Democrat NJ governor nominee faced ethics complaint in Congress for making disproven J6 allegations

Mikie Sherrill, the Democrat nominee for New Jersey governor who is battling allegations over a military academy cheating scandal, also faced a congressional ethics complaint in 2021 for tarring a fellow lawmaker with allegations later disproven by Capitol Police.

The ethics complaint was submitted against Sherrill and a number of her Democratic colleagues after they referred for investigation Republican members of Congress to the U.S. Capitol Police and both the House and Senate Sergeants at Arms for giving private tours on Jan. 5, 2021.

The members billed the tours suspicious because they were in advance of the Jan. 6 riot. 

One of the Republican members accused was Rep. Barry Loudermilk, R-Ga., whose office conducted a tour of House office buildings the day before Jan. 6.

Sherrill's letter sparked a probe by the Democrat-led Jan. 6 Committee into whether Loudermilk was giving a reconnaissance tour to Jan. 6 rioters.

However, the U.S. Capitol Police reviewed security footage from that day and concluded neither Loudermilk, nor his staff, nor his guests were acting suspicious at all and that the lawmaker had simply given a routine tour to constituents.

“Rep. Sherrill made false accusations, without evidence of any wrongdoing, with apparently no thought of the threats to the safety of myself, my family, and others. The truth prevailed, which it always does, and the real damage at the end of the day was to her own credibility," Loudermilk told Just the News in a statement Thursday. 

Sherrill's letter that sparked the ethics charges against her

Sherrill’s letter, which was signed by 33 other Democrats, asked Capitol Hill law enforcement to investigate the Republican members of Congress who entertained visitors on Jan. 5 arguing the "extremely high number of outside groups” was “suspicious.” 

“The visitors encountered by some of the Members of Congress on this letter appeared to be associated with the rally at the White House the following day,” Sherrill and her colleagues asserted. “That group left the White House and marched to the Capitol with the objective of preventing Congress from certifying our election.

She and her colleagues suggested the tours may have given members of that group "unusually detailed knowledge of the layout of the Capitol Complex.”

The Sherrill campaign did not respond to a request for comment from Just the News. 

That letter served as a basis for a probe into the allegations by the Democrat-led Jan. 6 committee, which has since been the subject of accusations of bias and other ethical breaches. The committee specifically identified Loudermilk as one of the members who led a tour.

“Based on our review of evidence in the Select Committee’s possession, we believe you have information regarding a tour you led through parts of the Capitol complex on January 5, 2021,” the select committee wrote to Loudermilk in May 2022. 

None of the allegations made by Sherrill have been proven to be correct by the courts or law enforcement.

Republicans riposte with ethics complaint against Sherrill

Loudermilk and other accused colleagues have vehemently denied the allegations from Sherrill and the Jan. 6 Committee. They prompted them to file an ethics complaint against Sherrill, accusing her of making “false, spurious, and unsubstantiated” allegations against other members of the House of Representatives that launched the congressional probe.

Loudermilk previously accused the Jan. 6 Committee of peddling a "political narrative” and claimed the panel knew he didn't lead a "reconnaissance tour" of the Capitol building on Jan. 5 but continued to publicly repeat the story anyway, he previously told Just the News.  

Loudermilk said the group he was showing around the Capitol Hill office buildings included family friends and other individuals that the family friends met while in Washington, D.C.

The congressman also revealed that he and his family were the subject of death threats as a result of the allegations. He said one of the visitors, whom he declined to identify, told him he might not be able to work in the U.S. again after the ordeal.

In June 2021, federal agents visited two members of Loudermilks’ group from the Jan. 5 tour. The visits did not result in any evidence that members of his tour were doing anything suspicious while in the Capitol complex. These same visitors were again interviewed by the Jan. 6 committee, but neither deposition turned up any evidence of wrongdoing. 

Loudermilk cleared of any wrongdoing by Capitol Police

The accusations led Loudermilk to file an ethics complaint with the House Ethics Committee against Sherrill and the 33 Democrats that joined in her letter.

“The Sherrill letter is not a petty political spat between Republican Members and Rep. Sherrill and her Democratic colleagues,” Loudermilk wrote. “In fact, the Sherrill letter is a public allegation of a crime.” 

Loudermilk explained in the complaint that he believes Sherrill and her colleagues violated House rules by “making false, spurious, and unsubstantiated accusations” against fellow members.

The U.S. Capitol Police later assessed security footage from Jan. 5 at the request of Republicans on the House Administration Committee. The department concluded that no behavior by Rep. Loudermilk, his staff, or individuals on tour were suspicious. The footage aligned with Loudermilk’s explanation, showing a small tour group being led by a staffer through House office buildings, but never entering the Capitol.  

There is no evidence that Representative Loudermilk entered the U.S. Capitol with this group on January 5, 2021,” the Capitol Police wrote. “We train our officers on being alert for people conducting surveillance or reconnaissance, and we do not consider any of the activities we observed as suspicious.”

Pollsters are saying that Sherrill's New Jersey race is tight and polling currently indicates her Republican opponent, Jack Ciattarelli, is within striking distance in the Democratic-leaning state.

Sherrill's other fights

Sherrill is still fighting off a scandal related to her time at the Naval Academy when a cheating scandal rocked her graduating class. Sherrill did not walk at her graduation ceremony that year after being caught up in the scandal. The Democratic candidate claims that it was a punishment for refusing to come forward when she knew classmates were cheating. 

According to The New York Post, her story has changed multiple times, which throws more fuel into the fire when questioning her account. While there is no conclusive proof yet either way, the allegations have put a drag on her campaign.