Jennifer Ruth Green, a combat veteran and Republican challenger in Indiana’s 1st Congressional District, has accused her Democratic opponent and a journalist for Politico of obtaining her Air Force Service Record files through untidy means and then outing Green as a victim to sexual assault in order to stop Green from being elected in the midterm elections next year.
Green, who identified as black and Asian claimed freshman Rep. Frank Mrvan, (D-Ind. 53-year-old Green illegally acquired her military records and then sold them to the media.
Green, 40, stated that Frank Mrvan, a congressman, illegally obtained the documents and was distributing them to the press. “That’s the story our political team told me, that they were selling it to multiple outlets in order to create a disgusting, ugly smear article against me. They wanted to portray me as a disgraced officer.
She also claimed that Adam Wren, a Politico reporter, published details about a sexual assault she suffered in Iraq despite multiple requests to keep this information confidential.
“I once said to my attacker, No. Please, Stop, Don’t.” “He did exactly what he wanted.” “This is exactly the same situation over and over, all because there was an individual who wanted some kind of gratification,” Green stated.
She continued, “Congressman Frank Mrvan gets his satisfaction from trying to believe he’s smearing my name.” “Adam Wren gets the gratification of believing he’s going for a good smear tale out of it.” It does nothing but reopens wounds for victims.
Green believes the information leak was politically motivated.
She said that the information was released “40 days prior to an election in which he’s being outraised and where his numbers are falling.”
Green said, “If they were on the opposite side of the ticket they would weep with me, they’d mourn for me.” They don’t think this is acceptable because they are Republicans. But it’s unacceptable.”
Politico reports that Green claims an Iraqi soldier grabbed her breasts and exposed himself to him while she was visiting the Iraqi national training center in 2009. Green also claimed that her military superior told her to not report the incident in order to preserve U.S./Iraqi relations regarding women fighting in combat. She claimed that she ignored the advice and received a poor performance evaluation several months later.
Politico, for its part, claimed that Green’s records were obtained from “an individual outside of the Mrvan campaign” through a “public records request.” Green requested an investigation into the release of her records by writing to the Department of Justice and other military personnel.
Several prominent Republicans have defended Green since Friday’s Politico story about Green.
Rep. Elise Stefanik (R.N.Y.) tweeted, “The decision of @mrvan4congress illegally obtain and leak @JenRuthGreen’s military records knowing that they would out she as a survivor sexual assault isn’t just a shameful low for politics & media, it’s also a horrendous attack on survivors everywhere.”
Rep. Don Bacon (R. Neb.): “I fully support @JenRuthGreen my fellow AF veteran,” Tweeted. “What the media and opposition did here was victim-shaming and it is shameful.”
Mrvan has been outraised by Green for two consecutive quarters. However, Politico still projects that the district is “leaning Democratic.” In nearly 100 years, the seat has been held by a Republican. Rep. Mrvan did not make a public comment about the Politico story and Green’s allegations.
