Washington, DC – Mikie Sherrill was duly called out by a leading GOP assemblyman this week.
New Jersey Assemblyman Paul Kanitra released a video accusing Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill of misleading voters over her record at the U.S. Naval Academy, calling the controversy “the Mikie Sherrill Switcheroo.”
Kanitra stood outside the Longworth House Office Building, saying the congresswoman was absent during a government shutdown, alleging she has missed nearly half of her votes since taking office and “almost 90% this year.”
In the video, Kanitra claimed multiple sources provided him “inside information” about what he described as a cover-up involving Sherrill’s academy disciplinary record — a topic that first surfaced during her 2018 campaign but never gained traction due to lack of evidence.
He repeated what was known, that “investigative reporting” revealed Sherrill did not walk at her 1992 graduation due to “disciplinary reasons.”
Sherrill throws ‘political redirection’ at media, New Jersey voters
According to Kanitra, the reporter then contacted Sherrill with questions about her graduation file, prompting panic in her campaign. He claimed she delayed responding, then went to CBS News the next day to “get ahead of the story.”
Ad: Save every day with Amazon Deals: Check out today's daily deals on Amazon.
Kanitra asserted that instead of releasing her pre-graduation academy file, Sherrill redirected attention to her post-service records, which had already been released through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request months earlier. He called the move a “slimy redirection” designed to mislead voters.
Sherrill’s campaign yet to respond
As of publication, Sherrill’s office had not issued a statement addressing the assemblyman’s claims or whether she intends to release her academy file.
So far, she has flat out refused.
The congresswoman, a former Navy helicopter pilot and federal prosecutor, has long highlighted her military background as a key part of her political identity.
Kanitra argued that the timing of Sherrill’s response was meant to shift public attention before the upcoming New Jersey gubernatorial election, suggesting that the controversy could impact her political ambitions beyond Congress.
What he said
Video Transcript:
All right, New Jersey. This is Assemblyman Paul Conitra. I’m standing here in Washington, DC, today in front of the Longworth House Office Building where Congresswoman Mikey Sheryl is supposed to be right now. It’s a government shutdown, but she’s not here. In fact, she’s actually missed almost 50% of her vote since taking office and almost 90% of her votes this year.
But I’m not here to talk about how bad she is as a Congresswoman. In fact, I’m here to talk about how bad she’d as governor in New Jersey and the old switcheroo she played on the residents of the Garden State. Because this is a huge deal. I hate doing videos, but with the gubernatorial election just a few weeks away, I feel compelled to get this out there properly. So I’ve been given inside info by some people, multiple people, on some stunning behind-the-scenes happenings in this gubernatorial race, specifically as it pertains to Mikey and the massive scandal where she didn’t get to with her graduating class at the Naval Academy. Now, apparently, according to my sources, the Congresswoman pulled a fast one as the walls were closing in on her and tried to misdirect the entire country in the process.
I’m going to call this the Mikey Sheryl Switcheroo, because that’s a fitting name as absurd as this whole situation. But first, a little history. Back in 2018, when Mikey first ran for Congress, opposition research apparently turned up some potentially worrying connections between her and the Navy Academy’s massive 1992 cheating scandal. But no one had the physical graduation program or more details, so it never became the campaign issue it It would have been.
If it had, she might not even be in office today. But now, fast forward to just a few weeks ago. Some solid investigative reporting finally put the pieces together and confirmed that she didn’t walk at graduation because of discipline. Disciplinary reasons. Now, what that discipline was specifically for became the burning question. But here’s where she pulled a fast one for the ages.
A well-known reporter called her directly. He had uncovered the program. He had the context. And he asked her point blank why she didn’t graduate with her class and if she’d authorize the release of her academy file. Now, she allegedly audibly stammered on the call. She stalled, and she said she needed a couple of days to get back to him.
Behind the scenes, she and her team were apparently in full-blown panic mode. Instead of answering the reporter as promised, the day before she was supposed to respond, she ran a CBS news to try and get ahead of the story. But instead of talking about her actual academy file, she shifted the conversation to her service file after graduation, paperwork that had already been released through a foyer request months earlier. Now, in a slimy redirection, she made it all about those later files and a clerical error where some personal info slipped through despite the foyer request saying it should be redacted. Suddenly, now she’s the one breaking the news.
She’s painting herself as the victim. Millions of people in New Jersey were tricked into thinking those files were the same thing that the reporter had asked for. But they’re not. The real answers are, and always have been, in her pre-graduation academy file, the one only she he can authorize to be released. As long as she refuses, she can keep pushing her version and hiding the rest. It’s a typical slime ball political move. Now, how ironic is this? Earlier in the campaign, she demanded that Jack Ciittarelli release his tax returns, implying he had something to hide, but he handed them over immediately.
Meanwhile, she’s too chicken to do the same thing. Mikey, look, you got to quit trying to pull a switcheroo on New Jersey. If you’ve truly got nothing hide, release the damn file.