The Republican Party scrapped a nearly $1 million ad buy last week for J.R. Majewski after an Associated Press report showed that he misrepresented his military service.
On the campaign trail, Majewski would often invoke his military service in Afghanistan, claiming he was a combat veteran. However, official military records show that the Republican nominee only deployed to Qatar for six months.
However, Majewski remains defiant. While acknowledging that he deployed to a staging base in Qatar, he claimed that he deployed to combat zones from there to deliver supplies to frontline soldiers.
In an interview on Newsmax, Majewski has said that he’s “entitled to call himself a combat veteran,” too.
He’s also insisted repeatedly that his records didn’t show evidence of combat or Afghanistan service because they’re “classified.”
Task & Purpose has more on Majewski’s defense:
“I was in multiple bases in Afghanistan and the time frame is clear, in 2002,” he said at a news conference on Friday after the Associated Press reported his service record. “We flew in and out of the area of responsibility multiple times. It’s almost impossible for me to tell you where I was and on what day. That’s why my orders are listed as a classified location.”
It’s that simple. Majewski, by his own words, would regularly fly out of Qatar into Afghanistan shortly after the war began. Campaign ads and biographies said his squadron was deployed to Afghanistan early in 2002, where he saw heavy combat. But the Associated Press’ reporting showed no record of his time in Afghanistan, including a lack of an Afghanistan campaign medal. Instead the Air Force veteran was stationed in Japan and had a six-month stint in Qatar, but was tasked with helping to pack and unload planes heading in and out of the base.
He hasn’t shown any evidence or corroboration of these missions, nor brought in any colleague or commander who could confirm that Majewski was on these apparently secret deployments. However, he said he has records from his personal file that confirm his claim. Of course, if those deployments are classified, Majewski has been openly talking about them — in great detail — for some time now, despite the supposed missions being secret.
The candidate posted service documents on social media, but none show any deployments to Afghanistan. He also claimed to have been deployed to South Korea; his record does show a temporary duty travel to the country, but not any deployment.
Majewski is vying for a critical U.S. House seat in Northern Ohio, which shifted significantly rightward after the latest round of redistricting. That seat, Ohio’s 9th Congressional District, is currently represented by Democrat Marcy Kaptur.
According to the latest data from RealClearPolitics, the race now “Leans Democrat.”
What’s the problem! Democrat Blumenthal lied like crazy about his military service. He had medals and claimed to be a VN veteran who served IN VN. He lied BIG TIME, and he’s still in office for many years!
But Republicans have higher ethical standards. We consider lying about one’s combat experience to be a serious offense, even if the Democrats do not.