When it comes to opposition research, it appears there are no depths to which Democrats won’t willingly sink.

While Republican Reps. Don Bacon (Neb.) and Zach Nunn, (Iowa) were hitting the campaign trail ahead of the 2022 midterm elections, they received disturbing news from the United States Air Force, for whom they both had served.

They learned their military records had been improperly released — a political effort, the Air Force suspected, by their opponents to damage their campaigns, Fox News reported.

In total, 11 individuals reportedly had their military duty information released without authorization between October 2021 and October 2022.

“Knowing that this third party paid by the Dem Campaign Congressional Committee was able to obtain my social security number and fraudulently use it to obtain my military records is concerning not only for myself and the other ten affected, but to every single veteran,” Bacon told Fox News Digital (FND) at the time. “Veterans deserve peace of mind knowing their information is safe and will be protected from political dirty tricksters.”

Months later, Fox News reports that the Democrats were playing even dirtier than Bacon realized.

The research group that obtained those unauthorized private records, the Due Diligence Group (DDG), was reportedly paid nearly $300,000 for its efforts by two Democratic campaign committees.

Fox News explains:

According to Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) gave $173,000 to Due Diligence Group during the 2022 election season, including three separate payments of over 30,000 after the election.

The firm also received more than $110,000 from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) between January 2021 and December 2022, according to public FEC filings.

FEC records reveal that, with the exception of the DSCC and the DCCC, “no other campaigns, PACs or committees that itemize disbursements employed Due Diligence Group,” the outlet states.

The Due Diligence Group specializes “in using public records research to provide our clients with the knowledge and insights needed to drive strategic decision making,” according to its website.

A DDG partner, Abraham Payton, made the request for the private military records of several Republican candidates to the Air Force, which handed them over to the Dem-linked group.

While his online bio page has now been scrubbed, FND notes that an archived version of DDG’s website boasted that Payton had “joined a democratic SuperPAC in 2011.” While there, he “produced over 100 opposition research books and managed over 4,000 public record requests.”

“I feel like I’m vindicated in what I’ve been saying all along,” Republican House candidate Jennifer-Ruth Green told FND.

She was another vet whose personnel records were released. Details of a sexual assault she suffered while serving in the Air Force were included in those records, which the Air Force admitted were released to a third party “without proper redaction.”

“There are people that accused me of trying to have a last-ditch smear effort on the congressman and the [Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee] and the Democrat machine,” she stated.

GOP midterm candidates Sam Peters (Nev.) and Kevin Dellicker (Pa.) were reportedly notified on Feb. 8 that Payton also made “multiple requests” last year for their military personnel records.

According to Politico, Air Force spokesperson Ann Stefanek said that “virtually all” of the nearly one dozen unapproved releases were made to the same third party.

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Melissa Fine

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Melissa Fine is the former executive editor of Casino Player, Strictly Slots, and Poker
Digest magazines. She is a UCLA graduate, news junkie, and dedicated Stargate SG-
1 fan. Melissa currently lives with her dog and two cats in a tiny town in the Sierra
Nevada foothills.

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