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Dem Gov Who Lied About Having Bronze Star Gets His Reward As Media Downplays ‘Meritorious Service’ Of Trump Nominee

Governor Wes Moore Press Conference (Screenshot/YouTube/WUSA9)

The Washington Post glowingly covered Democratic Maryland Gov. Wes Moore becoming a Bronze Star recipient Monday after having attempted to downplay the award in its coverage about President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee, Pete Hegseth.

The Post cited military experts in a Dec. 5 article titled, titled “Bronze Stars, like those Hegseth earned, are common among military officers,” to argue that Hegseth’s award were commonly given out “somewhat liberally” to military officers during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and are seen as a “participation trophy.” The paper’s coverage of Moore’s award included a lengthy background about his military service and the event itself, while lightly touching upon his false statement about previously receiving a Bronze Star and the military experts’ remarks about the award itself.

“The Bronze Stars listed in Hegseth’s official records fall into the latter category, according to his official service records,” the Post wrote. “Such awards were issued somewhat liberally throughout the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, experts say. Awardees of the meritorious service medal are predominantly military officers like Hegseth, data provided by the military shows. While many officers have risked their lives on the battlefield, the majority of fighting and exposure to danger is performed by the enlisted troops they command.”

Hegseth received his first Bronze Star in 2006 for his service in Iraq, while his second award cites his work as a counterinsurgency instructor in Afghanistan in 2012, the Post reported.

The paper cited Jason Dempsey, a former Army officer who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, who stated that a military officer receiving a Bronze Star is “fairly routine and bureaucratic,” and argued that military officers who received the meritorious service medal are automatically expected to get the award unless they fail at their duties.

In its coverage about Moore, the Post clarified that his award is “for commendable job performance” rather than “battlefield heroics” in its piece titled, “Eighteen years and one controversy later, Wes Moore gets a Bronze Star.”

“While the Bronze Star is awarded only for service in a combat environment, it does not necessarily require battlefield heroics. The rarer version of the award comes with a ‘V’ device denoting valor in combat,” the Post wrote. “The more common version, which Moore received, is for commendable job performance, or “meritorious service” in military parlance.”

However, the piece referred to the governor’s award as a “belated honor” and described the “emotional private ceremony” that took place at the governor’s mansion, along with describing his military career.

“Maryland Gov. Wes Moore received a Bronze Star Friday evening for his deployment to Afghanistan 18 years ago, a belated honor bestowed after a roiling controversy that blemished his rising political career,” the article began. “Moore’s close friend and former commander, Lt. Gen. Michael R. Fenzel, who had recommended Moore for the medal, on Friday pinned the Bronze Star for “meritorious service” onto the governor’s chest during an emotional private ceremony at the governor’s mansion in Annapolis.”

The article further noted that Moore had been recommended for the medal during his deployment in Afghanistan by his superiors, though the award paperwork never went through. Lt. Gen. Michael R. Fenzel, who recommended Moore for his current medal, stated in the paperwork that the Maryland governor “consistently demonstrated courage and skill in wartime environment,” according to the Post.

The Post covered the controversy of Moore falsely claiming on an application that he had been awarded with a Bronze Star in 2006. The governor apologized for the discrepancy which he referred to as an “honest mistake.”

For several years, Moore did not correct articles or interviews that claimed he had received a Bronze Star, according to the Post. He later corrected the record during his gubernatorial campaign, but claimed he had never lied about earning the award.

The Washington Post didn’t immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.