An Iraq War veteran running for Congress in Indiana has accused her Democratic opponent and Politico of “illegally” revealing details of her sexual assault to paint her as a “failed military officer.”

Jennifer-Ruth Green, a Republican running against Rep. Frank Mrvan in Indiana’s 1st Congressional District, was profiled by reporter Adam Wren in a Friday article that revealed an Iraqi serviceman grabbed her breast and exposed himself after she left a group of officers to climb a guard tower during a visit to Iraq’s national training center.

“We said, ‘No, please don’t [publish the assault] – and they did it anyway,” Green said of Politico and Wren during an interview with Fox News Digital. “At one point in my life I said 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.”

The assault happened while Green was assigned to a special investigations unit in Iraq working to neutralize terrorist and espionage threats, Politico wrote. An evaluation of the incident faulted Green for “wandering away” from the group, the report added, and the criticism hindered her ability to rise in the ranks.

In a statement on Twitter, Green claimed Mrvan “fished details” of her assault to the news outlet, “asking them to share misinformation to portray me as a failed military officer who lacks integrity.” 

“I’m a survivor of sexual trauma in the military,” Green said in her statement. “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.”

Green, who Politico reported has since joined the Indiana Air National Guard and received “consistently high evaluations,” accused Mrvan’s campaign and Wren of trying to smear her. 

“Congressman Frank Mrvan gets his gratification of trying to think he’s smearing my name; Adam Wren gets his ratification of thinking he’s gonna get a good smear story out of it,” Green told Fox News Digital. “And all it does is essentially reopen wounds for victims, and I absolutely cannot believe it. I’m so outraged.”

The Air Force veteran added that she suspects Politico would have handled the situation differently if she were a Democrat.

“If I were on the other side of the ticket, they would weep for me; they would mourn for me,” she told the outlet. “Only because I’m a Republican do they feel this is acceptable – but it’s unacceptable for every vet. It’s unacceptable for every woman. It’s unacceptable for everybody who has ever been a victim of sexual assault.”

She alsosaid Politico used the information “despite having clear interaction and engagement and telling them that the records were illegally obtained.”

Green went on to say that she believes her military career was jeopardized after she reported the assault despite being advised by some in her unit to keep it quiet. She appealed the incident with the military and it was later settled, she said.

“Congressman Frank Mrvan isn’t going to get the play that he wants because I’m going to stand up for myself,” Green said. “Last time I stood up for myself [by reporting the assault,] I believe my career got derailed intentionally … I just feel like at this point, I’m not going to be silenced.”

The candidate also said she has written to the local US attorney, the Air Force inspector general and the Pentagon to ask them to launch a criminal investigation into the release of her personnel file. 

“​I am saddened to have to share publicly one of the most private events of my life, and I’m even more saddened that Congressman Mrvan​ … would engage in or tolerate this despicable behavior from his campaign and his allies. It’s unacceptable for every vet, it’s unacceptable for every woman, and it’s unacceptable for anyone who has ever been a victim of sexual assault​,” she said. 

Mrvan’s offices in Washington and Indiana did not respond to requests for comment. ​

Politico told Fox News Digital in a statement that the records related to Green were “publicly available documents” and that Green’s campaign cooperated with the story and provided additional documents from her military career. 

“This story is an incredibly nuanced, deeply reported piece that looks at the totality of Ms. Green’s military career, which her team has placed at the forefront of her campaign,” said Brad Dayspring, Politico vice president of marketing and communications.

“The military records in question are publicly available documents that can be obtained by a standard FOIA request,” he added.

Wren wrote in the original story that the documents “were obtained by a public records request and provided … by a person outside the Mrvan campaign.”

According to the National Archives website, the public can only access certain information from official military personnel files — including a veteran’s name, branch of service, dates of service, final rank, military education level, eligibility for awards and decorations, and court-martial transcripts — without violating living individuals’ privacy. The release of other information must be authorized by the veteran or their next of kin if they are dead.

The 1st District, located in northwestern Indiana and covering the heavily Democratic cities of Gary and Hammond, has not elected a Republican to Congress since 1928. Mrvan was elected in 2020 to succeed the retiring Pete Visclosky, who was first elected to the House in 1984.