Friday, August 9, 2024

Stolen Valor? Not so fast.

 Al Ritter


To begin with I am not a Tim Walz fan but I feel that this claim of stolen valor might not hold much credence.

The Stolen Valor act signed into law in 2006 by President George Bush was later declared to be Unconstitutional by the Ninth Circuit Court in 2010 in the case of United States v. Alvarez. It was declared Unconstitutional based on freedom of speech.

Subsequently a later replacement of the Act was signed into law in 2013 by President Barack Obama. This revision included the following wording.

The Stolen Valor Act of 2013 amends the federal criminal code to rewrite provisions relating to fraudulent claims about military service to subject to a fine, imprisonment for not more than one year, or both for an individual who, with intent to obtain money, property, or other tangible benefit, fraudulently holds himself or herself out to be a recipient of:

·         Medal of Honor

·         Distinguished Service Cross

·         Navy Cross

·         Air Force Cross

·         Silver Star

·         Bronze Star

·         Purple Heart

·         Combat Action Ribbon

·         Combat Infantryman's Badge

·         Combat Action Badge

·         Combat Medical Badge

·         Combat Action Medal

·         Or any replacement or duplicate medal for such medal as authorized by law.

 

As you can see the violator has to not only represent themselves as a holder of specific medals but would also include a tangible benefit from such a claim.

Although Walz has walked a very narrow tightrope on his claims of service I don’t see where he has claimed that he possesses any of the afore mentioned medals, badges, crosses. His false claim of holding a specific rank upon his retirement is not grounds for violation. His claim of being in war without representation of combat badges isn’t either.

This claim of stolen valor is great for conversation in a campaign but I fear it is much ado about nothing.

Stolen Valor Act of 2005:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stolen_Valor_Act_of_2005

Stolen Valor Act of 2013:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stolen_Valor_Act_of_2013

5 comments:

Betsyross said...

I knew the first one got shot down but i didn't know another one was written, learn something new every day. Thanks for the info!

Rob Boh said...

I dont think they are looking for legal recourse, theyre just looking to expose him for the stooge liar he is. I know many vets are upset with many of his comments, and many that were in his old unit are not too happy either.

Dave R said...

So, he did not claim to be any of the things under the ACT, but he did lie about carrying weapons of war......not sure his exact quote. As a fellow Marine, who never left the East coast of the US, I am quick to point out, I was never overseas, I went where I was told to go, and even though I served during Viet Nam, I was not told to go.

Anonymous said...

I'll just leave this here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izcTGHcLF7k
Gonna be hard for him to deny these videos

Linda H said...

Stolen valor or not Tim Walz is a terrible man. He is not intelligent, he is not serious, he is clueless & downright silly. His wife appears the same and we all should know by now what Kamala Harris is.