Stolen valor has been one of the hottest political topics nationally this summer, and new information confirming Maryland Gov. Wes Moore falsely claimed to have received a Bronze Star for his service in the U.S. Army has reignited the fire. Moore admitted to New York Times reporter Reid J. Epstein that he had claimed to have been awarded a Bronze Star on his application for a White House fellowship in 2006, despite not having been issued that honor by the Army. But he told Epstein that he had no memory of making the claim until a copy of the application was sent by the Times to his office Wednesday. The Times obtained the 2006 document through a public information request.
Moore's false claim in 2006 would have put him in violation of the Stolen Valor Act of 2005, which included the possibility of a prison sentence of up to six months for falsely claiming to have received any military decoration or medal of the U.S. armed forces. But the U.S. Supreme Court struck that law down in 2012. A new stolen valor law was passed by Congress almost a decade after Moore's transgression.
The governor mounted a vigorous defense of his actions after learning of the imminent Bronze Star revelation by the Times. He has cited "mental strain" from his service as the reason he did not correct TV hosts who introduced him as a Bronze Star recipient. Most significantly, Moore has shifted blame to his former superior officer, Gen. Michael R. Fenzel, whom he said encouraged him to claim he had received a Bronze Star on the White House application. While Moore told the Times he had no memory of including the Bronze Star on the application, he said he did have a memory of not wanting to do so.
"That was him following the direction of a lieutenant colonel, and he was at the time a first lieutenant,” General Fenzel told the Times in an interview arranged by Moore. "He was following the advice of a more senior officer." Fenzel admitted that Moore should not have made the claim, even as he backed up Moore's excuse that he was only following Fenzel's advice to make the claim. Fenzel and Moore both said that Moore had been recommended for a Bronze Star, but that the Army never issued the award to him.
Unnamed "allies" of the governor told the Times that the "chaotic" nature of the Afghanistan war meant that soldiers' award paperwork was often not processed or approved. Moore said he never inquired about why he did not receive the Bronze Star.
Moore expressed remorse for not confronting the Bronze Star controversy head on during his successful 2022 gubernatorial campaign. Heat over the stolen valor issue never rose above a low simmer among Maryland media outlets that year, reducing most of the firestorm to social media posts among Republicans.
But, in a statement released by his office Thursday, Moore characterized media investigations regarding his false Bronze Star claim as "new ways to undermine my service to our country in uniform." He called his false claim "an honest mistake" that he now regrets.
Ironically, Moore may politically benefit from having the issue explode to the surface again now. While Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz faced strong criticism over clearly false claims he had made about his rank and combat experience after becoming Vice-President Kamala Harris' running mate, his defenders slammed critics for questioning the service of anyone who had worn a military uniform, especially for as long a timespan as Walz did in the National Guard. And that defense appears to have worked for now. According to the mainstream media, American voters just aren't all that hung up on veterans embellishing their service records, and the issue has receded into the background of overwhelmingly-favorable media coverage of Walz.
Moore's statement suggested he has recognized that shift in the political zeitgeist himself. "Over the last few weeks, our country has grown used to seeing what it looks like when a veteran's integrity is attacked for political gain. But those who seek to cast doubt on our records misunderstand something fundamental about true patriots, who have put on the flag of our country and put everything on the line to be called Americans: We don't get shaken. We put our heads down, and we do the work. And that is what I will continue to do."
40 comments:
This only matters if you're not a democrat. Tulsi Gabbard and family were put on the no-fly list for daring to question liberal establishment. Waltz is a walking lie factory who didn't carry a weapon in war, didn't greet dead soldiers on the tarmac in Bagram and didn't retire a Command Sargent Major, (but has been passing out service coins in congress that says so).
Not even 2-months ago, democrats and their media were openly talking about Harris dragging down the Biden reelection effort as the most unpopular VP in history.
It's good to be a democrat...
Wes Less, the token stolen valor candidate you people voted for!
Really sad news. I'm surprised it's only coming out now.
None of the "allegations" you list above can be proven factually. The challenge is on you. Mr. Bonespurs.
It amazes me how little attention you (Robert Dyer) have paid to the services of Gov. Moore to the state of Maryland during his tenure to date. Yet you sit, like most of your connie audience, in wait to pounce on the first misstep you can find to set ablaze. Perhaps you should look internally at your parties demons which include Mr. Bone Spurs, and Ms. Mascara, along with a complete Clown Car of demented characters as backup cast. The clerical error of Gov. Moore pales in comparison. As the old adage states, people who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones, or rocks,
I'm willing to give Wes the benefit of the doubt on this one, if he follows the pattern they'll be more disappointment eventually anyway.
Why do Democrats do this? Joe Biden plagiarized other people's work multiple times and for away with it. How about Tim Walz? Now, Wes Moore. Moore seems like a good guy who is trying hard to lead the state whether you agree or disagree. But stolen valor is serious and as the NY Times piece mentioned, from a former military officer, Moore knew very clearly that this was simply a lie. You were either awarded a significant medal for your service or you weren't. Just imagine if we still had a Republican in the State House what would happen. Moore will be reelected without issue of course. It's very sad. And no one says anything about Walz. Well, there's still time. A VP who clearly stole valor? Heck no.
8:39 - That's such a great post and absolutely factual. Did you see that Harris stole MLK's story? Look it up. No one says a word. The story she tells about her and her mom when she was little is an absolute lie and is stolen from a reflection MLK gave in an interview. She's a disgrace
What else has he honesty forgotten to correct?
Moore was definitely at fault for not correcting interviewers about not having a Bronze Star, but the same idiots who jumped all over Tim Walz for zero reason about his military service are now frothing at the mouth over Moore, when the person they should be directing their vitriol towards is a scumbag who dodged serving in Vietnam, disrespected a Vietnam war hero, John McCain, disrespected fallen soldiers by calling them losers and suckers, and most recently, disrespected the Medal of Honor. THIS JUST IN: He's now a poser on sacred grounds (ANC) for political gain. But all that's OK, because there's an R behind his name for party affiliation. The hypocrisy makes me sick. Y'all are a bunch of hypocrites.
Let's be clear about this: there is no dispute about Moore's commanding officer having recommended Moore for the Bronze Star, nor is there any dispute over its having been signed off on by two other commanding officers --the NYT, WaPo, and the A.P. all write that in their pieces, and no one has [yet] suggested otherwise. As well, it is recognized by no less an authority on such matters than [now retired] Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, (although not during Moore's time in that country,) that such nomination paperwork often went missing, resulting in awards not being given to those who had legitimately been put forward for them.
Moore today said, during an interview with Fox, that the paperwork had recently been re-submitted. I take from this that Moore's former CO, and those others whose signatures were required to move forward the nomination, still believe Moore had earned and deserved the valorous honor for which his name had earlier been put forth. It remains to be seen if the Army will share that opinion and finally present the decoration his CO and other command officers had earlier agreed he deserved, but let us not mistake this for a stolen valor moment, because it isn't.
1:23 - Only in your narcissistic, narrow-minded world is that true. You're not welcome.
1:16 - That meandering comment makes no sense at all.
Thank you!
What the hell do you know about MLK, except for what you read in the Breitbart News. You are the disgrace for fabricating fallacious comments.
All this is is another obvious hit piece from the author. You want us dem supporters to be okay on criticism, fine, I’m good with that, but unless you really believe there are no valid reasons for Gov Moore's mistake, which by the way he owned up to, and are now being rectified, then the hit piece aspect of this column is dumbfoundingly obvious.
And that means the writer is not to be trusted or respected imo. Get your jollies yet?
@3:25 There are mistakes and there are choices. Knowing the difference is called integrity. If Moore had an R behind his name, you would be looking into his behavior during grade school.
Meanwhile positions that some of these liberal politicians take not even 4-years to even last week are called everything from evolution to grammatical errors.
Character is what people do when no one else is watching. Moore should be applauded for his service but lying about it, (failure to correct the record over time is lying), diminishes his character.
2:36 & 2:52 - It's not your blog first of all so saying that a comment is not welcome isn't appropriate. Secondly, please fact check what I wrote. Narrow minded and narcissistic? That makes no sense. 2:52 - You don't think that story about Kamala Harris is true? Fine. That's awfully harsh language you're using there. People usually do that when they know that something has been called out. Sorry but I know plenty about MLK and this isn't about that great leader it's about Harris who is a fraud and a liar.
This is old news the came up during his run for Governor, discussed and dismissed. Someone on the NYT summer crew must have been extremely bored. This issue originally appeared in Maryland Matters; https://marylandmatters.org/2022/09/06/how-wes-moore-is-deploying-his-military-service-on-the-campaign-trail/, which also mentioned Cox (R) candidate for governor;
"Cox also claims military service in his biography. According to his legislative profile in the online version of the Maryland Manual, Cox is a captain in the U.S. Air Force Auxiliary – more commonly known as the Civilian Air Corps. His campaign, however, did not respond to a request to provide more information about Cox’s career and experience as a military reservist." What was he hiding??
How else could Robert have reported this incident? I thought it insightful and quite fair.
11:46/11:55 If you would get out of the MSNBC bubble, even CNN has reported Walz lies and there is this thing called Google where even biased searches come up with those uncomfortable facts. Moore is not nearly as ethically challenged as Walz or Harris as it's much easier to document the few things they've said are true than the catalog of lies.
It's unfortunate that Moore didn't feel the need to correct the record at the time but he'll get the D pass should he seek higher office.
“A disgrace.” Pointed words for the candidate who has *not* been convicted of 34 felonies; who has *not* been found liable for sexual abuse and for making defamatory statements; who has *not* been re-indicted on charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, conspiracy against rights, and attempting to obstruct an official proceeding— to dash of but a handful of the literally scores of charges and convictions credited to *one* of the [non-Harris] presidential candidates. I won’t deign to detail the unfathomably contemptible, appalling conduct of *one* candidate at Arlington National Cemetery, save for pointing out that it involves yet another felony and the ineffable grotesquery of using dead veterans for “thumbs-up” political props.
“Harris is a disgrace”?
To quote Inigo Montoya, “You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.”
2:05 - I'm assuming your reply was in reference to what I posted. Please reference the comment when replying so everyone knows who you're talking to or create a handle as I have and others have done. I'll simply ask this question. Name one significant accomplishment VP Harris has achieved in her years in the Senate or in her term as VP that deserves a promotion to the highest office in the land? Thank you!
“She’s a disgrace.”
Hey, JAC, where’s the opprobrium and dudgeon for the only presidential candidate convicted of multiple felonies and facing multiple more?
@12:41 “ Moore is not nearly as ethically challenged as Walz or Harris as it's much easier to document the few things they've said are true than the catalog of lies”
You may have grown lightheaded from laughing so hard as you wrote that, causing you to hit ‘send’ before completing the thought. Allow me to help.
While on the subject of tellers of untruths, let us pay homage to the Greatest Liar in the History of Our World, at least as recognized by the fact-based community here on Planet Earth. In the end, there can be only one: “your favorite president:” DJT. The Washington Post, which kept an accounting of the fusillade of falsehoods, fictions, and fabrications uttered by the now-convicted felon during his term in office, tallied 30,573 lies over the course of his four years at the White House, an average of 21 a day. Truly the mark of greatness; a singular, if altogether ignoble, accomplishment, eclipsing by orders of magnitude the most dedicated efforts of neophytes in the field such as Harris and Walz .
6:57 - All those charges are a joke and everyone knows it, first. Second, yes, Harris is a disgrace and is also the worst candidate we've ever had. Fascinating the makeover she's gotten. Literally weeks ago there was talk all over Washington about how to get rid of her she's so bad. Now, she's suddenly the greatest person to ever emerge on the scene? She's done nothing. Hate Trump if you want but at least he knows how to govern. By the way, who the heck is running the dang country right now? Gosh, these Dems gotta go. Can't wait.
2:31 Should actually take a close look at the track records of those they're supporting. Since you're using the WP, would it not be similar if I cited Glen Beck or other conservative sites?
The original topic was stolen Valor so Walz is in context so regardless of liberal ignorance and apathy in support of their heros. The funny thing is that most people can see with their own eyes what a utter disaster progressive leadership but here you are with your foot planted to the floor asking for arguably the dumbest pair in history to assume the reigns of power for the next 4-8 years. I'm curious, were you a Harris supporter 2-months ago or like everyone in the MSM and many democrats in office, questioning how to replace someone so incompetent that they might drag Biden down in his reelection bid?
Dear JAC,
”All those charges are a joke and everyone knows it, first. Second, yes, Harris is a disgrace and is also the worst candidate we've ever had. Fascinating the makeover she's gotten. Literally weeks ago there was talk all over Washington about how to get rid of her she's so bad. Now, she's suddenly the greatest person to ever emerge on the scene? She's done nothing. Hate Trump if you want but at least he knows how to govern. By the way, who the heck is running the dang country right now? Gosh, these Dems gotta go.”
(1) All those charges are a joke and everyone knows it Objection. Speculation. Assumes facts not in evidence.
(2) Harris is a disgrace Perhaps, but less so than her opponent by many orders, as enumerated elsewhere in this post’s comments.
(3) Harris is also the worst candidate we've ever had JD, CA Attorney General, Vice President vs. serial bankruptcy, multiple divorces, multiple felony convictions, multiple indictments in multiple jurisdictions, philandering, congenitally lying, “very stable genius” who suggested a, “disinfectant that knocks it [COVID] out in a minute, one minute. And is there a way we can do something like that by injection inside or almost a cleaning?” Evidence suggests there are other candidates more suitable for that distinction, JAC.
Literally weeks ago there was talk all over Washington about how to get rid of her she's so bad More precisely, political-reporting DC was atwitter, speculating of a compressed Dem primary, a Thunderdome cage match to find a replacement candidate. Among the actual Dem org, that wasn’t the conversation being had.
(4) she's suddenly the greatest person to ever emerge on the scene Not sure that’s been suggested anywhere; we’re generally more restrained in our hyperbole than our opponents. It’s very nice of you to recognize our genuine enthusiasm, though. We are pretty excited at how easily, effortlessly Harris has knocked DJT off his game of bluster and threats.
(5) She's done nothing Generally speaking, VPs are acknowledged to have few, if any, feats of strength or greatness in their own right, as a quick nod to VP Pence will attest. Oh, wait –he did refuse to conspire with his boss to undermine election results and subvert the Constitution, so I guess he has that in his column.
(6) Hate Trump if you want but at least he knows how to govern We do, that, to be sure. But chaos, vengeance, and the spoils systems make a sub-optimal recipe for governance, which is why there is such enthusiasm for his opponent.
(7) who the heck is running the dang country right now? I refer you to the work of child psychologist Jean Piaget on the topic of object permanence. Just because you cannot see something taking place does not mean it has vanished.
@5:07 -- I'm not sure how many Pulitzers high school graduate Glen Beck has won for the reporting on his very fine vlog.
"The original topic was stolen Valor so Walz is in context so regardless of liberal ignorance and apathy in support of their heros [sic]." ... No, don't understand that banter at all.
I admit not knowing Kamala Harris's IQ, she having never assured the public of her, "mental stability and being, like, really smart." Well, "not smart, but genius....and a very stable genius at that!"
Not super-sure its apt to label Harris "someone so incompetent" when her opponent is the one who stared directly at the sun, talked of the potential therapeutic benefits of injecting the body with disinfectants, and wanted to nuke hurricanes to stop their trajectories.
6:54 - Please name one significant accomplishment that VP Harris has achieved that qualifies here to receive a promotion to the highest office in the world? Harris/Walz are the most radical ticket in US history and are even too far Left for MoCo.
@7:35 By simply towing the line of "disinfectants", there's little in credibility, let alone implying the WP receiving Pulitzers is a high bar.
Can't help those who only seek the truth from those who confirm their own biases. Ignorance & Apathy is a very apt description of liberals trying to run away from their own records. You might start with Websters dictionary.
So what 8:08 is saying is that give certain people a pass as long as it seems certain that the medal will be granted? I guess you've never served as that is not they way it works.
These comments are amongst the most replies for a Dyer generated blog post...
@5:19 I guess you were equally outraged when Biden shot a campaign video there. The difference here is that Gold Star families invited Trump, Biden & Harris to honor their sacrifice. Only one showed up. Hypocrites do make me sick.
kamala is the worst candidate we have ever had.
I'd also like to requote: "Please name one significant accomplishment that VP Harris has achieved that qualifies here to receive a promotion to the highest office in the world? Harris/Walz are the most radical ticket in US history and are even too far Left for MoCo"
All of those charges are a joke and yes everyone knows it!
Second this!
Still waiting to hear to the many accomplishments of kamala harris while she's been in office. If i'm to vote for her, please help me decide why she's the best candidate!
Lol, her and Biden !
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