Why even have a Stolen Valor Act?
This from some guy named MOTHAX at The Burn Pit;
Why won’t the US Attorney for CO prosecute Stolen Valor Act cases?
September 23rd, 2009 by MOTHAX
Protect the warriors; go after the phonies.
Rick Duncan was a Marine with a compelling story to tell, and tell it he did, to anyone who would listen. A graduate of the Naval Academy, Rick had been in the Pentagon when the plane hit on September 11, 2001. Volunteering for duty in Iraq, Duncan rose to the rank of Captain, and although openly gay, was assigned to lead a Marine Battalion in the battle of Fallujah. During the house to house battles there he had a finger shot off and suffered a severe head injury that required a plate be put in his head. He returned to the states disillusioned with the war and became executive director of the Colorado Veterans Alliance.
Partisan, MoveOn.com-ally VoteVets asked Duncan to be a blogger for them where he wrote under the handle of “USMCinCO.” The radical anti-war group “Iraq Veterans Against the War” (which does not require service in Iraq) asked Capt. Duncan to appear at several of their events to talk about his experiences. Various candidates for state and Federal offices in Colorado during the last election cycle asked Duncan to appear in their political commercials.
But Rick Duncan never existed. He was in fact Rick Strandlof, a man wanted on an outstanding warrant. In March and April of this year his story started to fall apart, with military bloggers chronicling every facet of his downfall. VoteVets and IVAW quickly scrubbed the internet of his presence, and the campaign ads featuring him speaking were removed from YouTube. Anderson Cooper of CNN delivered the coup de grace…
In July of 2005, Representative John Salazar, Democrat from Colorado introduced the “Stolen Valor Act.” Briefly summarized, the act provides that (among other things):
Whoever falsely represents himself or herself, verbally or in writing, to have been awarded any decoration or medal authorized by Congress for the armed forces of the United States, or any of the service medals or badges awarded to the members of such forces, or the ribbon, button, or rosette of any such badge, decoration or medal, or any colorable imitation thereof shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than six months, or both.
The bill passed both the House and the Senate (in a version sponsored by Kent Conrad of North Dakota) and was signed into law by the President on December 20, 2006. The Denver Post reported on the bill after it was signed into law:
Salazar, a Vietnam War [era] veteran, authored a bill he called the Stolen Valor Act at the urging of Colorado State University at Pueblo student Pam Sterner. She wrote a school paper about the lack of a law prohibiting anything other than the false wearing of a war medal.
Under the new law, anyone who falsely claims to be a decorated military veteran can be punished with up to six months in prison and a $5,000 fine. The penalties are double for a claim involving the Distinguished Service Cross, Air Force Cross, Navy Cross, Silver Star or Purple Heart.
Last week I began to hear rumors from people I knew in Colorado that the United States Attorney for the District of Colorado, David M. Gaouette, had decided against prosecuting Duncan/Strandlof. Perplexed by this, I contacted his office by email:
I know of a few relatively high profile instances of violations of the Stolen Valor Act in Colorado, most notably that of Rick Duncan/Strandlof. I have been informed by individuals I know that the US Attorney there in Colorado is not going to pursue those charges. I was wondering if you could let me know if that was in fact an accurate reflection of the situation, or if you would care to provide some context for that?
The response was a rather terse “Please contact FBI Special Agent [redacted] at 303-629-xxxx” And so I did.
I spoke with the Special Agent, who happens to be a former Marine. Now, let me interject that the FBI in Denver is a top notch outfit, as proven just this weekend by them arresting 3 men on terrorism related charges. The Agent that I spoke with knew exactly what I was calling about, and every minute reference I dropped about the Duncan Affair he knew off the top of his head. Now, I will not relate the entire conversation, since I am sure he would rather not be dragged into this, but he made it abundantly clear that it was the US Attorney’s decision alone to drop the case (which he seemed to disagree with) and that he was not authorized to tell me much more than that. He did inform me that the process is that the office of the US Attorney will send a letter to the FBI declining to prosecute on the charge, and generally contain the reasoning such a decision was made. He said he had not as yet received that letter, nor would he be at liberty to release it to me even if he had.
I once again contacted the US Attorney’s office, and the PR guy who had initially responded to my email replied to neither my follow up emails, nor to my phone message. I next contacted the office of Representative Salazar, however two voice messages have not been returned as of the time of publishing this post. If either the US Attorney or Representative Salazar responds, I will post that response in full.
Outing phony veterans has been a bit of a cottage industry for Military Bloggers. The most notorious was probably Jesse MacBeth, a man who claimed to have served in Iraq with the Rangers and having killed “hundreds” of Iraqis, some while they took refuge in a mosque. His story was debunked fairly easily, what with wearing his beret backwards, his sleeves rolled the wrong way, wearing the wrong color T-Shirt, and the fact his stories couldn’t pass even a rudimentary laugh test.
Earlier VoteVets had been burned by a guy named Josh Lansdale, whose tales of the horrors of war were debunked by his own first sergeant, and numerous members of the media who had embedded with his unit. Television Ads for VoteVets featuring Josh as well as one for a Senate candidate were quietly retired.
No case has been as abundantly clear as that of “General Baxter.”
Jonn Lilyea of This Ain’t Hell requested the military records of “General Baxter” through a Freedom of Information Act request to the National Personnel Records Center who confirmed that Baxter had been discharged as a PFC. The Baltimore office of the FBI declined to investigate, despite a picture of him wearing a Combat Infantryman’s Badge and a Silver Star (among other unearned awards.)
I truly don’t understand the logic of the US Attorney for Colorado and the FBI office in Baltimore. To those of us who served in combat, each of these phonies robs a little bit of the honor we earned through our military experiences. Duncan, MacBeth and Lansdale all used their phony war records to push a radical point of view, one which The American Legion and other veterans organizations spend a great deal of energy trying to refute. The service-member as blood-thirsty villain meme is one we actively must refute, whether it appears in a New York Times article using skewed statistics to show that service-members are more prone to violent criminal acts, or the now discredited DHS report that returning men and women are ripe for recruitment by radical fringe groups.
We will continue to debunk these individuals who do harm to the legacy of the warriors of today and yesterday, but it would be nice if we could count on the US Attorneys and FBI agents to uphold the law in order to help us.
After all, isn’t that why these laws are passed?
Category: Congress sucks, Phony soldiers
Jonn, this would be the same Dept of Justice(?) that declined to prosecute the Philly Black Panthers for voter intimidation? Sounds like the Baltimore FBI office has a careerist in the ranks, who’s doing exactly what he thinks the DOJ wants done, nothing. Meanwhile, I think the word has gone forth from the DOJ to leave those Obama supporters alone.
Jonn, it’s not just the ones that served in combat, but all who served honorably and did their job, whether as a cook, infantryman, or supply person. They did their job and didn’t go seeking un-earned recognition or glory and accolades. These weasels disgrace everyone.
A Marine Capt was a battalion commander? I’m a retired Marine and I’ve never heard of such a thing.
An openly GAY Capt Marine Battalion Commander.
No one else had ever heard of such a thing either, which is why his story was so ridiculous.
This same scenario is repeating itself across the country. Months of work. FBI referral – and the US Attroney drops the ball. TX, AZ have TERRIBLE track records. Then IF by some chance these cases get to court – they get “200 hours of community service at the VA hospital!” WHY? So they can learn more tales to tell? Irritate the real heroes? FINE them to a point it hurts. If they don’t have it – have them go to work at Burger King and turn over the paycheck. Or a car wash, or scrubbing public toilets someplace. Keep them away from our Heroes. Whatever – just make the punishment count. Right now there are NO DETERRENTS – we have had phonies tell us so.
Just as I had thought…
[DENVER – David M. Gaouette, age 54, of Lakewood, Colorado, has been appointed U.S. Attorney for the District of Colorado by Attorney General Eric H. Holder, Jr….
…The Attorney General’s appointment took effect on Saturday, August 8, 2009, and lasts for 120 days, or until someone is nominated by the President and confirmed by the U.S. Senate. If by the end of the 120 day term there is no such qualified person, then the court will appoint a U.S. Attorney. That appointment will last until a successor is named and confirmed….
…Gaouette was first appointed as the Acting U.S. Attorney on Saturday, January 10, 2009, after Troy Eid, the Presidentially appointed U.S. Attorney, resigned on Friday, January 9, 2009 to focus on his private law practice….
…“It is an honor to be appointed by the Attorney General to be a temporary steward of the U.S. Attorney’s Office,” said U.S. Attorney David Gaouette….]
[… “The hard work of the men and women of the U.S. Attorney’s Office continues, ensuring that justice is done and that Colorado and the federal government are well represented.”]
Yeah, well kiss my ass you POS.
Dear Jonn, et al, below is a copy of a letter I wrote today to Jeffrey Dorschner of the US Attorney’s Office in Colorado. ——————————— Dear Sir, I am given to understand that you run point for Mr. David M. Gaouette, the United States Attorney in Colorado. In July of 2005, Representative John Salazar, Democrat from Colorado introduced the “Stolen Valor Act.” Briefly summarized, the act provides that (among other things): “Whoever falsely represents himself or herself, verbally or in writing, to have been awarded any decoration or medal authorized by Congress for the armed forces of the United States, or any of the service medals or badges awarded to the members of such forces, or the ribbon, button, or rosette of any such badge, decoration or medal, or any colorable imitation thereof shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than six months, or both.” As you are aware, Mr. Rick Duncan/Strandlof was arrested by Colorado authorities and the FBI, and his case was referred to your office for prosecution. It has been made known to me (and thousands of others) that your office has declined to prosecute this individual, despite the overwhelming evidence of his guilt. I am a decorated veteran of the United States Navy. My father is a decorated WWII combat veteran, and my son is a decorated veteran currently on active duty with the United States Army, and due to deploy to Afghanistan in a few weeks. You should be aware that I find any decision to decline prosecution of Mr. Rick Duncan/Strandlof as unacceptable and beyond comprehension. Allowing this man to steal the honour that hundreds of thousands of veterans have earned and escape punishment for his actions is intolerable, and not only cheapens the service of actual veterans, but serves as a slap to their collective faces that the government is not interested in protecting the reputation and honour of those who swear to defend the Constitution, with their very lives if needs be. This letter is sent as a courtesy to you, and I hope to receive a response from… Read more »
Awesome letter Tim.
Can you report back if you hear anything?
Be my pleasure, sir!
I’ll email you a copy of the letter I send to Collins & Snowe, too.
Respects,
Great letter Tim. Also looking forward to seeing any reply you may get. I sent one to my rep. but my senators are Karl Red Levin and Debbie Stabenow. That would be a waste of 2 stamps, and I never get replies from them on anything.
I like how he has “combat” SF and Ranger Tab on his right shoulder. That’s a HUGE red flag. Haha
Jesse,
I hope you are no longer with IVAW. You seem like a reasonable and good man. IVAW had these pictures of McBeth even before he was outed … they should’ve known .. but instead they used his bs story anyway … IVAW is worthless
I don’t know the whole MacBeth story, so I can’t comment on it. There are A LOT of people out there that beef up (or blatantly lie about) their military careers and I’m sure IVAW isn’t the only veteran’s organization with an impostor. I highly doubt that IVAWs leadership at the time saw MacBeth and said “Yeah we know he’s a fake, but lets let him tell a bullshit story because it shows the war in a negative light.” No sane person would do that, because they would know full well the consequences to the organization once MacBeth’s “cover” was blown. Yeah maybe qualifications for membership weren’t as squared away as they should, but every organization is prone to systems that don’t work – especially if they’re new to the game. Remember that INS gave Visas to a couple of 9/11 hijackers in late 2002 and Sarah Palin gave an interview to a Canadian radio show thinking that she was talking to the French President. People get duped. They suck it up, drive on, and learn from it, and thats what I believe IVAW did with the whole MacBeth fiasco.
Moving right along, as far as IVAW is concerned, I wouldn’t classify myself as overly active or inactive. If the organization is doing something that I agree with, I’m there – if not, I’m not there. There are people in the organization that I like, and people who I could deal without, but much more of the former. Again, it’s like any large group.
Evidently, Jesse, one idea with which you do not agree is the concept that people should have served in Iraq before they call themselves “Iraq Veterans.” This concept is also known by the terms “truth,” “honesty,” and “integrity.” I don’t see how you could be present for any IVAW events knowing that your service in Iraq is being exploited by a bunch of no-integrity-having-mother-fuckers who never served any time in Iraq.
To me, that is a “phony soldier.” Someone who represents themselves as an Iraq veteran without ever having served in Iraq is a fraud.
I haven’t ran into anyone in IVAW who refers to themselves as an “Iraq Veteran” if they’ve never been to Iraq. A couple of weeks ago, I was at an event at the Army Experience Center with two IVAW members – both infantrymen- both with CIBs.
As a side note, I have heard the term “combat veteran” more frequently misused. Combat is defined as “hostile encounter between opposing military forces,” so therefore if you haven’t had at least one hostile encounter with the enemy, you’re misusing the title. Spent your whole time in the TOC? Iraq veteran, yes. Combat veteran, no. Left the wire occasionally but never mixed it up? Iraq veteran, yes. Combat veteran, no. So, in my opinion, just having been to Iraq doesn’t necessarily mean that you know anything more about what happens in country that someone who never went over. That’s why I really don’t care whether IVAW lets veterans join even if they haven’t been to Iraq.
The closing statement of the letter should say preponderance (Main Entry: pre·pon·der·ance
Pronunciation: \pri-?pän-d(?-)r?n(t)s\
Function: noun
Date: 1681
1 : a superiority in weight, power, importance, or strength
2 a : a superiority or excess in number or quantity b : majority
* instead of ponderance (which is not a term in any dictionary) otherwise the letter sum it up pretty good. I’m 100% with you on this crusade.
“Any lawmen who refuse to apply the law of men is as guilty as a felon who violates the law of the land” Sea Lawyer
The Supreme court should put this AG out of office.