The race for New Jersey’s next governor just got more heated after unredacted military records of the Democratic candidate were shared with an ally of her Republican rival.
Nicholas De Gregorio, an ally of Republican nominee for New Jersey governor Jack Ciattarelli, told CBS News that a Republican consultant in the state had asked him to investigate the background of Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill.
Sherrill graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1994, and Ciattarelli’s campaign has investigated her link to a cheating scandal at the Academy that year. Sherrill was not involved except for not telling on her fellow students, according to CBS.
“He [Chris Russell] asked me if I could help him at all, and my first stop was, let me see what I can find from FOIA, and it was really the first time I’d ever done it,” said De Gregorio.
Documents were shared with De Gregorio by a wing of the National Archives and Records Administration. The documents allegedly show Sherrill’s almost entirely unredacted military file, which includes her Social Security Number, home addresses, a non-disclosure agreement with the U.S. government, and life insurance information.
The release may potentially violate exemptions established under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
“The technician should NOT have released the entire record,” said Grace McCaffrey of the National Archives and Records Administration in an email to CBS News, adding that they became aware of the breach on Tuesday and have begun reviewing the situation.
The National Personnel Records Center, a branch of the National Archives that manages records of U.S. service members and civil servants, said it contacted Sherrill’s office to offer an apology.
The congresswoman’s campaign was notified of the breach on Monday in a letter from the NPRC, which apologized, offered identity protection, and said it was coordinating with the Navy, the legal custodian of the records.
“When I saw [Sherrill’s] Social (Security number), I was shocked,” said De Gregorio to CBS News. “All of a sudden, the NPRC decides to give it to [me], a random guy,” he added.
De Gregorio told the network that he gave the file to Ciattarelli’s campaign, but said they neither hired him nor instructed him to access the records.
On Monday, the NPRC director sent De Gregorio a letter admitting and apologizing for the Archives’ “serious error” and requesting that he not further share the records.
In response to the CBS article about the breach, Sherrill posted on X: “This is an illegal and dangerous weaponization of the federal government,” adding, “No veteran’s record is safe.”
Sherrill campaign spokesperson Sean Higgins told Politico the breach is “a breathtaking, disturbing leak that must be thoroughly investigated.”
House Minority Leader, Democratic Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, said that he supports a “criminal investigation into the unauthorized and illegal release” of Sherrill’s files.
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment.
A new poll shows the race for New Jersey governor is tied, with 43 percent of voters supporting Democrat Mikie Sherrill and 43 percent backing Republican Jack Ciattarelli.
“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,” Ciattarelli campaign manager Eric Arpert told Politico. “The people of New Jersey deserve complete and total transparency.”
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