‘Fact-Checkers’ Rush To Downplay Walz’s Stolen Valor Controversy

It’s another day that ends in “-y,” which means legacy media hucksters are running dishonest interference for the Democrat Party.

The latest example comes in the form of a Friday “fact-check” by The Washington Post’s Glenn Kessler. Known for his willingness to lie on behalf of Democrats, the Post’s “democracy dies in darkness” guru decided to offer his “assessment” of the controversy engulfing Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.

While lauded by regime-approved media for his National Guard service, Walz’s rollout as Kamala Harris’ 2024 running mate has been marred by reports and resurfaced clips indicating he committed “stolen valor.” As Matt Beebe has detailed at length in these pages, Walz abandoned his unit before it deployed to Iraq to run for Congress and has inflated his military rank throughout his political career.

Rather than present those facts up front for Post readers, Kessler begins his “fact-check” by citing a quote from Harris announcing Walz as her vice-presidential pick and the following paragraph:

Since [Harris’ announcement], Walz’s record has been under attack by Republicans, with claims that he abandoned his troops on the eve of a deployment to Iraq and that, in an instance of “stolen valor,” inflated his credentials and wartime experience.

The implication, of course, is that any and all scrutiny of Walz’s record and prior claims about his military service are solely the product of GOP partisanship — not the actual facts documenting Walz’s dishonesty. By deploying this deceptive tactic, Kessler aims to convince readers his subsequent “fact-checks” are valid, despite their representation as blatant attempts to run interference for Walz.

In assessing Walz’s decision to abandon his unit prior to its deployment, Kessler lays out a timeline of the Minnesota governor’s military career, from the time he enlisted with the Guard in 1981 to when his unit returned from Iraq in 2007. While admitting that Walz knew his battalion could be sent to the region shortly before moving to retire from service, the Post’s chief “fact-checker” claimed, “whether he abandoned his troops is a matter of perspective,” and seemingly justified the decision by noting the governor “had served nearly a quarter-century in the guard and had already announced he was considering a congressional race” prior to being informed his unit could be deployed.

I guess it’s not enough that Walz’s former colleague and replacement has publicly blasted him for ditching his fellow service members when they needed him most.

The Star Tribune’s “fact-check” of Walz’s resignation was even worse. The Minnesota-based outlet attempted to claim Walz submitted his retirement papers before he was aware his unit could be deployed to Iraq. But that assertion is completely false, as a press release issued by Walz’s inaugural 2005 campaign and cited by Kessler shows.

But let us not forget the Post’s residential gatekeeper of “truth.” He also assessed claims that Walz committed an act of “stolen valor” by inflating his rank throughout his political career.

Despite repeatedly claiming the rank of command sergeant major, Walz is actually a lesser-ranked master sergeant. He was promoted to command sergeant major during the waning years of his service, but did not complete the minimum number of years required to retain the rank when he left to run for Congress.

The Harris-Walz campaign tacitly admitted the governor’s untruthfulness when it quietly altered his biography on the campaign’s website to say he, “served as a command sergeant major,” rather than saying he’s a “retired command sergeant major.”

These facts apparently weren’t good enough for Kessler to deem claims about Walz committing stolen valor as “true.” Instead, the Post “fact-checker” wrote: “This is on the line. He did achieve the title he has claimed, for a total of seven months, but it would be more accurate to say he ‘served as command sergeant major’ rather than claim the title outright.”

[READ:[READ:Highest-Ranking Enlisted Veteran Ever To Serve In Congress Blasts Tim Walz’s Stolen Valor]

Kessler’s antics didn’t stop there. He also whitewashed Walz’s dishonest attempts to portray himself as a combat veteran involved in on-the-ground operations in Afghanistan. While Walz’s unit was deployed overseas, it was sent to Italy — not the Middle East.

“This is also on the line. We can find no evidence Walz ever claimed he served in Afghanistan,” Kessler wrote, seemingly ignoring Walz’s endorsement of a book falsely claiming he served in Afghanistan.

While Kessler did rate Walz’s claim he carried “weapons of war … in war” as untrue, he sugarcoated the lie by asserting the Minnesota governor’s language was “sloppy” — a term he’s previously used to sanitize Democrats’ radicalism and lies.

Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He previously served as a state content writer for Convention of States Action and his work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics, RealClearHealth, and Conservative Review. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood