The January 6th Committee Just Did the Unthinkable, And It Can't Be Fixed

According to a disturbing report by The Washington Post, after the January 6th Committee dropped its subpoena against former President Donald Trump and dissolved, the Committee dumped hundreds of records onto the internet relating to its investigation.

Among the documents was a White House visitor log from December 2020 that contained the social security numbers of almost 2,000 people. The report states that while some numbers were redacted, 1,900 of those numbers were not and were made public.

It’s incredibly alarming that any American would have their entire identity exposed in this way, leaving them susceptible to identity theft and a whole host of issues; but what’s especially triggering is that high-profile politicians were on the list. The social security numbers of South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, Texas Governor Greg Abbott, and South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster were all put on blast, as well as former Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar and former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson, and other members of former President Trump’s cabinet.

The chaos doesn’t stop there. The numbers of Governor Noem’s husband, children, and son-in-law were all revealed. The Governor tweeted on Friday:

My lawyers have asked the @WhiteHouse, the @USNatArchives, and @BennieGThompson which of them is responsible for leaking the Social Security Numbers of me, my husband, my 3 kids, and my son-in-law. What specific measures and remedies will be taken to protect our identities?

Unfortunately, there is no way to undo this now. What’s done is done. Those who were exposed can follow steps to try and protect themselves from identity theft, but this will more than likely plague families for years to come, and the feeling of violation will remain.

This isn’t the first time Biden’s Administration has exposed such sensitive material. We know the IRS is prone to leaking private information, too. According to a report, the IRS:

inadvertently published private information from about 120,000 taxpayers, the latest controversy for an agency increasingly in the spotlight.

Carson told The Washington Post that there is zero excuse for what happened:

Whether it was a careless and sloppy handling of records or a deliberate disregard of decorum, either scenario is a perfunctory and callous display of government and a frightening reminder of the current state in Washington. President Reagan was a savant indeed — the nine most frightening words to hear are ‘I am from the government and here to help.’

Now, the question remains: Was this intentional? It’s very hard to believe this was an “inadvertent” error, which is what an unnamed ex-January 6th Committee aide is claiming. But where are former Chairman Bennie Thompson, Rep. Adam Schiff, and the rest of the Star Chamber? Strangely silent, which is oh so telling.

Meanwhile, at the ACLJ, we will do everything in our power to find out if this was an accident or a massive plot. Our legal team is already determining what legal recourse may be appropriate, and we are urging Congress to take every necessary action available to expose whether this was truly a mistake or poorly disguised political retaliation. If it was intentional, and one or many bad actors jeopardized the safety of U.S. citizens who they might view as political adversaries, it is extremely serious. Someone needs to be held accountable, no matter how high up the chain that blame lands.