We do have some breaking news on this Friday morning. Appointed Sen. John Walsh (D-MT) is now walking back comments made by he and his staff where they blamed PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) for his plagiarism at the US Army War College.
In a Friday morning interview with Chris Griffin of our Northern News Network affiliate 1450 KMMS-AM in Bozeman (Townsquare Media), Walsh says PTSD had nothing to do with his plagiarism at the US Army War College, but he went on to further state that the plagiarism is unintentional. Click here for the full audio at KMMSam.com, here’s an excerpt:
WALSH: “I am in no way, no way, tying to what I did to any type of you know PTSD. You know, That had nothing to do with the mistake I made. People are trying to say I may have said that. If that was the, you know- thought of that, thats not at all in any way what I meant or said.”
Click to Listen
The audio above answers the question- did he knowingly cheat on his War College thesis? Click below to listen to his response to Chris Griffin regarding the PTSD claims.
Click to Listen
The New York Daily News also notes that Walsh went even further than claiming PTSD caused the plagiarism- he used the death of a soldier under his command as an added excuse.
New York Daily News: Stolen words, stolen honor; Using PTSD as “context” for plagiarism is appalling
“I don’t want to blame my mistake on PTSD, but I do want to say it may have been a factor. . . . My head was not in a place very conducive to a classroom and an academic environment.”
After the Times article appeared, Walsh’s staff sent out a fact sheet about the “inadvertent mistake” and claiming, incredibly, that “Walsh survived hundreds of IED explosions while in a Humvee.” When pressed on that point, a spokesperson offered a clarification conceding that, in fact, he had survived one attack, while his unit had been hit by many others
That’s especially cynical, given Walsh’s willingness to use the death of a soldier as political cover while he exploits his service record to shield himself from accountability for a poor decision.
Meanwhile, The New York Times, which originally broke this news, has a new report out noting that the US Army War College is now launching an investigation into the alleged plagiarism by Walsh.
KBZK-TV will have more later tonight:
@JohnWalsh responds to allegations in my interview. Watch @KBZK tonight for portions and full interview on Mon morning show #mtpol #mtsen
— David Parker (@dparkermontana) July 25, 2014
New York Times: Army War College Starts Plagiarism Inquiry of Senator John Walsh’s Thesis
“It’s clear there is indeed strong reason to believe this is plagiarism,” said the War College’s provost, Lance Betros, a retired brigadier general. “We are initiating academic review procedures.”
Mr. Betros said he made the decision after he and another member of the War College’s staff read Mr. Walsh’s 14-page paper and used an online plagiarism detection program to review the document”
But some graduates of the school were already expressing anger at Mr. Walsh, who graduated in 2007, for the allegations of plagiarism — and over his comments on Wednesday that his behavior was shaped by mental health challenges after his 2005 combat deployment to Iraq.
Click here to read my earlier post featuring a whole host of coverage on the Walsh plagiarism scandal.
Al Smith
Friday, July 25, 2014 4:23 PM
Great poem Charles and right on the money!
But Hero Brian has been messing up too, so who among them knows what now to do?
And, who can say what the next slick trick of the dems might be…not me, not me! Perhaps you?