Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is facing new accusations that he lied about his background after a 2006 letter sent by the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce during his vice presidential campaign resurfaced.
When Walz first ran for Congress from Minnesota, he touted on his campaign website that he had received an award from the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce in 1993 for his contributions to the business community, according to a 2006 Post-Bulletin article.
But he never received the award, which was communicated to him in a scathing letter from Barry L. Kennedy, then president of the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce.
“We have investigated this matter and can confirm that you have not received any awards from the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce,” the Nov. 1, 2006 letter to Walz said.
Flashback: Obama was one of the first major Democrats to endorse Waltz early in his political career.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz speaks at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on August 21, 2024. (Reuters/Mike Seeger)
“We are not drawing any conclusions about your intentions based on the inclusion of this sentence in your bio. However, we would respectfully ask that you remove the reference to our organization, as it could be perceived as an endorsement of your candidacy. We should note, however, that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has endorsed your opponent, Rep. Gil Gutknecht, for his support of small business issues,” Kennedy continued.
The letter was discovered last week by Minnesota outlet Alpha News after a local controversy erupted in 2006.
Tim Walz accused of being a ‘political chameleon’ after abandoning his Second Amendment stance
In 2006, The Post-Bulletin, a Rochester, Minnesota-based newspaper, reported that Rep. Walz’s campaign updated its website to say that he had won an award from the Nebraska Junior Chamber of Commerce, known as the Jaycees, rather than the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce award. A campaign manager at the time dismissed the issue as a “typographical error,” The Post reported at the time.
In response to inquiries from Fox Digital about the 2006 controversy, the Harris-Waltz campaign said Waltz often speaks “openly and extemporaneously.”
“Governor Walz speaks candidly and extemporaneously like a normal person. Americans appreciate that Governor Walz tells the truth and doesn’t talk like a politician. They also understand the difference between someone who occasionally slips up and a pathological liar like Donald Trump,” the campaign said.
Vice President Kamala Harris and running mate Governor Tim Walz held a campaign rally in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on August 20, 2024. (Reuters/Kevin Lamarque)
The allegations follow a long history of accusations that Walz has misrepresented himself and his background, most notably by a group of military veterans who have accused the Gopher State Democrat of lying about his own military record.
Walz served in the Army National Guard for 24 years before retiring in 2005 and running a successful congressional campaign. U.S. Representative from Minnesota From 2007 to 2019.
Since Vice President Kamala Harris selected Waltz as her running mate, he has been criticized by many veterans for lying about his military history, including publicly identifying himself as a retired “master sergeant.”
Trump campaign says ‘dangerously liberal’ Harris-Waltz pairing is ‘every American’s nightmare’
Waltz was promoted to master sergeant after deploying to Italy in 2004. United States Army Sergeant Major Academy To retain his rank after retirement. Instead, Waltz retired as a sergeant major, one rank below master sergeant.
“For 20 years this guy has lied about being deployed to Iraq, which he didn’t, and he’s lied about being discharged as a master sergeant, which he didn’t. That’s a complete lie,” former Navy captain and Republican Virginia Senate candidate Hun Kao told the New York Post this month about Walz.
Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz speaks at a campaign rally at Temple University in Philadelphia on August 6, 2024. (Andrew Harnick/Getty Images)
The battalion commander of Walz’s former Minnesota Army National Guard unit also issued a scathing message earlier this month about Harris’ running mate describing himself as a “retired Army sergeant major.”
Van Jones: Walz needs to admit he exaggerated his military record so Democrats can ‘move forward’
“He never earned the rank of E9 nor completed any duties as an E9,” Lt. Col. John Kolb, who served as a lieutenant colonel with 1st Battalion, 125th Field Artillery from 2005 to 2007, wrote on social media this month. “His continued clinging to that title is an insult to the NCO corps. You can sit in the cockpit of an airplane, but that doesn’t make you a pilot. Similarly, when the demands of the highest levels of service and leadership became a reality, he chose a different path.”
Click here to get the FOX News app
The rank of “retired master sergeant” is Harris promotes Until earlier this month, the campaign had changed Walz’s biography on the campaign website to say he “served as a master sergeant.”
Get the latest 2024 election campaign updates, exclusive interviews and more on Fox News Digital’s Election Hub.
