EXCLUSIVE: Former Colorado GOP Senate candidate Robert "Eli" Bremer is weighing his legal options after it was revealed to him by the Air Force on Thursday that his Social Security number was used by a Democratic Party-aligned research firm to improperly receive his military records.
Just one day after it was revealed the Air Force had improperly released his military records, Bremer, who expressed outrage Wednesday over the branch's failure to notify him about the incident, told Fox News Digital that he was contacted Thursday by an Air Force colonel about the situation.
"This is what really should've happened originally," Bremer told Fox shortly after he was contacted by the Air Force. "I got a message from a Facebook contact of mine who said someone in the Air Force is trying to reach me. … As soon as I got through, she patched me through to a colonel who immediately took the call, which is pretty unusual. He knew exactly who I was and confirmed a coupe of things to me that I did not know."
Explaining the call, Bremer said he was told by the colonel that none of his wife's information was released and that Due Diligence Group – which has received thousands of dollars from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee – used his social security number to obtain the records.
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"He said, ‘nothing about your wife was released, however, what our initial investigation showed was that Due Diligence had your social security number and used that to get your records,’" Bremer said, recalling the conversation.
According to the group's website, Due Diligence Group – which worked to obtain the military records of multiple Republican candidates from the Air Force ahead of the 2022 midterm elections – specializes in "using public records research to provide our clients with the knowledge and insights needed to drive strategic decision-making."
While he said he is unsure how exactly the research firm obtained his records, Bremer said he believes the group "filled out forms that did not explicitly pretend to be me, but used all the information they knew," perhaps portraying as an employer doing research on a potential hire.
"Apparently there's a signature on the form that's supposed to be signed by the person to release the information, i.e. me, and that was not signed," Bremer said.
Following the latest development in the Air Force's release of GOP candidates' military records, a situation that has provided a series of headaches for the branch, Bremer said he is now considering his legal options.
"He made it very clear to me they already had my social. So I've now talked to a military lawyer. He said that unfortunately it's very hard to pursue against the government. So while it's a crime, it's pretty much a crime that they basically get away with," Bremer said.
"There may be, according to the lawyers I talked to, there may be a criminal issue around [Due Diligence Group] improperly using my social security number," he added. "Cause Due Diligence had my social and I have not authorized them to have my social. I have no idea from where they got my social. … I've never published it. There's no reason for somebody to have that social security number that they had."
The Air Force and Due Diligence group did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News.
Bremer also said he was told by the Air Force that the branch sent a letter informing him about the release of his records to a previous address of his and "never realized their error."
"They should have gotten a forward that said three-year-old address, they should've figured that out," Bremer said. "But clearly the system didn't do that, which I think is a huge failure.
Bremer said he was told that he would receive a report on the situation, sent certified.
A spokesperson for the Air Force told Fox News Wednesday evening that it "sent a letter to all affected individuals" who had their records released.
"Department of the Air Force employees did not follow proper procedures requiring an authorizing signature consenting to the release of information," Ann Stefanek, chief of media operations for the Air Force, said in a statement. "An internal audit into the records release process determined there was an unauthorized release of military Duty information on 11 individuals. The Air Force sent a letter to all affected individuals."
Stefanek also noted that the Air Force "takes full responsibility for releasing the personally identifiable information of these individuals" and that "records-release procedures have been improved by elevating the approval level for release of information to third parties and conducting intensified retraining for personnel who handle record requests."
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The Air Force confirmed in a letter last week to House Armed Services Committee Chair Mike Rogers. R-Ala., and Oversight Committee Chair James Comer, R-Ky., that it provided unauthorized access to the military records of seven Republican congressional candidates in 2022.
In addition to the five Republicans already known to have been affected by the breach, the Air Force confirmed the data of GOP candidates J.R. Majewski and Bremer were also accessed.
Other Republican candidates whose records were released to the Due Diligence Group include Rep. Donald Bacon, R-Neb., Rep. Zachary Nunn, R-Iowa, Kevin Dellicker, Jennifer-Ruth Green and Samuel Peters.
Abraham Payton of the Due Diligence Group was named by the Air Force in letters to Peters and Dellicker as having made "multiple requests" for their records.
An Air Force internal audit began following the discovery that Republican Indiana House candidate Green’s military records were improperly released. Those records, reported on by Politico in October 2022, included details of a sexual assault Green experienced during her service.
The release of Green's records led Rogers and Comer to send a letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin demanding information, including a list of the improperly released records of congressional candidates over the past two years and a list of punitive actions taken against those responsible for the leak.
The Air Force's improper release of Republican candidates' military records has sparked immense backlash and led to multiple GOP-led House panels looking into the matter.
Fox News' Timothy H.J. Nerozzi, Ronn Blitzer and Aubrie Spady contributed to this article.
