Republican congressional candidate J.R. Majewski said Friday he served in Afghanistan and slammed news reports published earlier this week suggesting he had not.
"I flew into combat zones often, specifically in Afghanistan, and I served my country proudly," he said during a brief news conference at the Lucas County Republican Party headquarters in Holland, flanked by about a dozen supporters.
Mr. Majewski faces U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D., Toledo) in Ohio's 9th Congressional District race this November.
The Air Force veteran said he could not share documents from his deployments because they are "classified," though added he would "possibly" share photographs showing him in Afghanistan. Later, he said that his lawyer "will be sharing everything in due time."
"Let me be clear, anyone insinuating that I did not serve in Afghanistan is lying," he said. "I served my, and our, United States of America across multiple countries, in many roles. But that didn't matter to the liberal media, who wrote a politically-motivated hit piece on me.
"The story has been published, and the damage has been damning," Mr. Majewski said, adding it had resulted in threats made to him and his family.
"The orders and the military records that I have been able to obtain from my personal files shows that all of my deployments are listed as classified," Mr. Majewski said.
In response to a question about where he served in Afghanistan and when, he said "multiple bases" in 2002, adding he flew in and out of the "area of responsibility" multiple times.
"It's almost impossible for me to tell you where I was on what day," he said. "That's why my orders are listed as a classified location."
The candidate confirmed that he spent six months in Qatar helping load planes.
Qatar qualified as a combat zone under a designation by then-President George H.W. Bush, which said such combat support areas were combat zones, giving those who served in those regions certain tax benefits.
Chris Joseph, chairman of the Lucas County Republican Party, said at the news conference that the local party remains behind Mr. Majewski.
In an interview, he said he's "not concerned at all" about questions raised about Mr. Majewski's service and Afghanistan and called him a "great candidate."
"He served, and that's the bottom line," Mr. Joseph said. "[Ms. Kaptur is] just doing this stuff to try and hurt our candidate."
Ms. Kaptur’s campaign manager Kyle Buda responded to Mr. Majewski’s press conference in a statement, saying it “left Ohioans with more questions than answers.
"His misleading claims need to be addressed, and it's incumbent upon him to provide honesty and clarity — not continued evasiveness and deflection. He has provided no evidence refuting these reports, and Ohioans need to know the truth," Mr. Buda said.
Mr. Majewski started publicly firing back at the report Thursday — appearing on the conservative channel NewsMax, and posting a video on social media.
By Friday, at the news conference, he said he was considering suing the reporters who authored the story. And he said, if elected, he would advocate for legislation that would "make it a crime to besmirch veterans."
The Blade has contacted Ms. Kaptur’s office to request that the entire military file of Mr. Majewski be declassified so the details of his service in Afghanistan can be known.
Ms. Kaptur’s communication director, Chris Dalton, said, “As your inquiry arises from a political matter, it would be inappropriate to utilize the Congressional office or the role as a Member of Congress to satisfy your request.”
He recommended the request be made directly with the Department of Defense and/or the White House.
First Published September 24, 2022, 1:37 a.m.
