The cheating scandal surrounding U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ) and her time at the U.S. Naval Academy has widened after her husband, Jason, also appears to have been implicated, according to documents reviewed by the New York Post.
Last week, a bombshell report from the New Jersey Globe revealed that Sherrill was barred from walking with her class at the U.S. Naval Academy in 1994 due to her implication in a sweeping cheating scandal that implicated more than 130 midshipmen. A copy of the commencement program from May 25, 1994, which was obtained by the outlet, did not include Sherrill’s name.
The congresswoman told The Globe that she was barred from the ceremony after failing to report classmates who had been involved in the scandal. “I didn’t turn in some of my classmates, so I didn’t walk, but graduated and was commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Navy, serving for nearly ten years with the highest level of distinction and honor,” Sherrill said.
The cheating scandal surrounding U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ) and her time at the U.S. Naval Academy has widened after her husband, Jason, also appears to have been implicated, according to documents reviewed by the New York Post.
Last week, a bombshell report from the New Jersey Globe revealed that Sherrill was barred from walking with her class at the U.S. Naval Academy in 1994 due to her implication in a sweeping cheating scandal that implicated more than 130 midshipmen. A copy of the commencement program from May 25, 1994, which was obtained by the outlet, did not include Sherrill’s name.
The congresswoman told The Globe that she was barred from the ceremony after failing to report classmates who had been involved in the scandal. “I didn’t turn in some of my classmates, so I didn’t walk, but graduated and was commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Navy, serving for nearly ten years with the highest level of distinction and honor,” Sherrill said.
However, Sherrill’s campaign rejected a request for a public inspection of any disciplinary records dating back to her time at the academy. The congresswoman’s alleged involvement in the scandal has become a central point of the closely watched race, as she has routinely made her military service a central theme of her campaign.
“Why wasn’t Mikie Sherrill allowed to walk at her Naval Academy graduation? She admits knowing about a cheating scandal but won’t release the records that could tell the full story. Voters deserve the truth,” Ciattarelli posted on X Monday alongside the hashtag, “ReleaseTheRecords.”
A source from a “rival campaign” cast doubt on Sherrill’s claims of only being barred for refusing to turn in classmates while speaking with the New York Post. “Nobody, including Mikie Sherrill, was barred from graduation ceremonies for covering for their friends,”the individual, who has reviewed the documents, claimed. “That’s a bunch of bulls***. Midshipmen were, however, punished for lying to Naval investigators.”
Sherrill — who has continuously refused to release her academy disciplinary records — has denied any wrongdoing. “The fact [GOP candidate] Jack Ciattarelli and MAGA Republicans are going after Mikie’s family is sick and desperate — Jason graduated [and] served honorably as a Naval Officer,” Sherril’s campaign communications director Sean Higgins told The Post.
The scandal erupted as the New Jersey gubernatorial race tightens significantly. One recent survey from National Research found Ciattarelli leading 46 percent-45 percent in a two-way race, a figure that includes a 21-point lead among voters not registered with either major party. That poll was followed up by a survey from Emerson College on Wednesday, which found the race tied.
These polls come after Sherill held a sizable 8.8 percent lead in the RealClearPolitics polling average last week, which has since declined to just above six percent.
https://trendingpoliticsnews.com/new-dem-gubernatorial-candidates-cheating-scandal-widens-as-race-tightens-cmc/