Letter regarding Brian Munroe story
Editor’s note: Nine days after our original story about Rep. Brian Munroe was published, an attorney representing the Munroe campaign and the House Democratic Campaign Committee emailed Broad + Liberty requesting changes to the article and offering Munroe’s account of events.
Over the course of twenty days while this article was being researched and written, Broad + Liberty contacted Munroe’s campaign at least a dozen times via email, Facebook messenger, and telephone, none of which resulted in a reply.
For these reasons, we stand behind our original reporting but offer the text of the email from the attorney as additional context. Additionally, we have added an “update” notice to the original report which links readers to this information.
I am writing on behalf of my client, Rep. Brian Munroe.
Your article is deeply misleading, and we would like you to correct the record. Rep. Munroe served aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt during the Bosnia-Herzegovina conflict, and during his years of distinguished service he was awarded the Armed Forces Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Navy Unit Commendation, North America Treaty Organization Medal, Sea Service Deployment Ribbon & Southwest Asia Service Medal. When he left the Navy on April 29, 1997, it was at a time when the Navy was seeking volunteers for downsizing and he was recovering from a minor injury, and an early discharge enabled Brian to return home to care for his mother while she underwent cancer treatment.
As for the four charges you claim, two of them did not pertain to Rep. Munroe at all, but presumably someone else who may have had a similar name. The others? Public drinking at age 21, and a charge regarding possession of a knife which had been provided to Rep. Munroe as part of his volunteer firefighter service. That citation was dismissed.
The parade of wild hypotheticals you built off that faulty premise only underscores why the campaign previously chose not to interact with Broad and Liberty. We expect that you will do the right thing and correct the record immediately.
Adam C. Bonin
I am an honorably discharged, U.S. Navy veteran who served for 8 years, and I feel compelled to respond to this letter. I did not take offense nor feel disparaged by Dan McPhillips’ ad that referenced the original article and am thankful that he brought attention to Munroe’s early discharge from the Navy. The ad’s question of whether or not Munroe’s police run—ins were responsible for his early discharge were proven not to be the case. It however peaked my interest in why Munroe only served half of his 4 year contract.
I attended Munroe’s October 19, 2024, press conference where he stated the reasons for his discharge were due to recovering from a minor injury, Clinton-era downsizing, and to care for his sick mother. Following the press conference I personally reviewed the DD-214 that he showed and recently shared on social media. There is no mention of a voluntary-downsize discharge or a hardship discharge. His DD-214 states his official separation code as JFL, which means he was separated for a disability that qualifies for severance pay. So why did the Navy use a minor injury as the reason for his discharge and agree to pay him severance for it? What was this minor injury that prevented him from deploying with the USS Theodore Roosevelt on November 25, 1996? If the injury was so minor, why was he still recovering from it when he was discharged on April 29, 1997?
Without McPhillip’s ad, Munroe would have never had a reason to publicly disclose his DD-214. According to his DD-214, he had 1 year, 5 months, and 12 days of sea service at the time of his discharge and earned a Sea Service Deployment Ribbon. Using the Roosevelt’s deployment history, Munroe likely arrived on the Roosevelt sometime between April 14, 1995, and May 19, 1995, which means he left the ship between September 26, 1996, and October 31, 1996—just weeks prior to the Roosevelt’s next scheduled deployment on November 26, 1996. I find the timing of Munroe’s injury so close to the Roosevelt’s next deployment date to be highly suspicious. Again, I’m questioning this as a fellow Navy veteran.
As a former sailor with 4 years and 29 days of sea service, I have first-hand experience with the hardships and stresses a deployment puts on a person. With that being said I would never put additional hardships on my fellow shipmates by abandoning them just prior to a deployment for a minor injury. I have too much integrity for that. The unverified discrepancies in Brian Munroe’s discharge story raise significant questions about his transparency and integrity. As a fellow veteran, I believe it is crucial for those who seek public office to be forthright about their past military service. I want to trust that Munroe is being truthful but there is nothing wrong with asking him to verify his claims. He stated as much during his press conference. So, I am asking Brian Munroe to put this issue to bed by verifying the claims he made during his press conference. What was the minor injury that prevented him from serving onboard the Roosevelt and deploying? When was he found to be unfit for duty? When did he file for the Clinton-era downsizing? Does he have the paperwork to prove his claims? The voters deserve this verification so we can make an informed decision about who we can trust to represent us in Harrisburg. Integrity and honesty are paramount, and Dan McPhillips is right for asking for it.