Jan. 6 committee removes social security numbers of Trump officials after inadvertently sharing them

The House Committee tasked with investigating the Capitol riot released its final report in recent weeks, including inadvertently sharing with the public the social security numbers of hundreds of White House visitors from the Trump era.

The Washington Post reported on Friday that the committee had removed a spreadsheet from its public database on Wednesday that included almost 2,000 social security numbers of people who worked in and with Trump’s White House during the previous administration.

The numbers were of everyone who visited the White House in December of 2020, including three members of Trump’s cabinet and several high-level Trump allies.

According to the Post, the Government Publishing Office (GPO) did not respond to a question from its writers about whether it had notified – or intended to notify – those whose social security numbers had been compromised by remaining public for so long.

The documents released publicly were redacted but the singular spreadsheet containing the 1,900 social security numbers from December 2020 White House guests was not.  

The exposed numbers reportedly included those of several Republican governors who allied with Trump.

South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem allegedly contacted the GPO demanding answers about how the information was accidentally released, how long it was public, and who may have seen it while it was available. The letter alleges Noem and her family, along with the other parties whose social security numbers were exposed, are now in danger of identity theft and other crimes.

“What specific measures and remedies will be taken to protect our identities?” Noem asked in a Tweet. An anonymous aide for the January 6 committee told the Post the leak was inadvertent.