Humiliated and disgraced former Illinois Congressman Adam Kinzinger has gotten into big trouble.
Kinzinger, who larped for Democrats after they eliminated in the seat and strongly pushed for American involvement in the war in Ukraine, has found himself in the center of a stolen valor scandal.
The former congressman, who is a veteran, served on the board of Ripley’s heroes, which is now under federal investigation for export violations and moving money to a for-profit company.
The organization claims to “provide critically needed non-lethal and humanitarian resources to qualified and experienced heroes who have interrupted their own lives, and put themselves in harm’s way, to help save others.”
One of the influencers of the group is James Vasquez, an American who touted that he took “out 7 Russian tanks” while fighting in Ukraine in 2022.
When those claims were made, Kinzinger demanded that Twitter verify his account and took photos with him.
At the time Kinzinger said Vasquez is “legit and too many folks are tying to create fake acts with him. I have a bill in congress to deal with this… Since this was happening to me for so long.”
A report from Ripley’s Heroes said that “after spending months fighting alongside the Ukrainians and documenting the war through his verified @JMVasquez1974 Twitter account, James’ impact was more profound than he realized. Amassing more than 400,000 Twitter followers, James was not only fighting on the front lines, but he was also reporting the war through an unfiltered lens.”
When Vasquez returned to the USA, he held fundraisers for the group and what happened with the money raised has caught the eye of investigators.
The collapse of the group occurred when an actual Ukrainian soldier, Sarah Ashton-Cirillo blew the whistle on social media:
I won’t release private texts but @jmvasquez1974 just confirmed to me in writing that he does not and has not had a contract with the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
James Vasquez is not a soldier in Ukraine. https://t.co/L6enSKS4uc
— Sarah Ashton-Cirillo (@SarahAshtonLV) March 22, 2023
According to a New York Times report, Kinzinger’s buddy Vasquez never served in the US military as he claimed and was a waiter for a steakhouse restaurant.
The fake soldier has now deleted all of his social media accounts, and Kinzinger hasn’t said a word.
Kinzinger’s favorite Ukraine hero just deleted his account after it came out he is a fraud pic.twitter.com/nZ1Ouc4xiv
— Jack Posobiec ???????? (@JackPosobiec) March 22, 2023
Hi @Newsweek! You have some explaining to do pic.twitter.com/sZV0XLckiY
— Jack Posobiec ???????? (@JackPosobiec) March 22, 2023
