Montana's Tim Sheehy's shooting story gets even more 'confusing'

Control of the U.S. Senate could well hinge on the race in Montana, where Sen. Jon Tester faces a tough challenge from Republican Tim Sheehy. The bad news for the Democratic incumbent is that recent polls leave little doubt that he is the underdog, but the good news for Tester is that the GOP has nominated a rival with an unfortunate record.

For example, as regular readers know, Sheehy has used racist rhetoric when discussing Native Americans – which cannot be justified under any circumstances and is particularly stupid in a state with a sizable Native American population. He has also accused women who support abortion rights of being “indoctrinated.” Sheehy has also been accused of plagiarism, manipulating footage in a campaign commercial, denigrating firefighters, distorting the basics of the impeachment process, having a controversial lobbying background and exaggerating his successes in the private sector.

As if that wasn't enough, the candidate wrote in his book that he was discharged from military service for medical reasons, but NBC News reported last month that discharge papers indicated he resigned voluntarily and there was no medical condition in them Condition listed was forced him out.

Most important, however, is the question of how and when Sheehy was shot. NBC News reported over the weekend:

The conservative moderator hopefully told the Senate that his version of events was “so confusing,” and it was a rare instance of me agreeing with Kelly.

Let's go back to our recent reporting and look at how we got to this point.

The Republican candidate, a retired Navy SEAL, has told voters in Montana that there is a bullet “from Afghanistan” lodged in his right forearm. It's the kind of claim that signals to the public that Sheehy wants to be seen as tough, while also reminding people of his military service.

And while it 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 back in April that Sheehy visited Glacier National Park in Montana in 2015. At that point, he told a National Park Service ranger that he accidentally shot himself when his Colt .45 revolver fell and fired while he was loading his vehicle in the park. Soon after, the Post article says, a ranger accused Sheehy of allegedly illegally firing his weapon in a national park, relying on Republicans' version of events, and the corresponding reports were filed.

However, Sheehy recently told the Post that he lied to the National Park Service ranger and was actually shot while serving in Afghanistan.

The Ranger who interacted with future Senate candidate Kim Peach doesn't think so. In fact, Peach told the New York Times that he remembered seeing Sheehy in the hospital in 2015 “with a bandage on his arm,” presumably because he had just accidentally shot himself.

The article added: “Because it is illegal to fire a firearm in a national park, Mr. Peach said, he and Mr. Sheehy went to Mr. Sheehy's vehicle, where Mr. Peach temporarily confiscated the weapon, discharged it and found five live cartridges.” and the casing of a fired cartridge.”

The Times also spoke with one of Sheehy's former SEAL colleagues, Dave Madden, who recalled swapping war stories with the Montanan 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 in the spring and that he was convinced that Mr. Sheehy had made up the story,” the article continues.

The question is not whether Sheehy lied. The question is when and to whom he lied.

Of course, the GOP candidate continues to insist that he was shot in Afghanistan and lied about the incident in the park to protect his former platoon mates from a possible investigation.

As Sheehy explained it, he believed that if he had told the truth in 2015, it might have been reported to the Navy, raising the question of 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 Navy civilian hospital would have reported a years-old gunshot wound.”

In theory, the candidate could hand over the relevant medical records and close the matter. According to Sheehy, there are no such medical documents in practice.

No wonder Kelly found it all “so confusing.”

When it comes to the importance of this, Sheehy doesn't have much success to draw on. So if he lied about being shot in Afghanistan, that dramatically damages one of the cornerstones of his entire candidacy. Watch this area.

This post updates our relevant previous reporting.