The inspector general for the National Archives has launched an investigation into the release of Rep. Mikie Sherrill, D-N.J. and her military records, escalating a political fight now central to New Jersey’s gubernatorial race, Politico reported.
Will Brown, acting inspector general for the National Archives and Records Administration, said Tuesday he has “initiated an investigation into the matter,” according to an email obtained by Politico.
The move follows a request from Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, who called the disclosure a “stunning failure” to safeguard the privacy of a veteran and sitting member of Congress.
Garcia denounced the release as an “illegal and likely politically motivated disclosure” that “raises serious questions about whether NARA, currently headed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, released the comprehensive record in a politically motivated effort to aid Rep. Sherrill’s gubernatorial opponent.”
Sherrill, a Democrat representing New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District, is running to succeed term-limited Gov. Phil Murphy. Her campaign has accused the Trump administration of “targeting political opponents” in coordination with Republican nominee Jack Ciattarelli’s team.
Ciattarelli’s attorney, Mark D. Sheridan, rejected that charge.
He said claims that the campaign was “part of a conspiracy to smear Representative Sherrill with ill-gotten documents is completely false.”
The documents were first obtained by Nicholas De Gregorio, a Marine veteran and Ciattarelli ally. The National Archives stated that the release originated from a Freedom of Information Act request that was mistakenly granted.
National Personnel Records Center Director Scott Levins admitted last week that a staffer made a “serious error” in turning over Sherrill’s comprehensive record and informed her campaign of the mistake in writing.
Sheridan said Ciattarelli adviser Chris Russell asked De Gregorio only to “see if he could find out anything about Representative Sherrill from her military buddies,” not to file a FOIA request.
The controversy has fueled partisan recriminations. Democrats pressed for accountability over what they see as a breach of federal safeguards, while Republicans urged Sherrill to release additional information from her time at the Naval Academy. They have demanded clarity on why she did not walk at her graduation ceremony.
Sherrill has said she skipped the ceremony because she refused to turn in classmates involved in a cheating scandal.
“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 10 years with the highest level of distinction and honor,” Sherrill said.
“Jack continues to try and use any avenue he can to execute the MAGA playbook of smearing military service,” she said. “Now, his latest attempt is to go after a 30-year-old widely reported incident when I was an undergraduate at the Naval Academy.”
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