By Miriam Raftery
July 18, 2019 (San Diego) – The U.S. Marine Corps has sent a letter ordering Congressman Duncan Hunter (R-Alpine) to cease and desist using the official Marines emblem and slogan on any campaign materials.
The demand comes after Hunter sent a misleading and Islamophobic mailer to smear his Democratic opponent, Ammar Campa-Najjar, who is Catholic.
The mailer has a photo of a masked terrorist on one side and photos of Campa-Najjar juxtaposed with images of Islamic Congresswomen Ilhan Omar (D-Minnesota) and Rashida Tlaib (D-Michigan). The mailer calls all three “radical” adding that they “want you to forget their anti-Semitism or Family-Terrorist Ties!” Hunter’s mailer further states, “But as a Marine I’ll never forget the 1983 Beirut bombings and the 1972 Olympic murders!”
Campa-Najjar was born at Grossmont Hospital in La Mesa and raised locally by his Catholic Hispanic mother. His Palestinian grandfather, who died before he was born, has been linked as a possible participant in the Munich attack on Israeli athletes. Campa-Najjar has denounced terrorism and received endorsement of Jewish rabbis for his stances toward Israel.
In a statement sent to ECM tonight, Campa-Najjar states, “I advise Congressman Hunter to cease-and-desist from attacking his fellow Americans — because every time he tries, he lies. Hunter’s campaign has illegally used the official Marine Corps emblem and phrase for years, but these hateful mailers were so dishonorable and discrediting that they drew the attention of the United States Marine Corps, prompting the branch to issue a cease-and-desist order.” He adds,. “The Congressman’s lies don’t reflect the position of the United States Marine Corps anymore than his conduct reflects the character of our district. We deserve better.”
Hunter served in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, attaining the rank of major before his election to Congress in 2008. He is campaigning for reelection despite a federal trial on 60 corruption charges slated to begin in September. Hunter is accused of embezzling $250,000 from his campaign donations and spending the money on personal expenditures ranging from mistresses to family vacations, as well as filing falsified reports to the Federal Elections Commission to cover up his crimes. His wife, Margaret, pleaded guilty to one count and is cooperating with prosecutors in the case against her husband.
The Marine Corp’s letter to Hunter states, “"It has come to our attention that your campaign is using the official USMC Eagle, Globe and Anchor (Emblem) and the phrase 'No Better Friend, NO Worse Enemy' (Phrase) as an integral part of your political campaign, namely, on at least one fundraising mailer to your constituents." The letter asks Hunter to immediately remove the emblem and phrase from all campaign materials and his website.
NBC TV reports that a Hunter spokesman says the campaign “immediately complied” with the request to remove the material and “is taking all appropriate measures to ensure this matter is addressed appropriately and thoroughly.”
Federal law prohibits the Marines’ trademarked seal and emblem from being used in any political activities.
The Marines’ letter states that as an alternative, Hunter can inform voters that he is a Marine Corps veteran and may use a “Marine veteran” logo.
Comments
:-)
Twiggy :-) LOL! You are amusing :-/ sort of
Public forum for bashing
Barry, thank you for switching to your real identity.
I applaud you for your transparency.
I personally recommend that people read a cross-section of news sites with a variety of views, including at least some that are different than one's own, as well as some that are vetted by journalists and considered reasonably close to the center in terms of analysis and fact checking. So if you read Drudge or Fox, you might also read Huffington Post for news that's more left-leaning and some national news sources such as the New York Times, CBS News, USA Today, CNN, Politico, Newsweek, Time, Washington Post, etc. Also it's interesting to read the major foreign press and how they cover US news - such as BBC news in Britain or Reuters.
Bashing
Cecil B.Demill
Prepare for Big Budget Cuts
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/trump-tells-aides-to-loo...
Disrespectful
For this Marine, him doing this is much worse than taking a knee and disrespects what the Corp has fought and stands for. If this is also what Voters in his District are willing to support, I question their loyalty to our Country over Duncan Hunter Jr.
:-/
"Someone in the Whitehouse"