Navy Sailor Caught Searching Military Medical Database for Joe Biden’s Records

Last updated on August 7th, 2024 at 04:27 pm

The U.S. Navy has confirmed it caught a sailor who allegedly attempted to access President Joe Biden’s health records earlier this year.

In an emailed statement, a Navy spokesperson confirmed the Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command (NMRTC) at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, on Feb. 26 of this year, became aware of an unauthorized attempt to access medical records for a “Joe Biden.” The Navy attributed this unauthorized activity to an active-duty sailor at the NMRTC.

The Navy did not identify the suspect sailor by name. The Navy spokesperson said one of the sailor’s co-workers reported his activity for an apparent violation of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).

The Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) subsequently opened an investigation. The NCIS investigation ended on April 24, 2024, concluding the health records the sailor had accessed were not those of the U.S. president.

“The [Military Health System] Genesis system is a secure health system and at no time was the President’s personal information compromised,” the Navy spokesperson said.

The Navy spokesperson provided no additional details about the suspect sailor or whether Navy officials punished the sailor for the incident.

At a Tuesday Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said the Navy notified the Department of Defense and the White House of the attempt to access Biden’s health records. Ryder offered no additional details about the incident. Ryder also rebuffed questions about whether Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had any concerns Biden’s decision-making had been compromised by an adverse health condition.

The apparent attempt to access Biden’s personal health records comes about amid growing doubts within the Democratic Party about his fitness to remain in office for a second term. Several new media organizations have reported a burgeoning debate among Democratic Party insiders about replacing Biden on the 2024 presidential ticket after his performance against former President Donald Trump on June 27.

Press officials at the White House, Pentagon, and State Department have fielded dozens of questions from reporters about Biden’s debate performance and his continued fitness to serve in the two weeks since his debate appearance.