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Democratic
U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen (IDIOT) |
Some veterans in Tennessee say they're planning a
protest march following a congressman's comment this week that embattled
FBI official Peter Strzok deserved a Purple Heart for enduring a House
panel's grilling over allegations of bias against President Donald
Trump.
Sean Higgins, an Air Force veteran from Memphis, is leading the upcoming march, the Tennessean
reported. Higgins told the paper that many constituents of Democratic
U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen are “pissed as hell” after Cohen said Strzok
deserved the military award.
“How do you compare someone getting wounded in combat
to someone getting in trouble for message he sent? How can Cohen claim
(Strzok) get a Purple Heart for that?” Higgins said.
The Purple Heart typically is awarded to members of the
U.S. military who are wounded in combat or given posthumously to those
killed in combat.
“How do you compare someone getting wounded in combat to someone getting in trouble for message he sent?"
- Sean Higgins, U.S. Air Force veteran
Cohen, 69, defended Strzok,
who was being questioned Thursday on Capitol Hill over a series of
anti-Trump text messages he sent to his former co-worker and lover, Lisa
Page, while investigating Russian election meddling and Hillary
Clinton’s email server.
"If I could give you a Purple Heart, I would," Cohen
told Strzok, accusing his GOP counterparts of attempting to undermine
Strzok and Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Russia probe.
Higgins said that 30 veterans have so far committed to
marching, including Army veteran Darien Price of Memphis, who told the
paper he was “blown away” by Cohen’s statement.
“It is disrespectful to those alive who wear the Purple
Heart but especially to families who lost loved ones to who fought for
this country."
- Darien Price, Army veteran
“It is disrespectful to those alive who wear the Purple
Heart but especially to families who lost loved ones to who fought for
this country," said Price, who was denied his Purple Heart until Cohen's
office stepped in. "Truly saddening.”
Retired Staff Sgt. Johnny "Joey" Jones, a Marine Corps
veteran who received a Purple Heart after losing both of his legs and
suffering other permanent injuries in an improvised explosive device
(IED) blast in Afghanistan, told “Fox & Friends” on Friday that Cohen's remarks were "disgraceful."
Following public outcry, Cohen backpedaled on his remarks during a joint hearing Friday.
“I regret mentioning the Purple Heart medal at
yesterday’s hearing,” Cohen said. “My intent was to speak metaphorically
to make a broader point about attacks against the FBI and Special
Counsel Mueller’s investigation into a Russian attack on our country.
“I have nothing but the highest respect for members of
the armed forces, especially those who have been awarded Purple Hearts,
as well as the hard working men and women at the FBI. We are safe
because of their service and sacrifice," he said.
Higgins, a former VA hospital employee in Memphis, told
the Tennessean he had previously tried working with Cohen for years in
attempts to improve the hospital’s conditions before publicly blowing
the whistle.
Higgins, who had been reporting problems in the VA
since he was hired in 2007, was fired from his position for the third
time in June 2017, and is appealing the firing, WREG-TV in Memphis reported. He appealed his first two firings and was hired back each time.
The march, which is also in protest of the VA hospital's treatment of veterans, has not been given a date.