Sherrill’s campaign claims Trump officials and Ciattarelli’s team broke the law by releasing her private military records, while Republicans spotlight a Naval Academy scandal.
Rep. Mikie Sherrill, the Democratic nominee for New Jersey governor, has launched a new ad accusing President Trump’s administration and Republican opponent Jack Ciattarelli’s campaign of unlawfully releasing her un-redacted military records. The documents reportedly contained her Social Security number, home addresses, and other private details.
“It’s not just a scandal. It is illegal,” a narrator says in the ad, alleging the records were given to Ciattarelli’s team and shared despite containing sensitive data. Sherrill’s campaign has sent cease-and-desist letters demanding the documents be withdrawn and preserved by the National Archives.
Ciattarelli’s camp denies wrongdoing, arguing the records came from a legal Freedom of Information Act request and that the National Archives admitted error. They have instead pressed Sherrill over her alleged connection to a Naval Academy cheating scandal, highlighting reports that she did not walk at her 1994 graduation.
Sherrill said she refused to expose classmates but still graduated and served nearly a decade as a Navy officer. Both sides have released digital ads escalating the clash as the governor’s race intensifies.