affected, Nebraska Congressman Don Bacon. Sir, good morning to you, and thank you for your time. Do you think a crime was committed here, or was the Air Force just simply duped, what do you think?”

BACON: “Well, the Air Force was duped. They thought we were requesting this information for our own careers for resume building, and so forth. The Democrat organization paid for by the Democratic Campaign Congressional Committee, they were paid $110,000 to do this. But they used our social security numbers and other personal identification information to look like it was us making this request. So the Air Force was deceived. The real culprit here is the DCCC who paid $110,000 to this due diligence firm who did identity theft to get this information. And they used this information wherever they thought they found, you know, an area that can exploit like Jennifer-Ruth Green, who had to relive her sexual assault a second time, basically doing victim shaming on her, and it hurt her in her campaign.”

HEMMER: “Sure, sure. So you’re saying there was involvement on behalf of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, they’re in on this.”

BACON: “Yeah. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, we call it the DCCC paid $110,000, to this organization to do this background research. Their job was to collect this research and give it back to the DCCC. And then they used this information, whatever way they can find effective to hurt the Republican candidate. But you asked if this is illegal. It was identity theft, at a minimum, and our lawyers say there is a crime committed. But we want the Department of Justice takes this on.”

As I explained above, I am skeptical that someone could be duped. This is a serious problem for DCCC and they can expect to be scrutinized by the House Republicans.

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