New Jersey’s gubernatorial election is just 39 days away, and by some measures, the race between Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill and former state lawmaker Jack Ciattarelli, a Republican, is shaping up to be a competitive contest. Time will tell how the race shakes out in its closing weeks, but an unexpected controversy appears to have jolted the election.

CBS News reported:

A branch of the National Archives released a mostly unredacted version of Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill’s military records to Nicholas De Gregorio, an ally of Jack Ciattarelli, her GOP opponent in the New Jersey governor’s race. The disclosure potentially violates the Privacy Act of 1974 and exemptions established under the Freedom of Information Act.

....Many Democrats, however, including Sherrill, aren’t prepared to simply let this go.

“The Trump administration blatantly violated federal law by releasing Mikie Sherrill’s unredacted personal military records to an agent of the Ciattarelli campaign — which were then distributed and weaponized by Jack Ciattarelli,” a spokesperson for the congresswoman said in a statement. “Once again, the Trump administration is targeting political opponents with an absolute disregard for the law, this time in concert with the Ciattarelli campaign. We are calling on Jack Ciattarelli and the Trump administration to immediately stop illegally distributing Mikie Sherrill’s military files ... and we will explore appropriate legal action.”.

The Democratic Governors Association added in a statement: “This illegal and targeted weaponization of the federal government by the Trump Administration against Mikie Sherrill should send chills down the spine of every veteran and every American.”....

In theory, this might seem like an issue that would be of interest to the House Subcommittee on the Weaponization of Government. But in practice, I’m going to go out on a limb and guess that the GOP-led panel will ignore the controversy