The outcome of Montana’s battle for the U.S. Senate could well determine which party will control the chamber for the next two years, making the controversy surrounding Republican Tim Sheehy a story far beyond Big Sky Country.
For example, the GOP nominee has used racist rhetoric when talking about Native Americans — which is indefensible under any circumstances, and which is especially foolish in a state with a significant indigenous population. He has also accused women who support abortion rights of being “indoctrinated.” Sheehy has also been accused of plagiarism, doctoring images in a campaign commercial, disparaging firefighters, distorting the basic tenets of the impeachment process and exaggerating his successes in the private sector.
But honestly, Sheehy’s main mess involves an unusual question: How and when was he shot?
As regular readers may recall, the Republican candidate, a retired Navy SEAL, has told Montana voters that he has a bullet in his right forearm “from Afghanistan.” It’s the kind of statement that communicates to the audience that Sheehy wants to be seen as tough, while at the same time reminding people of his military service.
And while it certainly appears there is a bullet lodged in Sheehy’s right forearm, there is reason to be skeptical about how it got there.
The Washington Post reported in April that Sheehy visited Glacier National Park in Montana in 2015, at which time he told a National Park Service ranger that he accidentally shot himself when his Colt .45 revolver fell and discharged as he entered his vehicle the park was loading. . Shortly afterwards, the Post article added, a ranger cited Sheehy for illegally firing his weapon in a national park, relying on the Republican version of events, and the relevant reports were filed.
However, Sheehy told the Post that he lied to the National Park Service ranger and that he was actually shot while serving in Afghanistan.
Six months later the park ranger resigned. The Washington Post reported:
Kim Peach, 67, who worked as a ranger in Glacier National Park for 35 seasons, remembers only two incidents in which he responded to a report of a gun being fired — and both became his most memorable days on the job. So when he saw an ad last year featuring a smiling Tim Sheehy running for Senate, Peach, now retired, immediately recognized the ex-Navy SEAL’s face, he said. It was the same man who, years earlier, had told him that he had accidentally shot himself in the right arm after his gun fell to the ground while he said he was loading up after a walk.
Peach went on to say that he finds it “disgusting” when Sheehy claims that “a wound from a negligent, accidental firearm discharge is a wound sustained in combat.”
Meanwhile, The New York Times spoke with one of Sheehy’s former SEAL colleagues, Dave Madden, who recalled exchanging war stories with Sheehy about their experiences, and Sheehy never said anything about being shot.
“Mr. Madden said he was surprised when Mr. Sheehy recently began talking about being shot in Afghanistan that spring and became convinced that Mr. Sheehy had made up the story,” the article said.
In case that wasn’t enough, the Times report also included pertinent details about the park ranger who investigated the 2015 incident.
Because it is illegal to discharge a firearm in a national park, Mr. Peach said, he and Mr. Sheehy went to Mr. Sheehy’s vehicle, where Mr. Peach temporarily seized and unloaded the weapon , where he found five live bullets and the casing. of one who had been fired. Mr Peach, who described himself as someone who generally votes Democratic, said Mr Sheehy was ashamed of what had happened. He was charged and agreed to pay a $525 fine.
The question is not whether Sheehy lied. The question is when and to whom he lied.
In fairness, the Republican candidate – who otherwise appears well positioned to defeat Sen. Jon Tester despite the Democratic incumbent’s record – remains adamant that he was shot in Afghanistan and lied about the park incident to to protect his former platoon mates from a confrontation. potential research.
As Sheehy explained it, he believed that if he had told the truth in 2015, it would have been reported to the Navy, raising questions about whether the wound was the result of friendly fire or enemy munitions. But the Post reported that it would have been “highly unlikely that a civilian hospital would report a years-long gunshot wound to the Navy.”
As for what this means, Sheehy doesn’t have much experience to draw on, so if he lied about being shot in Afghanistan, it would dramatically damage one of the key pillars of his entire candidacy. Watch this space.
This article was originally published on MSNBC.com
