Rep. Dave Brat (Far-Right “Freedom Caucus”) and his allies continue to disgrace themselves. See below for a response from the Abigail Spanberger for Congress campaign. Also see Spanberger’s new ad – which really is the antithesis of Brat and his pal Trump in every way – below the press release.
Spanberger Responds to Ad Attacking Her Record of Service and Integrity
Henrico, VA — Today, in response to a despicable attack ad from Congressman Brat’s Washington allies that attempts to distort her background and belittle her record of service, Abigail Spanberger, Democratic nominee for Virginia’s 7th Congressional District, issued the following statement:
“Like most CIA officers, I neither expect nor want accolades for my service, the classified details of which I’ll never be able to share or celebrate publicly. However, it is with the knowledge of my own service, the work I did to keep this country safe, and the intelligence I provided to Republican and Democratic Presidents alike, that I find these attacks to be absolutely shameful.
“For a Republican Super PAC to question my national security credentials and integrity based on the time I spent as a long-term substitute, teaching English to children at an embassy school in Northern Virginia, is desperate and weak, and it shows just how terrified they are of having an independent voice representing this community in Congress.
“The CIA hired me, gave me a Top Secret//SCI security clearance, and trusted me with some of our nation’s greatest secrets in part because of my engagement with and knowledge of other languages, perspectives, and cultures. I drew on this knowledge every day at CIA — doing so made me a strong operations officer.
“As an operations officer with CIA, I took risks, made sacrifices, and worked tirelessly on programs ranging from counterterrorism to nuclear proliferation to protect every citizen in this country — including Mr. Brat and his partisan allies responsible for these despicable ads.”
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Notably, since reports first broke that Spanberger’s national security questionnaire had been illegally disclosed by the USPS to the Congressional Leadership Fund, and that CLF then disseminated an unredacted version of the form with her Social Security Number and medical records in violation of her privacy, Republicans, national security veterans, and opinion leaders have condemned the release and subsequent misuse by CLF.
See some of those quotes below:
“The people who made the information public should be prosecuted. What the PAC did was a gross violation of her privacy.” – Kori Schake, former National Security Council aide to President George W. Bush.
“People fill out an SF-86 because they’re trying to serve their country. If the U.S. government had a problem at the time, they would have denied her a security clearance.” – Fran Townsend, Bush’s White House Homeland Security advisor when Spanberger started at the CIA.
“Longtime Republican strategist Dan Schnur called it a multi-stage ‘atrocity’ – beginning with improper release of the SF-86 and ending with the Fund’s exploitation of it. ‘I’m not sure which aspect of the story is the most horrific,’ he said.”
“Morons at Republican Party of Virginia / Virginia #GOP (@VA_GOP) attacking 1st Amendment to score political points against a Dem candidate.” — David Ramadan, Republican and former member of Virginia House of Delegates
“The use of an SF86 to score points during a congressional campaign is outrageous and worrisome… The CLF should have known better than to weaponize confidential personnel records used in national security vetting… When China managed to steal millions of these forms in a cyberattack a few years ago, it was alarming. The use of Ms. Spanberger’s form is equally so. It sends a terrible message to people who hold, and who want to apply for, national security positions. Mr. Ryan should investigate what happened and punish those who exploited the national security personnel process for cheap political advantage.” — Washington Post Editorial Board
Abigail Spanberger is a proud Democrat and former CIA officer and the Democratic nominee running for Congress against Dave Brat in Virginia’s 7th Congressional District. She believes in leadership that flows from our shared American values of integrity, responsibility, and decency, and she wants to work to move this country forward together. To learn more, please visit AbigailSpanberger.com.
GOP AND BRAT USE TRUMP’S DIRTY PLAYBOOK IN FALSE ATTACK ON SPANBERGER
RICHMOND, VA – Dave Brat who has been Donald Trump’s wingman from Day One, has not only mirrored his policies in Congress, but has now taken another page out of his playbook as he deploys appalling political smear tactics on the campaign trail.
In yet another sad, desperate, and underhanded attempt by Congressman Brat’s allies to distract from the fact that he has failed Virginia’s 7th District, a Republican Super PAC has taken to weaponizing Democrat Abigail Spanberger’s (VA-07) private information in her legally protected and confidential National Security Questionnaire. This stunning ploy was condemned by members of our military and national security community who believed that their private information must not be used for partisan politics. Brat then repeated attacks from this breach in a recent radio appearance.
As a former CIA case officer who worked on counterterrorism around the world, Abigail Spanberger has been all that Dave Brat isn’t – a selfless American who has dedicated her life to protecting her country. Spanberger, who has been trusted by our nation’s top security officials with some of the nation’s most vital security information (Top Secret security clearance), is running on her sterling record and has nothing to hide from the voters of Virginia’s 7th District. It is absurd and unpatriotic for Congressman Brat and his Washington cronies to insinuate anything less.
This gross mischaracterization of Abigail Spanberger will not go unnoticed by the voters of VA-07. They deserve better.
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