Sherrill fires back at GOP rival as questions swirl over her military records: 'Hand in the cookie jar'

New Jersey Democratic gubernatorial nominee Rep Mikie Sherrill asserts that her Republican rival Jack Ciattarelli is going on a witch hunt over her improperly distributed military records which raised questions about her accomplishable involvement in a cheating outrage that rocked the U S Naval Academy three decades ago He has been caught with his hand in the cookie jar if you will He's now trying to divert from that Sherrill reported reporters on Tuesday following a campaign event in Wildwood Crest New Jersey The combustible ballot box battle in New Jersey which is one of only two elections for governor across the country this year was rocked last week after a New Jersey Globe record revealed that Sherrill's military records indicated that the United States Naval Academy blocked her from taking part in her graduation amid the cheating shame Ciattarelli and his campaign are calling on Sherrill who went on to pilot helicopters during her military career after graduating from the Naval Academy to release her military records to explain why she was prevented from attending her graduation ceremony FIVE RACES TO WATCH WITH FIVE WEEKS TO GO UNTIL POLL DAY What we learned at present is that she was part of it in specific 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 explained Thursday night in an interview on Fox News' Hannity But a separate overview from CBS News revealed that the National Personnel Records Center which is a branch of the National Archives and Records Administration mistakenly disclosed Sherrill's improperly redacted military personnel files which included private information like her Social Protection number to a Ciattarelli ally REPORTS ROCK TOP GUBERNATORIAL RACE The news spurred calls by top Democrats across the country for an probe To have a guy I'm running against it will stop at nothing it will stop at nothing who will illegally obtain records It's just beyond the pale Sherrill who served as a federal prosecutor before winning electoral contest to Congress charged Thursday night on the campaign trail in Plainfield New Jersey The National Archives in a letter last week apologized to Sherrill saying the improper release was due to a authorities 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 group as an agent of the campaign working at the direction of Russell On Tuesday Sherrill reiterated that Ciattarelli's campaign has been requested legally to return those records TRUMP LOOMS LARGE OVER THIS CRUCIAL RACE FOR GOVERNORCiattarelli's campaign in a letter Friday pushed back on the declares by the Sherrill campaign and top Democrats that pressure from President Donald Trump's administration and Republicans may have been behind the errant document release The Ciattarelli campaign charged that Sherrill tried to distract attention away from that fact with false accusations and half-truths about what amounts to a clerical error by the National Archives which they took responsibility for and apologized for publicly On Tuesday responding to Sherrill's comments Russell reported Fox News Digital that calling it a witch hunt is absurd This is about getting to the bottom of what she did or didn t do at the academy that earned her an incredibly severe punishment And Ciattarelli's top strategist argued that her story that she just didn t rat out certain friends is likely a bunch of bull and she knows and we want to know exactly what she advised investigators Did she lie to them And how multiple times did she lie to them And the only way we re going to ever figure out what happened is if she releases these records Sherrill who was never accused of cheating in the shame reported last week that there was a test at the school that was stolen I did not realize that it was stolen I took the test afterwards I knew what the rumor mill was I knew people who were implicated in it I didn't come forward with that information and when petitioned I gave all the information I had but as I mentioned I come from an incredibly accountable place so I didn't walk she added And like I declared I'm happy to be accountable to all of you and to be transparent HEAD HERE FOR FOX NEWS' ELECTORAL PROCESS COVERAGEAsked by reporters on Tuesday why she wouldn't release the records Sherrill revealed I think the reason I haven't distributed them publicly they show multiple medals and commendations So I think my history They show my graduation from the Naval Academy they show my commissioning they show my arrangement medals they show the record of provision that I have she added And pointing to Ciattarelli she charged that instead of returning the records that he illegally obtained and that the archives through the Trump administration illegally disclosed he is trying to go on particular other witch hunt and I'm certainly not going to allow him to rampage through the records of my classmates from the Naval Academy The accusations from both sides come as the latest citizens opinion polls indicate a very close contest in blue-leaning New Jersey in the race to succeed term-limited Democratic Gov Phil Murphy New Jersey and Virginia are the only two states that hold statewide elections for governor the year after a presidential referendum and the contests traditionally grab outsized national attention And this year's ballot box showdowns in the two states are viewed as crucial early tests of the president's popularity and agenda and key barometers ahead of next year's midterm elections for the House and Senate Fox News' Courtney De George contributed to this account