Mueller She Wrote or Fraud She Wrote?

Mueller, She Wrote #BlueAnon / #Russiagate Tweeter Allison Gill is apparently as much a fraud as the Steele Dossier and some other parts of Russiagate. (Sorry, though, conspiracy theorists, the DNC — AND THE RNC — were indeed hacked by the Russians.) Anyway, on Gill? This guy has the goods on Twitter. She's lied about her grandpa dying in WWII, about her serving in the Navy during the actual Gulf War, about her "dismissal" from her VA job and more.

That said, as to whether or not Gill actually has violated the Stolen Valor Act of 2013? I think not. Go here for why, and the issue of a generic use of “stolen valor,” per Tweeter Fraudian Slip, vs legal reality.

As I quote-tweeted the first tweet, I was reminded: Has Marcy Wheeler, aka Emptywheel, ever named the guy she narked on? (A number of people on a later Twitter thread to which I responded seem to think Wheeler is a straight shooter and will make corrections if necessary. Maybe at times, maybe not, and her toady/henchman Bmaz, per that link? Not at all. But I digress.)

Even without knowing the backstory, her Tweeting has seemed some mix of sanctimonious and backbiting. Plus, as a semi-pacifist leftist, Dems who are war cosplayers, even if not full warmongers, turn me off.

And, per the Twitter OP, it is at least an open question as to whether or not Allison Gill is violating not just some generic idea of stolen valor but the Stolen Valor Act of 2013. Since Gill's podcasting and other career has indeed generated money, and is based on part on her military honors claims, it's not an issue that I'd just dismiss. (This sets aside the issue of whether or not the act, like its 2005 predecessor, violates the First Amendment.)

Update: It gets better and others are piling on. Like this Tweet which has a clip from one of her comedy events, calling a vegan a fag. More from same Tweeter here. I'll add more as I see them!

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Sidebar: Fraudian Slip, per his currently pinned tweet, appears to specialize in Stolen Valor takedowns. Problem? While the takedown in his pinned tweet is great, pretending to be a spook isn't pretending to be military. (That's of course setting aside Arbenz, Bay of Pigs, etc.) It's specifically about fraudulent claims to various military service medals, in fact, AND, gaining value through such false claims. Lack of that was part of why the Stolen Valor Act of 2005 was rightly ruled unconstitutional.

Update, Feb. 19, 2024: That account has been suspended, for whatever reason.

I've had a bit of professional experience myself with people claiming "X violated the Stolen Valor Act." In the couple of alleged cases brought to my attention, no, that wasn't true, so I wrote no story about it. And, by the actual act, I don't think Gill broke it, either. Is she a Class A grifter? YES. Is she also a #BlueAnon war cosplayer? YES. Did she perhaps violate the spirit of someone's definition of "stolen valor"? Yes. Did she break the law? Absolutely not, per the original thread and what citations, etc., I saw listed that she allegedly claimed. She may have claimed to serve in a military theater, loosely defined, but nothing more.

And, per my third and fourth paragraphs up top, my take on her fraud, and my interest on her fraud, is probably different from his. I'm pretty sure my interest is different, in fact.

Update, Feb. 19, 2024: That said, per Emptywheel, or Emptyhead, or whatever, shock me that Gill has partnered with another A-list grifter, former head of the FBI affairs department, Andrew McCabe, in the podcast world.