Air Force Casts Doubt on Politico’s Claim That GOP Candidate’s Sexual Assault Was Public Info

The Air Force has denied that Politico‘s outing of a Republican congressional candidate’s status as a sexual-assault survivor could have been based on documents released as part of a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, despite the publication’s claims otherwise.

Politico’s Adam Wren reported last week that Indiana congressional candidate and Air Force veteran Jennifer-Ruth Green suffered a sexual assault while serving in Iraq, despite Green’s pleas that he refrain from disclosing the details. Wren claimed that the lengthy profile of Green was based on documents obtained through a FOIA request and provided to Politico by a third party.

After many in the media and Green herself criticized the publication for exposing a sexual-assault victim against her will, Politico vice president of marketing and communications Brad Dayspring defended Wren by asking “should POLITICO not report on publicly available documents obtained by FOIA request?”

An Air Force spokesman has now cast doubt on that defense, telling Fox News that it can’t “confirm any documents on this individual were released by the Department of the Air Force under the Freedom of Information Act.”

“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,” continued the spokesman.

As Green, who is running to represent Indiana’s first congressional district, and Senator Tom Cotton (R., Ark.) have pointed out, 5 U.S.C. §552 (b)(6) would have required Green’s written consent before the performance review that included the account of her assault was released. Wren’s article included the disclosure that the documents “were obtained by a public records request and provided to Politico by a person outside the [Congressman Frank] Mrvan campaign.” The unusual attribution has led some to believe that the source of the information was acting on behalf of Mrvan, Green’s opponent, even if not in an official capacity.

“I’m a survivor of sexual trauma in the military. I am being forced to share this information outside of my own timeline and for the first time publicly because my Congressman, Frank Mrvan, and his cronies illegally obtained my military records describing my sexual assault,” wrote Green in a statement. “His team fished the details of my assault to different news outlets, asking them to share misinformation to portray me as a failed military officer who lacks integrity. This is false.”

She has also likened Wren to the Iraqi soldier who sexually assaulted her, arguing that “the reality of it is — like I said at one point in my life to my assailant, ‘No. Please stop. Don’t.’ — and 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.”

Mrvan has denied the allegation, releasing his own statement asserting that “neither myself nor anyone affiliated with my campaign provided any military service record to Politico.”

Green took notice of the Air Force’s statement on the matter on Thursday morning, writing on Twitter that “the falsehood being pushed by” Mrvan and “parroted” by the media had begun to “unravel.”