Who oversaw the vetting for Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz because this is a disqualifying disaster? It’s one of the risks when you have a do-over candidacy. Reportedly, former Attorney General Eric Holder quarterbacked this effort, but the issue surrounding Walz’s military service isn’t going away, as multiple lies have been uncovered. Either the Democrats knew and didn’t care, or they didn’t know, but it’s irrelevant. Either outcome is inexcusable.
The veteran community, especially MilTwitter, needs to understand that Tim Walz is on camera falsely claiming he served in a combat zone.
— 🐺 (@LeighWolf) August 8, 2024
He did not.
This is stolen valor.
Everything else about his rank and the timeline of his retirement is totally secondary to the fact that…
Screencapping this for when they change the definition tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/JATOMtTyfk
— Noam Blum (@neontaster) August 8, 2024
🚨Just in: A Video from 2009 shows a veteran confronting Tim Walz’s staff over claims that he served in Afghanistan. The veteran said Walz could go to jail for violating the Stolen Valor Act of 2006 for claiming to have served in Afghanistan when he didn’tpic.twitter.com/LdvtHJ5FnQ
— The Calvin Coolidge Project (@TheCalvinCooli1) August 8, 2024
🚨In March 2005, *before* resigning from the National Guard, candidate Tim Walz made deploying in Iraq a campaign issue, sending a campaign press release about “[leaving] behind his wife Gwen and four year old daughter, Hope” to serve in Iraq. pic.twitter.com/iAO00u510n
— Washington Reporter (@DC_Reporter) August 8, 2024
It goes beyond the initial story, which was bad enough: Walz bolted from the National Guard in 2005, just before his unit was about to deploy to Iraq. He did this to run for Congress. Then, he claimed he was a veteran of the Afghanistan War, which was a lie, said he deployed to Iraq, another lie, and later claimed he held a rank which he did not have upon retirement. There’s even a video from 2009 of a veteran confronting Walz on this matter. It's an issue big enough for The Washington Post to devote a piece on Mr. Walz’s military record:
Walz’s House aides were confronted with the above photo in 2009, by an Iraq vet who accused him of stolen valor.
— Chuck Ross (@ChuckRossDC) August 7, 2024
They didn’t dispute the photo, and did not follow through with a pledge to address it.
In 2007, @Tim_Walz talked to C-SPAN about his military service: "I spent 24 years in the National Guard, some of that full-time. I was an artilleryman. I deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. My battalion provided base security throughout the European theater from… pic.twitter.com/igULhtIhgB
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) August 7, 2024
Tim Walz held a sign in 2004 falsely identifying himself as an Operation “Enduring Freedom veteran,” even though he never served in Afghanistan. https://t.co/e4wRUWS08N pic.twitter.com/egUG45GtNx
— Matt Wolking (@MattWolking) August 8, 2024
"Walz thought for a moment and asked the Bush staffers if they really wanted to arrest a command sergeant major who'd just returned from fighting the war on terrorism."
— Hans Mahncke (@HansMahncke) August 8, 2024
This is from 2006. Same author as the stealth edited Bloomberg article from yesterday.https://t.co/LkLdyPybiC https://t.co/jiqh48miH1
“Not only is he a retired teacher, Walz is a retired Command Sergeant Major in the National Guard who served a tour in Operation Iraqi Freedom…”
— Rep. Mike Waltz (@michaelgwaltz) August 7, 2024
False. False. False. https://t.co/CqwZWHr1Xt
Tim Walz was weighing a life-altering decision when he stepped into a supply room at the National Guard Armory in New Ulm, Minn., nearly two decades ago. He closed the door behind him, recalled a colleague, Al Bonnifield, and confided he was considering whether to leave their unit even though it was preparing to go to war so he could run for Congress.
[…]
…while Walz and his political allies have cited his 24 years of military experience as an asset, the circumstances of his departure from the National Guard and his characterization of his service already have come under attack. At least three former Guard colleagues have publicly voiced bitterness at Walz’s decision to leave their unit at such a consequential moment. It’s not clear how widespread that feeling was, but the Trump campaign has moved quickly to capitalize on the issue.
“Nobody wants to go to war. I didn’t want to go, but I went,” Doug Julin, a retired National Guard soldier who worked with Walz, said in an interview. “The big frustration was that he let his troops down.”
[…]
On Wednesday, Walz also came under scrutiny for saying during a gubernatorial campaign event in 2018 that “we can make sure those weapons of war that I carried in war” are not on America’s streets. Walz did not serve in combat, according to the Minnesota Army National Guard, and his Republican counterpart jumped on those comments.
[…]
Walz and his political allies also have inaccurately described him as a retired command sergeant major, one rank higher than he holds in retirement. Walz himself did so in a video clip from 2006 that was surfaced by C-SPAN on Tuesday and in a 2018 clip posted on his own YouTube account.
[…]
“I’m a retired sergeant major in the Army and the Army National Guard,” he told a group of voters in the latter video.
Though Walz did achieve the rank of command sergeant major, it was a provisional rank until he completed required coursework for senior leaders, National Guard officials said. He did not do so by the time he departed the military and his retirement rank reverted to master sergeant on May 15, 2005, officials said. Walz retired the next day.
The Harris campaign declined to address why Walz has inaccurately said he retired as one.
In 2008, Tim Walz endorsed a book titled, “Winning Your Election the Wellstone Way.”
— Jerry Dunleavy IV 🇺🇸 (@JerryDunleavy) August 8, 2024
This book had a section on Walz, falsely describing him as a “National Guardsman who served in Afghanistan.” Walz never served in Afghanistan…https://t.co/AWeSx1ZFtvhttps://t.co/H2Ope1AArR pic.twitter.com/4zoB0GVJl7
Newsweek has more on the issue concerning Walz’s rank:
Minnesota National Guard confirms Tim Walz lied about his rank too https://t.co/klw15cAW6J
— Sunny (@sunnyright) August 8, 2024
WATCH: More stolen valor from Kamala’s VP pick Tim Walz:
— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) August 8, 2024
Tim Walz on August 10, 2018: “I’m a retired sergeant major.”
Fact check: Walz NEVER completed the coursework for the U.S. Army Sergeants Major Academy. pic.twitter.com/fFUzQRyQ6e
The Minnesota National Guard is disputing Governor Tim Walz's military biography, saying that the Democratic vice presidential candidate did not hold the rank of command sergeant major at the time of his retirement.
Army Lieutenant Colonel Kristen Augé, the state public affairs officer for Minnesota National Guard, told Just the News on Wednesday that the governor did not retire as "Command Sergeant Major Walz" in 2005, as stated on Minnesota's official website, but as master sergeant "because he did not complete additional coursework at the U.S. Army Sergeants Major Academy." A soldier who does not complete the requisite coursework is automatically demoted, according to Army regulations.
This is stolen valor. Period. And some news outlets and hosts, like CNN’s Jake Tapper and ABC News’ Selina Wang, need to update and apologize for their segments of fake news yesterday:
ABC's Selina Wang: "[JD] Vance, who deployed to Iraq in the Marines and did not see any active fighting, going after Walz's military background, accusing him of leaving his unit before it deployed to Iraq, and lying about his service....Walz served in the National Guard for 24… pic.twitter.com/RUx4kv2Xe4
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) August 7, 2024
Journalists did an all hands on deck rush to defend this, including people like Jake Tapper and ABC News, apparently thinking there wasn't more video out there.
— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) August 8, 2024
There is. https://t.co/HV0JoSrMZm
Will Walz make it to the convention? Even CNN's Van Jones can't spin this right now:
WATCH: CNN’s Van Jones blasts Kamala Harris’s VP pick Tim Walz, says he was “loose with his language” about his military service.
— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) August 8, 2024
Yikes… when a Democrat loses CNN.
Bottom Line: Walz lied about his military service for his own personal gain. pic.twitter.com/mQ9QRZ0zqo
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