New Jersey’s gubernatorial election is just 39 days away, and by some measures, the race between Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill and former state lawmaker Jack Ciattarelli, a Republican, is shaping up to be a competitive contest. Time will tell how the race shakes out in its closing weeks, but an unexpected controversy appears to have jolted the election.
A branch of the National Archives released a mostly unredacted version of Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill’s military records to Nicholas De Gregorio, an ally of Jack Ciattarelli, her GOP opponent in the New Jersey governor’s race. The disclosure potentially violates the Privacy Act of 1974 and exemptions established under the Freedom of Information Act.
According to the reporting, which has not been independently verified by MSNBC, the National Archives’ National Personnel Records Center turned over Sherrill’s full military file, which included personal information about the New Jersey Democrat and her family, details of her nine-year service record in the Navy and even the nondisclosure agreement between her and the U.S. government to safeguard classified information.
CBS News’ report characterized the disclosure as an “egregious blunder” and quoted a National Personnel Records Center official who acknowledged that the release should not have happened.
Many Democrats, however, including Sherrill, aren’t prepared to simply let this go.
“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,” a spokesperson for the congresswoman said in a statement. “Once again, the Trump administration is targeting political opponents with an absolute disregard for the law, this time in concert with the Ciattarelli campaign. We are calling on Jack Ciattarelli and the Trump administration to immediately stop illegally distributing Mikie Sherrill’s military files … and we will explore appropriate legal action.” The Democratic Governors Association added in a statement: “This illegal and targeted weaponization of the federal government by the Trump Administration against Mikie Sherrill should send chills down the spine of every veteran and every American.” For his part, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said that he would support a criminal investigation into the “unauthorized and illegal” release, telling reporters: “It’s outrageous that Donald Trump and his administration and political hacks connected to them continue to violate the law.” In theory, this might seem like an issue that would be of interest to the House Subcommittee on the Weaponization of Government. But in practice, I’m going to go out on a limb and guess that the GOP-led panel will ignore the controversy.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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