Top gubernatorial race rocked by allegations of leaks and dirty tricks amid improper military records release

Ciattarelli demands Sherrill ‘come clean’ after Naval Academy cheating scandal resurfaces

New Jersey gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli joins ‘Hannity’ to discuss his opponent, Rep. Mikie Sherrill, admitting she was blocked from attending her Naval Academy graduation over a cheating scandal.

The bitter ballot box battle in New Jersey, one of only two races for governor this year in the entire country, is in turmoil on Friday after a bombshell report Thursday revealed that the United States Naval Academy blocked Rep. Mikie Sherrill, the Democratic gubernatorial nominee, from walking with her graduating class amid a 1994 cheating scandal.

The report revealed a federal agency admitted it wrongly gave much of Democratic nominee Rep. Mikie Sherrill’s private military records to an ally of GOP rival Jack Ciattarelli.

Top House Democrats in Washington are calling for an investigation amid accusations President Donald Trump's administration may be targeting political opponents.

But Ciattarelli and his campaign are raising questions about Sherrill, a U.S. Naval Academy graduate who went on to pilot helicopters in combat during her military career, after the documents released revealed that she was barred from walking with her classmates during her 1994 graduation for failing to report those who had cheated on an exam.

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Republican candidate Jack Ciattarelli, left, shakes hands with Democratic candidate for governor Mikie Sherrill, right, before a debate on Sunday, Sept. 21, 2025, in Lawrenceville, N.J.  (AP Photo/Noah K. Murray)

And Ciattarelli is calling on Sherrill to release her records to prove why she was blocked from attending her graduation ceremony.

"What we learned today is that she was part of it in some way, shape or form. Come clean, release the records. Tell us what's in your disciplinary records. I think the people of New Jersey deserve that," Ciattarelli said Thursday night in an interview on Fox News' "Hannity."

The accusations from both sides come as the latest public opinion polls indicate a very close contest in blue-leaning New Jersey in the race to succeed term-limited Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy.

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"To have a guy I'm running against who will stop at nothing to illegally obtain records, it's beyond the pale," Sherrill charged Thursday night on the campaign trail in Plainfield, New Jersey.

The controversy went viral after CBS News reported Thursday that the National Personnel Records Center, which is a branch of the National Archives and Records Administration, released Sherrill's improperly redacted military personnel files, which included private information including her social security number.

Democratic gubernatorial nominee Rep. Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey responds to questions during the first general election debate with Republican opponent Jack Ciattarelli, on Sept. 21, 2025, in Lawrenceville, N.J.  (AP Photo/Noah K. Murray)

The National Archives, in a letter this week, apologized to Sherrill, saying the improper release was due to a government worker's error over a legal records request.

Following the breach of the records, Sherrill's campaign sent cease and desist letters to the National Archives and to Ciattarelli's campaign, as well as to Ciattarelli's top strategist, Chris Russell and Nicholas De Gregorio, who is described by Sherrill’s team as "an agent of the campaign working at the direction of" Russell.

CBS News reported that Sherrill's military records were released to De Gregorio.

"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," Sherrill campaign communications director Sean Higgins charged in a statement.

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Sherrill's campaign argued, "This is a breathtaking, disturbing leak that must be thoroughly investigated. Once again, the Trump administration is targeting political opponents with an absolute disregard for the law, this time in concert with the Ciattarelli campaign."

Minority Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, the top Democrat in the House, said he would "support a criminal investigation into the unauthorized and illegal release of Mikie Sherrill's records." 

The ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, Democratic Rep. Robert Garcia of California, as well as Sherrill's fellow House Democrats from New Jersey's congressional delegation, also called for an investigation.

House Republicans two years ago launched investigations into similar improper releases of military records of GOP House members, including Reps. Don Bacon of Nebraska and Zach Nunn of Iowa.

Around the same time the CBS News report was posted, the New Jersey Globe went up with a story focusing on Sherrill being barred from walking with her class at the Naval Academy graduation amid the cheating scandal, which made major headlines three decades ago and spurred a congressional investigation.

Republican Jack Ciattarelli celebrates with supporters after winning the New Jersey GOP gubernatorial nomination, on primary night, June 10, 2025, in Holmdel, N.J.  (Paul Steinhauser/Fox News)

Cittarrelli campaign manager Eric Alpert charged that the "admission by Congresswoman Sherrill that she was implicated in, and punished for, her involvement in the largest cheating and honor code scandal in the history of the United States Navy is both stunning and deeply disturbing."

"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. The people of New Jersey deserve complete and total transparency," he added.

Sherrill, who was never accused of cheating in the scandal, said Thursday night that "there was a test at the school that was stolen…I did not realize it was stolen. I took the test."

"Afterwards I knew what the rumor mill was," she added. "I didn't come forward with that information."

New Jersey is just one of two states, along with Virginia, that hold statewide elections for governor this November. And the contests, which traditionally grab outsized national attention, are viewed as crucial early tests of the president's popularity and agenda, and key barometers ahead of next year's midterm showdowns for the House and Senate.

Sherrill, on the campaign trail, has repeatedly linked Ciattarelli to Trump.

"As Trump has inflicted all this damage on our country, Republican politicians like Jack Ciattarelli have cheered him on every step of the way," Sherrill emphasized in a recent fundraising email to supporters.

And on Sunday, at the first debate between the gubernatorial nominees, Sherrill pointed to Ciattarelli and charged that "he’ll do whatever Trump tells him to do." 

Ciattarelli, who enjoys the president's support, says Sherrill is trying to use Trump as a cudgel.

"Listen, if you get a flat tire on the way home from work today, she's going to blame it on the president. There isn't anything she doesn't blame on the president," Ciattarelli argued, as he sat earlier this week for an interview with Fox News Digital.

Ciattarelli, who is making his third straight run for governor and who came close to upsetting Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy four years ago, discounted talk that Trump is the dominant issue in the race.

"We've got a property tax crisis in the state. The president doesn't have anything to do with that. We've got a public safety crisis in the state. Nonviolent crime is through the roof. He doesn't have anything to do with that. We've got a public education crisis, an overdevelopment crisis. Look at your monthly electric bill. The President doesn't have anything to do with those things," Ciattarelli insisted.

And Ciattarelli, a former state lawmaker and a certified public accountant who started a medical publishing company before getting into politics, charged that the Democrats are to blame, as he works overtime trying to link Sherrill to Murphy, who's term-limited, and the Democrats who've long controlled the state legislature in Trenton.

While New Jersey has long been a blue state in presidential elections, Trump improved from a 16-point loss in the state in the 2020 election to a 6-point deficit last November.

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Sherrill, who served as a federal prosecutor before first winning election to Congress in 2018, has been shining a campaign spotlight on affordability, as inflation concerns persist.

"I am laser-focused on driving down costs for families like yours. I’m going to declare a state of emergency on day one, freezing your rate hikes. I’m going to demand transparency and accountability from our government to save you time and money," she said at the start of the first debate.

Paul Steinhauser is a politics reporter based in the swing state of New Hampshire. He covers the campaign trail from coast to coast."