The criminal conduct might well extend to many people who exploited this illegal disclosure of personal information. It is a federal offense for any purported public servant to act “under” mere “color of any” legal authority or purported “custom” to “willfully” deprive "any person" of "any rights, privileges, or immunities secured or protected by the Constitution” or federal “laws” (18 U.S.C. § 242) or to “conspire” with anyone to “injure, oppress, threaten, or intimidate any person” in "the free exercise or enjoyment of any right or privilege secured to” him “by the Constitution” or federal “laws” or because such person “exercised” such “right or privilege” (18 U.S.C. § 241).
Let's not forget that he was a Republican as well. The totalitarian streak in that party is not a recent phenomenon. It goes back even further than Nixon as well. If democracy is overthrown in the US, and we are close to that point, it will come from the right and not from the left.
This is an outrage! Every employee of the National Archives swore the same oath as every American servicemember as required by federal law (5 U.S.C. 3331). Each such person promised to "support and defend" our "Constitution" against "all enemies, foreign and domestic" and to "bear true faith and allegiance to" our "Constitution."
Many generations of Americans (and people aspiring to be Americans) suffered and sacrificed much to fulfill our oaths. The very least to which we are entitled is that other people who swore the same oath won't abuse our service to attack and injure us as citizens after our service by releasing personal information obtained because of our service.
So, where is the the Department of Justice and the FBI? Missing in action, of course. The people involved in this incident at the National Archives need to be fired and then arrested. This appears to have been a purposeful action not simply a mistake. I have to wonder how Jack Ciattarelli could not have known about his campaign's clear violation of The Privacy Act of 1974. Since Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill's private information was clearly stolen, what else is in these files if the files of other veterans released? Could they contain national security information? Since Ciattarelli seems to be willing to use stolen information, is his continued use of this information for his personal gain also a crime and how far is Ciattarelli willing to go to break the law? Is he willing to accept bribes or gifts or trips in return for his signature of governor?
Excellent interview with Mikie Sherrill on the cusp of her gubernatorial campaign‼️🙏🏼👏🏼😅 I learned so much from this discussion, not only about the issues pertaining to the New Jersey election, but also you provided insights into the Comey indictment that I thought were particularly helpful. Thank you so much for all you do‼️🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼
I was a military training officer for 8 years, and I've trained hundreds of future officers. I can definitively say two things about Sherrill's disciplinary event at the Naval Academy:
1. She was wrong to fail to report cheating by her peers. This is a violation of the Honor Code.
2. The Honor Code is just that, a code. It guides your performance, and it can be violated in many ways both large and small. But violating it isn't necessarily disqualifying. (She didn't walk during graduation, but she was commissioned with her class and served honorably.) The matter was handled at the Academy and really has no bearing on any subsequent issue.
Rich, which is more indicative of a lack of character: (1) a mature, experienced politician seeking to procure votes by exploiting and publicly disclosing illegally-obtained personal information of a U.S. servicemember or (2) a questionable judgment call of a youth under very difficult and very delicate circumstances (about which you and we likely never will know the whole truth).
Anybody in the position of reporting on fellow servicemembers has a very difficult decision to make. That's the kind of decision that can cost a person not only a career, but even their life. My judgment is that you find it far more easy than you should to judge someone who has been put in that very difficult and very delicate position.
If you care about honor and codes and if you were a servicemember then you should understand and appreciate the far greater principle here. Too many civilian employees who swore the same oaths as we did far too cavalierly violate their oaths of office just because fulfilling their oaths is a little difficult or a little uncomfortable--or (as here) they simply want to violate their oaths and federal law. People who disclosed a servicemember's personal information and exploited it for political gain did not only violate a mere code. They violated federal law and several people seem to have committed crimes. Yet, you seem to have no qualms about their conduct. I'm profoundly unimpressed with such selective purported devotion to codes and principles of honor.
I'm not sure why you responded to my post. It's filled with comment not germane to mine. And what is relevant is just repeating what I said.
You're also drawing inferences based on nothing I posted. I was talking about Sherrill, no one else. I don't appreciate the strawman arguments. Take them somewhere else.
Exactly, Rich. You were criticizing Sherrill and no one else. That's why I'm criticizing your criticism of Sherrill. Nothing I said about what you said was a straw-man argument. Everything I wrote applied to what you wrote.
Well, that's dumb. I wasn't writing an essay to capture the entire matter. Instead, I was making a point about the Honor Code. The rest was your nattering.
Rich, no one expected you to write an essay to capture the entire matter. But look at what you did do. You decided to post a comment criticizing Sherrill in her youth in direct response to the current discussion--which wasn't about anything in your comment. Why did you feel the need to do that when the discussion here was only about the illegal (and likely criminal) release of her personal information? Why did you think anything about any honor code long ago was even relevant here?
You also chose to make your own service relevant (to my comment). So I criticized your perspective as a current or former servicemember.
I'm just at the beginning of this video, but please, Mikie, PLEASE TELL ME that you are going to sue their asses into oblivion!!! This is so horrifying I can hardly find the words. Apparently there are MAGA enthusiasts right in Archives that have been installed (??) to engage in this illegal, fascist bullshit. This kind of mischief needs to be put to a stop immediately.
Thank you, Jen for this excellent interview with Rep. Mikie Sherrill, who will make a stellar governor of NJ. I have such admiration for her and will donate again to her campaign (I live in California). Buckets of shame on her opponent, Jack Ciattarelli. He is the worst kind of Dump enabler and lapdog - no ethics, no integrity, no honor. He is not fit to shine Mikie’s boots. No wonder he lost his previous two bids for governor. I trust New Jersey voters will soundly reject him a third time.
This is not a mere "breach of privacy." This is a violation of federal law (The Privacy Act of 1974 and the Freedom of Information Act). FOIA Exemption 6 precludes the release of such information. See, e.g., See https://www.justice.gov/oip/page/file/1207336/dl?inline. This kind of conduct is not merely illegal, it is criminal. See https://www.justice.gov/opcl/overview-privacy-act-1974-2020-edition/criminal.
The criminal conduct might well extend to many people who exploited this illegal disclosure of personal information. It is a federal offense for any purported public servant to act “under” mere “color of any” legal authority or purported “custom” to “willfully” deprive "any person" of "any rights, privileges, or immunities secured or protected by the Constitution” or federal “laws” (18 U.S.C. § 242) or to “conspire” with anyone to “injure, oppress, threaten, or intimidate any person” in "the free exercise or enjoyment of any right or privilege secured to” him “by the Constitution” or federal “laws” or because such person “exercised” such “right or privilege” (18 U.S.C. § 241).
Republicans are making Nixon look like a Boy Scout.
Let's not forget that he was a Republican as well. The totalitarian streak in that party is not a recent phenomenon. It goes back even further than Nixon as well. If democracy is overthrown in the US, and we are close to that point, it will come from the right and not from the left.
I haven’t forgotten Senator Joe McCarthy from Wisconsin who claimed that communists occupied parts of the government. He was also censured.
This is an outrage! Every employee of the National Archives swore the same oath as every American servicemember as required by federal law (5 U.S.C. 3331). Each such person promised to "support and defend" our "Constitution" against "all enemies, foreign and domestic" and to "bear true faith and allegiance to" our "Constitution."
Many generations of Americans (and people aspiring to be Americans) suffered and sacrificed much to fulfill our oaths. The very least to which we are entitled is that other people who swore the same oath won't abuse our service to attack and injure us as citizens after our service by releasing personal information obtained because of our service.
And, Jen & Mikie, our press and our media do nothing, as usual. We ALL do nothing, as usual.
This country is spineless. We now have Alligator Alcatraz and big business is fighting over who will get the contract to provide Zyklon B.
Spineless and sick to the core.
Disgusting. I hope it drives votes to her.
So, where is the the Department of Justice and the FBI? Missing in action, of course. The people involved in this incident at the National Archives need to be fired and then arrested. This appears to have been a purposeful action not simply a mistake. I have to wonder how Jack Ciattarelli could not have known about his campaign's clear violation of The Privacy Act of 1974. Since Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill's private information was clearly stolen, what else is in these files if the files of other veterans released? Could they contain national security information? Since Ciattarelli seems to be willing to use stolen information, is his continued use of this information for his personal gain also a crime and how far is Ciattarelli willing to go to break the law? Is he willing to accept bribes or gifts or trips in return for his signature of governor?
They should be sued personally for violating federal law.
Thank you so much. As an NJ resident I so appreciate you elevating this issue.
This really is the lowest of low. ‘Have they no shame’.
Excellent interview with Mikie Sherrill on the cusp of her gubernatorial campaign‼️🙏🏼👏🏼😅 I learned so much from this discussion, not only about the issues pertaining to the New Jersey election, but also you provided insights into the Comey indictment that I thought were particularly helpful. Thank you so much for all you do‼️🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼
I was a military training officer for 8 years, and I've trained hundreds of future officers. I can definitively say two things about Sherrill's disciplinary event at the Naval Academy:
1. She was wrong to fail to report cheating by her peers. This is a violation of the Honor Code.
2. The Honor Code is just that, a code. It guides your performance, and it can be violated in many ways both large and small. But violating it isn't necessarily disqualifying. (She didn't walk during graduation, but she was commissioned with her class and served honorably.) The matter was handled at the Academy and really has no bearing on any subsequent issue.
Rich, which is more indicative of a lack of character: (1) a mature, experienced politician seeking to procure votes by exploiting and publicly disclosing illegally-obtained personal information of a U.S. servicemember or (2) a questionable judgment call of a youth under very difficult and very delicate circumstances (about which you and we likely never will know the whole truth).
Anybody in the position of reporting on fellow servicemembers has a very difficult decision to make. That's the kind of decision that can cost a person not only a career, but even their life. My judgment is that you find it far more easy than you should to judge someone who has been put in that very difficult and very delicate position.
If you care about honor and codes and if you were a servicemember then you should understand and appreciate the far greater principle here. Too many civilian employees who swore the same oaths as we did far too cavalierly violate their oaths of office just because fulfilling their oaths is a little difficult or a little uncomfortable--or (as here) they simply want to violate their oaths and federal law. People who disclosed a servicemember's personal information and exploited it for political gain did not only violate a mere code. They violated federal law and several people seem to have committed crimes. Yet, you seem to have no qualms about their conduct. I'm profoundly unimpressed with such selective purported devotion to codes and principles of honor.
I'm not sure why you responded to my post. It's filled with comment not germane to mine. And what is relevant is just repeating what I said.
You're also drawing inferences based on nothing I posted. I was talking about Sherrill, no one else. I don't appreciate the strawman arguments. Take them somewhere else.
Exactly, Rich. You were criticizing Sherrill and no one else. That's why I'm criticizing your criticism of Sherrill. Nothing I said about what you said was a straw-man argument. Everything I wrote applied to what you wrote.
Well, that's dumb. I wasn't writing an essay to capture the entire matter. Instead, I was making a point about the Honor Code. The rest was your nattering.
I'm sorry, but I don't feed trolls. Bye.
Rich, no one expected you to write an essay to capture the entire matter. But look at what you did do. You decided to post a comment criticizing Sherrill in her youth in direct response to the current discussion--which wasn't about anything in your comment. Why did you feel the need to do that when the discussion here was only about the illegal (and likely criminal) release of her personal information? Why did you think anything about any honor code long ago was even relevant here?
You also chose to make your own service relevant (to my comment). So I criticized your perspective as a current or former servicemember.
No troll feeding.
What it shows, Jen, is that we no longer live in a democratic country, but in an Autocratic Fascist state.
Welcome to Fascism!
I'm just at the beginning of this video, but please, Mikie, PLEASE TELL ME that you are going to sue their asses into oblivion!!! This is so horrifying I can hardly find the words. Apparently there are MAGA enthusiasts right in Archives that have been installed (??) to engage in this illegal, fascist bullshit. This kind of mischief needs to be put to a stop immediately.
Stay strong, Mike! We need you!!
Thank you, Jen for this excellent interview with Rep. Mikie Sherrill, who will make a stellar governor of NJ. I have such admiration for her and will donate again to her campaign (I live in California). Buckets of shame on her opponent, Jack Ciattarelli. He is the worst kind of Dump enabler and lapdog - no ethics, no integrity, no honor. He is not fit to shine Mikie’s boots. No wonder he lost his previous two bids for governor. I trust New Jersey voters will soundly reject him a third time.