Air Force Admits Fault for Releasing Records on Republican Candidate’s Sexual Assault

Jennifer-Ruth Green, an Air Force veteran, won the Republican primary for Indiana's 1st Congressional District. She will face Democratic Rep. Frank Mrvan in the general election in November. Courtesy of Jennifer-Ruth Green's campaign

The U.S. Air Force (USAF) has accepted responsibility for a leak that revealed that GOP congressional candidate Jennifer-Ruth Green survived a sexual assault during her time in the military.

Initially, the USAF denied responsibility for the leak.

However, a spokesperson for the branch later told The Epoch Times that the leak, while unauthorized, was the result of a misstep in how Green’s documents were handled.

“Based on the preliminary findings of an investigation, it appears information from Jennifer-Ruth Green’s service record was released to a third party by a junior individual who didn’t follow proper procedures and obtain required consent,” USAF Chief of Media Operations Ann Stefanek said in an email.

“The Department of the Air Force takes its responsibility to safeguard private information seriously and the matter remains under investigation,” Stefanek added.

After the unknown leaker obtained the documents, he handed them over to Politico, which published a story about Green’s sexual assault.

Specifically, Politico published Green’s Officer Performance Report (OPR), a document that federal guidelines do not permit to be made public without the consent of the person in question.

Cotton Demands Answers

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) responded to the leak with a letter to Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall and National Guard Bureau Chief Daniel Hokansan.

“On October 7, 2022, Politico published highly private information from the military records of Lieutenant Colonel Jennifer-Ruth Green, USAF, including both the contents of her Officer Performance Reports and her own detailed account of being sexually assaulted while serving in Iraq—an assault she had chosen to keep private until Politico decided to ignore her objections and publish the details anyway,” Cotton wrote.

In the Politico article, Cotton noted, the reporter responsible contended that “the documents... were obtained by a public records request and provided to [Politico.]” According to the reporter, these documents were obtained in accordance with the guidelines of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

However, Cotton noted, these kinds of documents cannot be revealed without the express consent of the subject of such documents.

“Absent the written consent of the servicemember, military performance evaluations appear to be protected by the Privacy Act and not releasable under the Freedom of Information Act, based on the statutes themselves, various government FAQs, and the Air Force itself in response to a formal congressional inquiry from my office into whether Officer Performance Reports are releasable under FOIA,” Cotton said.

In response to his inquiry, Cotton noted, the USAF told him that “[an] OPR could only be released if that member agreed, in writing, to release his/her document. Without written consent/release, Air Force has no authority to release these documents.”

“If that’s true,” Cotton said, “the release of Lt Col Green’s personnel records appears to be a grave violation of both Lt. Col. Green’s privacy and federal law.”

Cotton also noted that the release of these documents may have had nefarious and partisan goals in view of the proximity of the 2022 midterms.

“Of additional 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 interfere in the democratic process just weeks before an election,” Cotton concluded, closing the letter out with a demand for a prompt explanation of how the documents were leaked.

Green’s campaign poses a threat to Democrats amid an election cycle already expected to be favorable to Republicans. Some observers expect Green to flip Rep. Frank Mrvan’s (D-Ind.) House seat in a traditionally Democrat-leaning district of Indiana.

Following the leak, Green contended that Mrvan was likely responsible.

“I believe Congressman Frank Mrvan illegally obtained those documents and was floating them around to [the] press,” Green told Fox News. “That’s what our political team told us, that they were farming it out to several different press outlets to see who could write a very disgusting, ugly smear piece against me with the intent to paint me as a disgraced military officer.”

USAF Accepts Responsibility

After the USAF initially evaded accepting responsibility for the leak, it has since admitted that clerical errors on its own part were responsible for the release of the private documents.

“We cannot confirm any documents on this individual were released by the Department of the Air Force under the Freedom of Information Act,” an Air Force spokesperson told Fox News initially. “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. Each document would be reviewed on a case by case basis.”

Reps. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) and Larry Bucshon (R-Ind.) said in a joint statement to Fox News that they had been told by Air Force Inspector General Lt. Gen. Stephen Davis that the branch was responsible for the leak.

“On yesterday’s call, the Air Force took full responsibility for improperly releasing Lt. Col. Green’s confidential personnel records to an opposition research firm just weeks before the midterm election. Lt. Gen. Davis informed us that the leaker has been identified and will be held accountable,” Banks and Bucshon wrote.

“The Air Force completed its preliminary investigation and is currently investigating whether the leaker had a political or financial motive, whether the leaker acted alone, and if the Air Force needs to strengthen policies related to its handling of confidential records,” Banks added.

‘The Worst of Politics’: Green

Following the confirmation that proper procedures were not followed, Green blasted the leak as “the worst of politics.”

“I appreciate that we now have confirmation, as I have contended all along, that my records were not properly obtained through FOIA, as Politico claimed,” Green said in a statement posted to her campaign website.

The documents “were obtained by a Democrat opposition research firm, and their release was illegal,” Green continued. “It’s the worst of politics, and it’s just the latest example that Hoosiers deserve better than Congressman Frank Mrvan.”

“I want to thank Senators Tom Cotton, Todd Young and Mike Braun as well as Congressman Jim Banks and Congressman Larry Bucshon for their ongoing efforts to demand accountability and get to the bottom of the illegal leak of my confidential files,” Green added.

“The walls are closing in on Congressman Mrvan,“ said Kevin Hansberger, the communications director for Green’s campaign. ”He denied any involvement in obtaining and leaking Jennifer-Ruth Green’s military records.

“Now we know the Air Force did release documents illegally to a Democrat opposition research firm. And we know what firm it was and we know they work for the [Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee], which has been coordinating so closely with Frank Mrvan that every ad he’s aired in this race they split the cost of. To believe Mrvan and his cronies didn’t know is laughable. There is more to come.”