Unredacted Sherrill Records Released Before Election

With about five weeks until Election Day and polls showing a close race, the National Archives’ National Personnel Records Center mistakenly released a mostly unredacted copy of Rep. Mikie Sherrill’s Navy personnel file. The file was reportedly delivered to Nicholas De Gregorio, an ally and donor linked to Republican nominee Jack Ciattarelli, and included Social Security numbers, home addresses, performance evaluations, a nondisclosure agreement and records related to a 1994 U.S. Naval Academy cheating scandal in which Sherrill says she did not cheat but was barred from walking at graduation. The Archives apologized, said a technician failed to follow procedures, offered credit monitoring to affected parties and launched an internal review. CBS and other outlets reported that the FOIA request behind the release appeared legitimate, and legal experts say the disclosure could violate the Privacy Act and FOIA exemptions. Democrats — including Sherrill’s campaign, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and the Democratic Governors Association — have called for criminal investigations and accused the Trump administration and the Ciattarelli campaign of weaponizing the records, while Ciattarelli has demanded transparency. The episode has injected new legal and political stakes into an already tight New Jersey gubernatorial contest.