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FRAUDSTER FLIPPO: “David Flippo Blamed Staff For Exaggerating His Military Record. His Own Hat Tells a Different Story.” [Mother Jones]

Flippo stopped wearing hat with “V-shaped emblems” shortly after bombshell WaPo investigation, immediately removed image of himself wearing hat from website homepage following Mother Jones reporting

 
Fraudster David Flippo’s excuse that staff are to blame for his own false claims that he earned a Bronze Star “for valor” doesn’t hold water, Mother Jones reports.

For years, Flippo wore a hat that “sported V-shaped emblems that signify a valor award next to a Bronze Star,” which military veterans pointed to as evidence that he intentionally claimed stolen valor.

Shortly after Mother Jones’ article went live, Flippo REMOVED an image of himself wearing the hat from the homepage of his website, the Nevada Independent reports.
Read the reporting for yourself…Mother Jones: David Flippo Blamed Staff For Exaggerating His Military Record. His Own Hat Tells a Different Story.

  • The Washington Post reported that David Flippo’s congressional campaign falsely claimed on multiple occasions that the Nevada Republican earned a Bronze Star with valor as an Air Force officer.
  • Flippo’s response was to blame anonymous staffers who he claimed had accidentally conflated two different awards he received for his service in Iraq. 
  • But there is a major problem with that explanation: For years, Flippo wore a hat that suggested he earned the Bronze Star with valor—the rare award he admits he does not have.
  • Pictures of him wearing the hat were included on his campaign website and in posts on its social media feeds.
  • According to veterans, the emblems on the cap bear a striking resemblance to the valor devices—or V devices, as they are known in military circles—used by the US military to show when awards are earned for valor. 
  • Lately, he appears to have stopped wearing that version of the cap.
  • Flippo’s campaign did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
  • Flippo’s many weaknesses as a candidate—including the fact that he moved to Reno only this year—have helped put the seat in play for his Democratic opponent, Teresa Benitez-Thompson, a former state Assembly majority leader. 
  • Flippo is also facing questions about the source of the nearly $2.5 million he has reported putting into his 2024 and 2026 congressional campaigns.
  • During the Iraq war, about 100,000 Bronze Stars were awarded. Only about 1 in 40 came with the additional valor distinction. The former Ranger explained that a Bronze Star with valor is so different from the regular version that it might as well be a different award.

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