Navy sailor disciplined for trying to access Biden’s health records early this year

WASHINGTON — A Navy sailor tried to access President Joe Biden’s medical records earlier this year, but the Pentagon said no information was compromised.

According to the Navy, a sailor assigned to the Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command searched for the name “Joseph Biden” in the military’s health care system, called Genesis. The Navy said the sailor searched “out of curiosity.”

A colleague reported the violation of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA. The Naval Criminal Investigative Service investigated and concluded that the file the sailor had opened was “not the electronic file of the President of the United States.”

Air Force Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, a Pentagon spokesman, said Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was briefed on the incident in February, as was the White House.

The sailor, whose identity has not been released, was given an administrative disciplinary action and remains in the Navy, a defense official said.

The attempted burglary was first reported by CBS.