Former Wounded Warrior Project executives Steven Nardizzi and Al Giordano are not going away quietly. The two have started a blog, the Wounded Truth, devoted to attacking media investigations into Wounded Warrior’s alleged lavish spending practices. The reports led to their ousting from the organization in March.
An “About This Blog” section says, “The media’s false reporting has taken hold, and we are forced to defend ourselves and the wonderful organization and people that has done so much [to] help our wounded veterans.”
The section also suggests that the two were fired not because they had done anything wrong but because of misperceptions fostered by the media.
“In the same press release announcing our firings, the Board of WWP issued findings of an independent investigation disproving the allegations contained in those media reports,” the section says.
Mr. Nardizzi, who was chief executive, and Mr. Giordano, who served as chief operating officer, were fired by Wounded Warrior’s board after a firestorm of criticism it received from donors and others following CBS and New York Times investigations released in January. The reports highlighted expensive conferences, travel, and other lavish spending by the nonprofit. The Times investigation also featured interviews with employees who said they were fired for minor offenses or disloyalty.
It’s unclear when the blog was created. Its first post appears to be from March 17 and highlights a criticism of the media investigations carried out by the Charity Defense Council. Mr. Nardizzi serves on the steering committee of the defense council’s advisory board, and the council received a $150,000 grant from the veterans charity, according to Wounded Warrior’s 2013 Form 990.
The blog also has an accompanying Twitter page, which had 33 followers as of Friday morning.
In March, Mr. Nardizzi and Mr. Giordano were featured in television interviews defending themselves and Wounded Warrior with a local Fox TV station in New York and with Brian Kilmeade, co-host of Fox & Friends. They also penned an op-ed for The Washington Examiner this week attacking the media reports and defending their former organization.
Efforts to reach Mr. Nardizzi and Mr. Giordano were unsuccessful.
