National Archives apologizes to Dem gubernatorial candidate for records ‘breach’

The National Archives apologized to Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill after the National Personnel Records Center released her military records, including sensitive information like her social security number, to “unauthorized requester” Nicholas De Gregorio.

CBS News referred to De Gregorio as an ally of Republican Garden State gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli, who is currently vying against Sherrill for the governorship. 

De Gregorio told the outlet that Chris Russell, a GOP consultant in New Jersey, asked him to see what he could uncover about the Democratic lawmaker. He also indicated to the outlet that the Republican candidate’s campaign did not hire or encourage him to access the materials.

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NPRC Director Scott Levins issued the mea culpa in a letter to Sherrill, which her campaign posted online.

“On behalf of the National Archives, I sincerely apologize for the inconvenience and aggravation this situation may cause you and for our failure to safeguard your military record from unauthorized release,” he noted in the letter.

When responding to a Freedom of Information Act Request from De Gregorio, the NPRC “released the comprehensive official record, including personal information such as your social security number and date of birth,” Levins told Sherrill, describing the “breach” as “exceedingly rare,” and offering her “free credit monitoring services.” 

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“We will hold our staff accountable for failing to follow proper administrative procedures with regard to the release of your records. Additionally, we will review our policies and procedures to add additional controls to prevent a similar occurrence in the future and provide additional training to staff to re-enforce our commitment to safeguarding the personal information of our nation’s veterans,” he wrote.

Sherrill decried the release as unlawful government “weaponization.”

“This is an illegal and dangerous weaponization of the federal government. That @Jack4NJ [Jack Ciattarelli] and the Trump admin are breaking the law and exposing private records for political gain is a violation of anyone who has ever served. No veteran’s record is safe,” she asserted in a post on X.

President Donald Trump, who is backing Ciattarelli in the gubernatorial contest, slammed Sherrill as “close to incompetent” in a Truth Social post on Thursday, misspelling her first name as “Mike.”

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Ciattarelli lost the 2021 governor’s race to incumbent Democratic Gov. Phil Murhpy.