Gov. Kristi Noem is demanding answers from the White House, the National Archives, and Rep. Bennie Thompson after her Social Security number and those of her immediate family were leaked in an unprecedented move by federal agencies in the aftermath of record releases from the Jan. 6 committee. Rep. Thompson is the chair of this committee, which was formed to investigate the attack on the Capitol.
Federal agencies released the records without redaction, meaning that all personal information including Social Security numbers was made public for anyone to see. Noem has since called for a full investigation into these agencies’ handling of sensitive documents and records, tweeting “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” on Friday evening following the leak. She also asked what measures will be taken “to protect our identities?”
This negligence by multiple federal agencies highlights a serious security issue with how these entities handle private documents. This isn’t only a problem specific to Governor Noem—anyone who has their personal information included in documents released by these agencies could potentially be at risk for identity theft or other forms of fraud due to this breach in security protocols.
The leak also raises questions about why this happened in the first place—why was Noem’s personal information included in documents related to investigations into January 6th? It seems likely that this was done deliberately as a way to target her specifically—and if so, then whoever was responsible should be held accountable for their actions as soon as possible.
In light of this shocking incident involving Gov. Kristi Noem’s data being made public without her knowledge or consent, federal agencies must take swift action to address this serious breach in security protocols before any more innocent people become victims of identity theft or other forms of fraud due to careless mistakes on behalf of government officials. Also, those responsible for leaking Noem’s private information must be held accountable for their actions.
