VA employees improperly accessed medical files of Vance and Walz

By Alayna Treene, Aaron Pellish and Zachary Cohen, CNN

(CNN) — Employees at the Department of Veterans Affairs improperly accessed the medical files of Sen. JD Vance and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the two major party vice presidential nominees, and an investigation is under way.

Two sources familiar with the situation confirmed that VA employees improperly accessed Vance’s medical records, and roughly two months ago, an employee in VA Inspector General Michael Missal’s office reached out to someone in the Ohio Republican’s operation to alert them of the breach, one of the sources said. A Harris campaign spokesperson said it was informed about the breach of Walz’s records. The campaign declined to comment further, citing the ongoing investigation.

The Washington Post, which first reported the incident, said at least a dozen employees accessed the records.

Terrence Hayes, a spokesman for the VA, confirmed to CNN that the department reported to law enforcement “allegations that VA personnel may have improperly accessed veteran records” but did not elaborate and referred additional questions to the Justice Department, which declined to comment.

As part of its response to CNN, the VA also noted that it affirmed in a message to employees last month the department’s “commitment to protect privacy,” in which it warned that “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.”

Vance enlisted in the military after high school, spending four years in the Marines and serving a tour in Iraq in 2005 as a combat correspondent. Walz enlisted at 17 and served 24 years in the National Guard before retiring in 2005 to run for Congress.

This story has been updated with additional information.

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