Proud of Who We Are goes public with investigation into Senator Mitch McConnell

WASHINGTON, October 23 - President of Proud of Who We Are, Michael Rogers, went public today with his investigation into Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (KY). Rogers called on the Senator to release his military records - including documentation of the reason McConnell was discharged from the Army in the midst of the Vietnam War - one day after the Lexington Herald-Leader reported that Kentucky’s former Attorney General Greg Stumbo came forward with questions of his own for McConnell.

Rogers has made a career of confronting a string of closeted, anti-gay public officials, including Senator Larry Craig (ID) and Reps. Mark Foley (FL) and Ed Schrock (VA). He is the founder of Proud of Who We Are, an organization that encourages closeted, anti-gay politicians to serve proudly as gay Americans, regardless of their political party.

Rogers has taken six trips to Kentucky in the last several months to investigate long-standing questions about McConnell's military service. Rogers has visited numerous towns, spoken with dozens of people, and spent hours pouring over archived public records.

Rogers has discovered inconsistencies in McConnell’s public Army records and is the first investigative reporter to note the differing answer to a section of the records titled “Transcript of Court Martial.” While every other section of McConnell’s records without information states “n/a,” this particular section uniquely states, “not on file.” “Alone,” said Rogers, “this court martial information may be insignificant, but it warrants further investigation when coupled with my other research.”

“I’ve investigated enough to conclude that there are serious questions surrounding Senator McConnell’s military service, and I think Kentuckians deserve answers,” Rogers continued. “It’s worth noting that next month Senator McConnell could become the highest-ranking Republican at the federal level. To have an anti-gay politician as the standard bearer of his party when there are unanswered questions about his military service is something I think the American people simply will not tolerate. After all, this is the same man who threw Larry Craig under the bus while supporting confessed adulterer David Vitter. Suspicions about McConnell were raised then, and he’s yet to answer them.”

The records Rogers has been able to obtain indicate that McConnell enlisted in the U.S. Army in March of 1967 and was abruptly discharged four months later for a minor medical condition. His discharge was expedited by the claim that he needed to be released quickly to attend New York University. NYU records indicate that McConnell never applied to the school, and at the time of his discharge he had already earned a law degree from the University of Kentucky.

Rogers has also reviewed phone records showing a flurry of calls from the office of McConnell’s patron in the U.S. Senate at the time, Senator John Sherman Cooper, in the days immediately preceding McConnell’s discharge. The calls abruptly stopped shortly before McConnell was discharged.

In addition to repeatedly refusing to publicly address his military record, Senator McConnell makes no mention of his time in the service on either his Senate or campaign websites.

“Senator McConnell’s story just doesn’t add up,” said Rogers. “I encourage him to consider facts and the truth his allies, not a problem. A speedy release of his records and openness with the public is the only thing that will help clear this matter up once and for all.”

The Human Rights Campaign has given McConnell a zero rating for his anti-gay rights voting agenda in the Senate. His uneven treatment of the sex scandals of Republican Senators Larry Craig and David Vitter received a great deal of attention last year. The New York Times reported that McConnell threatened Craig with a far-reaching ethics committee investigation and embarrassing public hearings about his sexual encounters if Craig refused to resign. McConnell also stripped Craig of his positions on powerful Senate committees. Vitter, who paid for services from a female prostitute, faced no similar reprimands from the Senate Minority Leader.