In a shocking development, it has been revealed that the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) financed a group that obtained the personal information of Republican House candidate Colin Schmitt and several other lawmakers.
This information comes to light as the House Republicans continue their investigation into the mishandling of military records by the Air Force, specifically regarding the unauthorized release of records belonging to House Republicans Don Bacon and Zach Nunn.
The DCCC has paid Due Diligence Group, the research firm behind the request for Schmitt’s records, over $110,000 between January 2021 and December 2022, according to Federal Election Commission records. Abraham Payton, of Due Diligence Group, attempted to obtain Schmitt’s personnel file from the Army National Guard in August, according to a copy of the request form he filed.
There is no evidence the DCCC directly told the liberal think tank to obtain the records. However, that’s what the group was known for.
Schmitt, who is an active member of the National Guard and lost his bid to Rep. Pat Ryan (D-NY) by less than 1.5 percentage points in November, is pointing the finger directly at the DCCC for the attempt to obtain his personal information.
“It appears that a coordinated campaign to target myself and other Congressional Republicans across the country who serve or have served our nation was for political gain,” Schmitt said in a statement, adding that the DCCC was responsible for the “illegal use of my social security number to attempt to gain access to my private military records.”
The Air Force investigation into the unauthorized release of records revealed that the private records of 11 individuals were improperly disclosed to Due Diligence, who had represented themselves as background investigators seeking service records for employment purposes.
So far, the Air Force has identified Jennifer-Ruth Green, Sam Peters, and Kevin Dellicker as individuals whose records were improperly released. The identities of the other six individuals remain unknown, but the House Armed Services and Oversight Committees are jointly investigating the matter.
Chairman Mike Rogers of the House Armed Services Committee has vowed to keep pushing on the investigation after the revelation about the attempt to access Schmitt’s records.
This story is developing, and more information will be released as the investigation progresses.
