Senator Bob Casey (Democrat, Pennsylvania) Democratic vice presidential nominee, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, said Monday he did not disclose his military history, despite evidence that he misled the American public about it.
NBC News campaign correspondent Emma Barnett reported that Casey was defending the embattled Walz, who has been facing intense scrutiny over a defamation lawsuit.
“I think that somebody who has served like Gov. Walz has, for 24 years, should be celebrated and commended for their service, not disparaged,” Casey said.
Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey defended Governor Tim Walz days after vice presidential candidate Sen. J.D. Vance accused him of “defamation.”
“I think that the service of someone like Governor Walz, who served for 24 years, should be celebrated and praised, not disparaged,” Casey told reporters.
— Emma Barnett (@emmab929) August 12, 2024
Breitbart News reached out to Casey’s office multiple times on Sunday and Monday to see if he would support Walz despite evidence that Casey misled the public about his service, but two separate reporters did not respond to inquiries.
Dave McCormick, a Republican Senate candidate from Pennsylvania and a Gulf War veteran and Bronze Star recipient, blasted Casey for “covering up for Tim Walz’s lies.”
Bob Casey lies about Joe Biden’s declining cognitive abilities, dodges responsibility for rising costs, and refuses to take responsibility for pushing for open borders.
Now he’s covering up Tim Waltz’s lies.
I can’t believe Casey is telling the truth. https://t.co/ViIcmRNsJr
— Dave McCormick (@DaveMcCormickPA) August 12, 2024
“Bob Casey lied about Joe Biden’s declining cognitive ability, dodged responsibility for rising costs, and refused to take responsibility for encouraging open borders,” McCormick wrote. “Now he’s covering up for Tim Walz’s lies.”
“I can’t believe Casey is telling the truth,” he added.
Donald Trump Jr. also shared Barnett’s tweet on Monday and slammed Casey.
Hey Bob Casey – So you have no problem with Tim Walz blatantly lying about his status to further his political career? You think it’s a good thing that he stole the honor and claimed to have “borne arms in wars” when he never did? Is this what you’re defending? Shame on you! https://t.co/JDn1ib3Lxc
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) August 12, 2024
“So you’re totally fine with Tim Walz blatantly lying about his status to further his political career?,” he wrote in a post on X. “And you think it’s a good thing that he stole bravery and claimed to have ‘borne arms in wars’ when he never served in one? Is this what you’re defending? Shameful!”
In a video posted by the Harris Waltz campaign, Trump Jr. addressed false claims that Waltz carried a weapon “in a war” even though he has never deployed to a combat zone. The Washington Post He even called Walz’s 2018 comments “sloppy and false.”
Governor Tim WaltzI was in the Army for 25 years and I hunt. I’ve voted for common sense legislation that protects the Second Amendment, but we can do background checks. We can study the impact of gun violence. We can do war weapons. pic.twitter.com/3IVaXi2RP2
— Kamala HQ (@KamalaHQ) August 6, 2024
Additionally, Waltz has been dogged by accusations dating back to 2018 that he “quit” the Minnesota National Guard’s 1-125th Field Artillery Battalion shortly after being notified the unit would be going to Iraq, as stated in a 2018 letter to the Defense Department by retired Army command sergeants Thomas Berens and Paul Hare. West Central Tribune.
In an interview with CNN on Saturday, retired Army Command Sergeant Major Doug Julin said Waltz knew about the deployment before he chose to retire.
So I want to start back in the fall of 2004, what we received, the commander of the 1st Brigade, 34th Infantry Division Brigade Combat Team and I, was what’s called a procurement notice, or “NOS.” We were notified that we would be alerted to go to Iraq within the next year or so, so we were going to start preparing our teams, we were going to start assembling our teams and starting the process.
Breitbart News reported:
Julin said he then met with the battalion’s commanding officer, Waltz. Julin did not say exactly when the meeting took place, but suggested it was sometime before February 2005. At the time, Waltz was the battalion’s senior NCO leader, a position called “command sergeant major.” Julin said Waltz held that rank conditionally. (Waltz ultimately retired at the lower rank of sergeant major because he did not meet the requirements for sergeant major, but has since falsely claimed to be a retired command sergeant major.)
“From there, we [1-125th Field Artillery Battalion]”We introduced ourselves and let them know what’s going on. We don’t know the details, but we’ll deal with it,” he said.
Jurin recalled that in February 2005, at a meeting at Camp Ripley, Walz informed him he was “running for Congress” but had not yet been nominated.
Julin said the division received warning orders and met again in March 2005 at Camp Ripley “to put together a team to advance into Iraq.”
Jurin said Walz told him after the meeting that he was “moving forward with the battalion.”
He said:
After the meeting, Tim Waltz came in and sat down with me. I said I had spoken to him before and I needed to know his answer. He came in and we sat down and talked. He told me, “I’m not being nominated. I’m going forward with the battalion.” I said, “Okay. Let’s get started. We’ve got a team, and we’re starting to build a team there.”
Eventually, Master Sergeant Tom Behrens replaced the retiring Waltz. Julin learned of this, and of Waltz’s June 2005 retirement, during a subsequent meeting.
“The person who approved this is two levels above me in the NCO corps and should have called Tim Waltz back to me to discuss why he wasn’t moving forward now after he had already told me he was,” Julin said.
