VA Tech Chief's Ties to Democratic Operative Revealed After Veterans' Service Records Leaked
On Feb. 8, Kurt DelBene, the chief technology officer of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, met with his wife, Rep. Suzan DelBene (D-Washington).
That’s what the calendar of Kurt DelBene, assistant secretary of Veterans Affairs said, according to a copy obtained by the Washington Free Beacon.
So what? Sounds a little personal, doesn’t it, and more private than we should care about — a man meeting with his wife?
But privacy may have been the topic of the meeting between the DelBenes. And not their own privacy, but the privacy of the records of veterans who also were Republican candidates for Congress.
It all may be a coincidence, just sayin’, but Feb. 8 was also the day the U.S. Air Force notified veterans Sam Peters and Kevin Dellicker that a contractor for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee had, through misrepresentation, obtained the service records of both men, who ran for office in 2022.
The contractor, the Due Diligence Group, was working for the DCCC to do opposition research on Republicans.
And Kurt DelBene’s calendar said: “Meet w/Suzan’s technology team (account security).”
Did I mention Suzan DelBenes is the chairwoman of the DCCC? Oh, and her husband’s calendar entry has a DCCC Zoom link?
Just sayin’.
But House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-California) sees more than a benign coincidence.
“This isn’t going away quietly,” he said Monday. “It wasn’t on just one person. It was all these Republicans running. We’re gonna have to just not clamp down on that, [but] look to see if it’s happened anywhere else,” the Free Beacon reported.
Records of Peters and Dellicker were “inappropriately” sought by Abraham Payton of Due Diligence, “for the stated purpose of employment and benefits,” according to the Air Force, Politico reported. Both Republicans lost their elections.
And it’s not just the records of Peters and Dellicker that were obtained.
The Air Force said the records of 11 of their veterans were breached, Politico reported.
Among them is Rep. Don Bacon (R-Nebraska), who said Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall has referred the matter to the Justice Department, Politico reported.
Other veterans affected by the records incursion include Rep. Zach Nunn (R-Iowa) and Jennifer-Ruth Green of Indiana.
Politico reported it was initially told Green’s records were obtained under a Freedom of Information Act filing.
The Air Force released redacted records of Green, but later admitted that was an error, according to the report. Among records made public about her was a sexual assault against her in Iraq by a member of the Iraqi military, an incident she later discussed with Politico.
Dellicker, Bacon and Peters learned from the Air Force in February that Payton had their Social Security numbers at the time he accessed their records.
For his part, Peters wants to know the specific roles played by the DCCC and Democratic opponents in receiving and applying the ill-sought records.
“Look, you sanction a hit man to kill somebody, you’re guilty of a crime. You sanction somebody to steal, you’re guilty of a crime,” Peters told Politico. “And the DCCC needs to be [held to account], and I fully intend on making sure they are.”
The DCCC paid about $110,000 to Due Diligence from January 2021 to December 2022, according to the Politico.
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