A New Jersey politician is facing calls to step down from his own party after he was accused of falsely claiming to have been a Navy SEAL.
Sussex County Commissioner William Hayden, a Republican and fervent Trump supporter who is in his first term, was called out by the Sussex County Republican Committee in a scathing statement last week.
“Commissioner Hayden has not been forthright regarding his military service and has demonstrated a lack of integrity in dealings with his supporters and colleagues since his election,” the committee said, accusing him of having “tarnished” the GOP’s reputation.
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“After confirming various accounts from individuals who have known him for years, family relations through marriage, and our own direct experiences where he informed Sussex County Republican leaders, numerous volunteers, and elected officials, and claimed in public meetings to have combat experience, we found freedom of information act requests showing he was never a Navy SEAL or served in the Naval Service. We conclude that he has disrespected all veterans and misrepresented himself to our party and the public,” the committee said.
Hayden’s tax returns showed he’d also sought a tax exemption on the basis of military service, the committee alleged, suggesting that may have “met the criteria for stolen valor.”
The commissioner has denied the claims and his attorney, Robert Kovic, was quoted as telling NJ Advance Media that the tax documents cited by the committee “appear to be fraudulent.” Kovic said Hayden had been advised to keep his mouth shut “until the probable crimes against him can be investigated and determined.”
Hayden did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Daily Beast.
The allegations against Hayden came at a time when he was already at odds with other members of the Republican Party and other Sussex County commissioners, four of whom voted to censure him last month for “inflammatory” behavior and allegations of “stolen valor.”
Hayden has likened himself to a whistleblower and claimed the friction is part of a retaliatory smear campaign against him for exposing the mishandling of funds for a county food pantry.
“Doing to me, what they did to Trump,” he wrote on Facebook after the censure vote last month.
His alleged Navy SEAL claims appear to have been made in private, with the New Jersey Globe quoting family members and former friends who recounted wild tales about secret missions.
“He told me that he didn’t have a Purple Heart because it was a secret mission, and he doesn’t appear on the Internet because of what he did was a secret,” a former girlfriend was quoted as saying about a claim that he played a role in the killing of drug kingpin Pablo Escobar. “He told me he was afraid of Escobar’s son, so he liked to keep a low profile,” she said.
His stepson also reportedly said he and his wife had “heard Bill mention on numerous occasions his time in the military. He has mentioned on numerous occasions his time in the SEALS.”
Another source was quoted as saying Hayden had spoken of being wounded in combat and going on a secret mission in Mogadishu.
The U.S. Navy told the news outlet it had no record of Hayden serving as a SEAL.
