Lauren C. Moye, FISM News
Politico, who ran an attack piece sharing details about Republican congressional candidate Jennifer-Ruth Green’s history as a sexual assault survivor, lied about obtaining the information from a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
An anonymous Air Force spokesperson has confirmed what Green and former military officer Representative Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) has said all along: military records containing private information like sexual assault cannot be released without the individual’s written consent.
An anonymous Air Force Spokesman told Fox News that it can’t “confirm any documents on [Green] were released by the Department of the Air Force” under a FOIA request.
The individual added, “In general, any release of information that, if disclosed, would invade another individual’s personal privacy would be reviewed under Exemption FOIA 5U.S.C. §552 (b)(6) with redactions made to ensure compliance with the law.”
Not only is there no record of this FOIA request that can be confirmed, but Green also asked the Politico writer Adam Wren not to share details of her “illegally obtained” sexual assault to portray her as a “failed military officer who lacks integrity,” according to her statement on the subject.
Green is on a mission to flip the First Congressional District seat red for the first time since 1930. The race is one of the toss-up elections for the midterms with Real Clear Politics showing the Democrat incumbent Frank Mrvan polling only 7 points ahead, 47 to 40.
It’s the latest update in a story that should outrage women around the world, because it leaves the question, “How did they obtain the information?”
Of additional concern is, “Why did Politico lie?”
As Willie Tubbs pointed out in FISM’s initial coverage of the story, “According to law, a journalist who receives information legally is free to share all or some of the information even if the information was originally obtained through illegal means.”
Yet even a top Politico spokesman defended the story as being sourced “by a standard FOIA request.”
The records in question are publicly available documents that can be obtained by a standard FOIA request.
— Brad Dayspring (@BDayspring) October 10, 2022
This is why Cotton demanded answers from Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall, III, and the Chief of the National Guard Bureau Daniel Hokanson, calling the release a “grave violation” of Green’s privacy and federal law.
“Of particular concern is the appearance that the party responsible for releasing these Air Force documents may be exploiting private matters, including a sexual assault, for partisan purposes to intervene in the democratic process just weeks before an election,” Cotton wrote.
Those concerns are now echoed by a joint letter to top military leaders from Representatives Jim Banks (R-Ind.) and Larry Buschon (R-Ind.)
“It is illegal for records to be leaked, and we are concerned that the military has allowed a personal attack on a service member for political aims,” they said, demanding to know who had access to her records and if there will be an investigation into the matter.
In a video statement released on Twitter, Green described herself as “humbled and grateful” for the support she’s received since being forced to share her story. She also promised to stay focused on the “real issues” impacting Hoosiers like inflation.
However, the situation has left her with an unexpected and extremely personal detour in her campaign messaging with weeks left until the election date.
It’s enough that she’s compared Wren and by extension Mrvan to her sexual assaulter, saying, “he did what he wanted to do…This is the exact same situation all over again, all because there was a man who wanted some sort of gratification.”