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Connolly Requests DOJ Meeting on OPM Data Breach

Today, Congressman Gerry Connolly (D-VA), Vice Ranking Member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, sent a letter to Attorney General Jeff Sessions requesting a meeting on the recently reported Department of Justice criminal case involving data obtained in the 2015 OPM data breach. According to the Washington Post, two people have pleaded guilty to using the personal information of federal employees included in the data breach to apply for fraudulent loans.

“I write to request further information regarding the first publicly disclosed case filed by the Department of Justice involving the criminal use of information illegally obtained through the 2015 Office of Personnel Management (OPM) data breach,” Connolly wrote.

“I believe further details about how the defendants obtained the PII could be useful for the purposes of protecting victims of the breach from further criminal activity. I respectfully request a briefing with the Department on how we can better balance the needs of this particular prosecution and related investigations with breach victims’ need to know how their PII is being obtained by criminals,” Connolly added.

The full letter follows and is available here.



June 26, 2018

The Honorable Jeff Sessions
United States Attorney General
Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20530

Dear Attorney General Sessions:

I write to request further information regarding the first publicly disclosed case filed by the Department of Justice involving the criminal use of information illegally obtained through the 2015 Office of Personnel Management (OPM) data breach.

The Department of Justice has declined to disclose how the defendants in that case obtained the personally identifiable information (PII) of victims of the 2015 OPM data breach. I believe further details about how the defendants obtained the PII could be useful for the purposes of protecting victims of the breach from further criminal activity. I respectfully request a meeting with the Department on how we can better balance the needs of this particular prosecution and related investigations with breach victims’ need to know how their PII is being obtained by criminals.

In one of the largest breaches of government data in our nation’s history, 22 million individuals had their PII stolen as a result of the OPM data breach. The stolen PII included the social security numbers and other sensitive information background investigation records for current, former, and prospective Federal employees and contractors. Congress has provided these individuals with free credit monitoring and identity theft protection services. Those services and the broader public could benefit from more information about how the OPM data breach information is being obtained by criminals.

Thank you for your immediate attention to this request. It is my hope that we can reach an agreement that protects breach victims and holds accountable those individuals who commit fraud using stolen OPM data.

Best Regards,

Gerald E. Connolly
Member of Congress
11th District, Virginia
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