A junior sailor has been punished after he tried to access President Joe Biden’s restricted medical records while searching through a government database in February, the U.S. Navy revealed Tuesday.
The incident took place on Feb. 23, and the unidentified sailor searched “Joseph Biden” three times, a U.S. official told ABC News.
“On February 26, 2024, Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command (NMRTC) Fort Belvoir was notified of an unauthorized access to medical records by an active-duty service member,” the U.S. Navy said in a statement. “A Sailor assigned to NMRTC Fort Belvoir searched the name ‘Joseph Biden’ in MHS Genesis, the Military Health System’s electronic health record, out of curiosity. A co-worker reported the Sailor’s breach of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).”
President Joe Biden exits Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., following his routine annual physical, on Feb. 28, 2024.
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images, FILE
It’s unknown what records the sailor may have pulled up but it was not Biden’s record, according to the Navy.
The Naval Criminal Investigative Service immediately began an investigation after they were alerted about the search and the probe concluded on April 24, according to the Navy.
The sailor was administratively punished and continues to serve in the Navy, the U.S. official said.
President Joe Biden walks out of the White House before boarding the Marine One presidential helicopter on Feb. 28, 2024 in Washington, DC. “I’m going to Walter Reed to get my physical,” Biden told reporters as he left the executive mansion.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images, FILE
“The president was informed within hours of White House staff being notified by the Department of Defense,” a White House official told ABC News about the incident.
Biden underwent his physical on Feb. 28, two days after this investigation began. The White House official said the physical was “previously planned and was not impacted by this incident.”
ABC News’ Justin Gomez contributed to this report.
