Jack Ciattarelli, a Republican candidate for governor in New Jersey, stated on Friday that he did not leak military records pertaining to Democratic candidate Mikie Sherrill, amid accusations from his opponents.
“I’ve never seen these files and didn’t make any requests. Anyone who claims otherwise is lying,” Ciattarelli told Dan Mannarino during a segment on PIX11 News.
Reports from New Jersey Globe and CBS News revealed that Sherrill did not walk with her class during a ceremony at the U.S. Naval Academy in 1994, a decision linked to a cheating scandal involving some classmates.
CBS News also indicated that the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) mistakenly published a copy of Sherrill’s military records, which contained sensitive information, to Ciattarelli ally Nicholas de Gregorio.
Grace McCaffrey, the acting director of NARA’s Congressional Affairs, confirmed that the National Personnel Records Center had indeed made an error.
Sherrill’s campaign accused Ciattarelli of using the released information for harmful purposes. Chris Russell, a lawyer for Ciattarelli’s campaign, mentioned that he had asked De Gregorio to file a Freedom of Information Act request for Sherrill’s military records, asserting that he had also submitted one himself. Mark Sheridan, another lawyer involved, shared that they weren’t aware of possessing sensitive files until approached by reporters.
“I will firmly state that Russell was not part of any scheme to target Sherrill with damaging documents,” Sheridan emphasized.
Ciattarelli, during the debate, expressed doubts about Sherrill’s honesty regarding her graduation situation and noted he had no knowledge of whether the files reached his campaign or the media.
“I don’t know,” he admitted.
“We have a dedicated team for opposition research. I’m not part of that group,” he clarified.
When pressed about whether he had stated that his campaign was responsible for the FOIA request, Ciattarelli replied, “I don’t believe the other party is involved, regardless of the opposition research team.”
