Noem family had social security numbers leaked in relation to the House Jan. 6 Investigation
Gov. Kristi Noem is demanding answers after she and members of her family had their social security numbers publicly released in a document cache related to the House Select Committee’s investigation of the Jan. 6 insurrection.
In a letter released Friday evening by Noem's lawyers and addressed to Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-MS, the chair of the select committee and the White House general council, the second term governor condemned the security breech.
"Gov. Noem and her family are now at very high risk of identity theft and being personally compromised due to the failure to redact the social security numbers and making the same available to the public," the letter stated.
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The release of the breach was reported earlier Friday in the Washington Post. Nearly 2,000 unredacted social security numbers were inadvertently released, including Noem, Texas Gov. Greg Abbot and South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster.
Noem said she, her husband, two daughters, son and son-in-law had visited the White House and met with former President Donald Trump in December 2020 in her capacity as governor. During that visit, their personal information was recorded on visitor logs.
The logs then became exhibits for the Jan. 6 House Select Committee. Those logs, along with taped interviews, audio recordings and text messages, were posted online in the past few weeks as the Committee finished up their work, according to the Washington Post.
The unredacted social security numbers were posted sometime this week and buried in a spreadsheet several hundred rows down, according to the Washington Post. The sheets containing the information were then taken down Wednesday.
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Ian Fury, Gov. Noem's communication director, told the Washington Post the governor and her family were not notified about the security breach.
Noem's lawyers wrote in the letter the breech was a direct violation of the Privacy Act of 1974.
"We expect a detailed response addressing how the breach of privacy occurred, who was responsible, what steps breach of you has taken to remedy the breach, and what specific measures and remedies will be taken to protect Gov. Noem and her family," the letter stated.
This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Noem's SSN released in security breach related to Jan. 6 House Committee investigation
