New Jersey’s already heated governor’s race was thrown into chaos Thursday after a branch of the National Archives admitted to releasing Democrat Mikie Sherrill‘s military files with personal information to an ally of her Republican challenger.
In another stunning development, Sherrill said she was not allowed to walk in her graduation from the U.S. Naval Academy 30 years ago because she did not turn in classmates during a cheating scandal.
Sherrill accused President Donald Trump’s administration of illegally disseminating the documents in a scheme with the team of her Republican challenger Jack Ciattarelli, and threatened legal action.
Sherrill, a former Navy helicopter pilot and now a four-term congresswoman, was not allowed to walk with her Naval Academy classmates in 1994 as punishment connected to a high-profile scandal in which more than 100 midshipmen cheated on an exam, as detailed in a report by the New Jersey Globe on Thursday.
Sherrill was not accused in the cheating scandal, and said in a statement she did not cheat but was barred from the event because she failed to report classmates who were involved.
Around the same time Thursday, CBS News reported a branch of the National Archives released a mostly un-redacted version of Sherrill’s military records to an ally of Ciattarelli, the GOP candidate running against Sherrill to succeed outgoing Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy in a closely watched race.
That could, according to the report, violate the Privacy Act of 1974 and exemptions under the Freedom of Information Act.
The news outlet made the discovery while investigating whether Sherrill was linked to the cheating scandal.
The reports came the same day a new poll in the race, from Emerson College, showed Sherrill and Ciattarelli tied six weeks before the Nov. 4 election.
Sherrill has repeatedly highlighted her Navy service during the campaign. She was shown flying a helicopter in her first ad of the general election.
The U.S. House member said in a statement: “When I was an undergraduate at the Naval Academy, I didn’t turn in some of my classmates, so I didn’t walk, but graduated and was commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Navy, serving for nearly ten years with the highest level of distinction and honor.”
The Globe also reported that Sherrill’s campaign rejected a request to look over any disciplinary records from her time at the Naval Academy. Sherrill’s camp did not immediately respond to a request from NJ Advance Media whether she would allow that.
The cheating scandal made national news in the early 1990s. Two dozen midshipmen were expelled after obtaining answers to an electrical engineering exam and sharing them with classmates in 1992. It led to congressional hearings, the resignation of the academy’s superintendent, and reforms at the academy.
Sherrill served in the Navy for nine years and was recommended for promotion to lieutenant commander before retiring in 1993. She received a Navy Achievement Medal in 1991 for saving a classmate’s life.
CBS News also reported Sherrill’s name does not appear in a 1994 commencement program for the Naval Academy’s graduation, but it does appear in the academy’s 1994 yearbook.
She graduated and was commissioned on May 25, 1994.
Sherrill told the Globe that Ciattarelli “continues to try and use any avenue he can to execute the MAGA playbook of smearing military service.”
“Now, his latest attempt is to go after a 30-year-old widely reported incident when I was an undergraduate at the Naval Academy,” she added.
Ciattarelli said in his own statement that Sherrill’s admission that “she was implicated in, and punished for, her involvement in the largest cheating and honor code scandal in the history of the United States Navy is both stunning and deeply disturbing.”
“For eight years, Mikie Sherrill has built her entire political brand around her time at the Naval Academy and in the Navy, all the while concealing her involvement in the scandal and her punishment,” he added. The people of New Jersey deserve complete and total transparency.”
Ciattarelli campaign strategist Chris Russell told NJ Advance Media that Sherrill’s connection to the cheating scandal is “a huge deal.”
“I would argue more than anything, that she’s made her service in the Navy the primary issue of her campaign,” he added. “So the idea now that she won’t share records relating to really what happened, I don’t know why anyone would believe her or take her word for it.”
CBS News reported that documents it received in its investigation appear to show the National Personnel Records Center, a branch of the National Archives and Records Administration, released Sherrill’s full military file, almost completely un-redacted to an ally who was working on opposition research for Ciattarelli’s campaign.
That included her Social Security number, home addresses for her and her parents, life insurance information, her performance evaluations, and the nondisclosure agreement between her and the U.S. government to safeguard classified information, CBS reported.
The NPRC told CBS News that a technician did not follow standard operating procedures for releasing records and should have only released portions eligible by federal public records laws.
Sherrill wrote on social media: “This is an illegal and dangerous weaponization of the federal government.”
“The Ciattarelli campaign and the Trump admin are breaking the law and exposing private records for political gain is a violation of anyone who has ever served,” she added. “No veteran’s record is safe.”
Sean Higgins, a Sherrill campaign spokesman, said the Trump administration “blatantly violated federal law by releasing Mikie Sherrill’s unredacted personal military records to an agent of the Ciattarelli campaign — which were then distributed and weaponized by Jack Ciattarelli."
“This is a breathtaking, disturbing leak that must be thoroughly investigated,” Higgins added. “Once again, the Trump administration is targeting political opponents with an absolute disregard for the law, this time in concert with the Ciattarelli campaign.
“This disrespects the service of all military veterans, jeopardizes the safety of their records, and shows that Jack Ciattarelli will say or do anything to get elected, no matter the dishonor he brings upon himself — and that should frighten everyone.”
Neither the Archives nor the White House immediately returned messages seeking comment from NJ Advance Media.
The NPRC wrote a letter to Sherrill explaining what happened and apologizing. The center said the breach was “rare” and we will “hold our staff accountable” and will review their policies.
The Ciattarelli ally is Nick De Gregorio, a Marine veteran who ran an unsuccessful campaign for Congress in New Jersey’s 5th District in 2022.
He told CBS News that Russell, the Ciattarelli strategist, asked him to look into Sherrill’s record but also that the campaign did not hire or encourage him to access the files.
De Gregorio said he submitted a Freedom of Information Act request.
“Given the charged political environment… Rep. Sherrill will no doubt seek to paint my actions as nefarious and the records as leaked by the Trump Administration to injure her, which as we both know is completely and totally false on both counts," De Gregorio told the media outlet.
De Gregorio said he was “shocked” and “kind of disgusted” that the NPRC gave the wealth of information to “a random guy.”
The Archives told CBS News: “We do not believe that there was any attempt to deceive NPRC staff in this case.”
Attorneys for Sherrill’s campaign also sent letters to the National Archives, Ciattatelli’s campaign, Russell and De Gregorio suggesting she could seek damages in court.
Russell wrote on social media that Sherrill is “trying to distract” from the cheating scandal “with more lies.”
“FACT: The National Archives provided documents in response to a legitimate and perfectly legal FOIA request. Documents, btw, that had NOTHING to do with the cheating scandal,” he added. “The National Archives then apologized to the requestor and took full responsibility for their error. Now... it’s time for Rep. Sherrill to come clean and authorize release of all of her records.”
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