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The Washington Post is facing a backlash aft nan media outlet quoted 3 experts to formed uncertainty connected nan validity of a slug coiled sustained successful Afghanistan by a apical Republican Senate candidate, but omitted nan trio's ties to nan Democratic Party.
Former Navy SEAL Tim Sheehy, who is moving to unseat Democrat Sen. Jon Tester, went to nan emergency room aft a reported autumn successful Montana's Glacier National Park successful 2015. Sheehy was asked astir a slug recovered successful his limb during nan sojourn and told a National Park ranger that he had accidentally changeable himself pinch a Colt .45 revolver — but Sheehy precocious revealed that he really suffered nan wounded while serving in Afghanistan successful 2012.
Sheehy told nan Washington Post that he ne'er reported it to his superiors to debar an investigation, telling nan outlet that he was unsure wherever nan slug came from. He said he did not study nan incident successful an effort to protect his erstwhile platoonmates.
The Post, which began nan study by claiming Sheehy near nan slug successful his limb "as grounds of his toughness," said pinch respective individuals who called Sheehy's communicative into question. Public records reviewed by Fox News Digital uncover these aforesaid individuals mixed person donated thousands of dollars to nan Democratic Party.
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Sheehy served successful Iraq, Afghanistan, South America, and nan Pacific region, receiving nan Bronze Star pinch Valor for Heroism successful Combat and nan Purple Heart Medal. (Tim Sheehy for Senate)
Upon looking astatine an X-ray of nan wound, which was provided to nan Post by Sheehy, Joseph V. Sakran, a Johns Hopkins trauma surgeon and longtime Democrat donor, raised questions astir nan Republican Senate candidate's story. Sakran told nan Post that Sheehy's coiled "probably depicts a bullet, but it is not imaginable to show what type of limb it came from nor nan property of nan wound."
Sakran antecedently worked arsenic a Democrat staffer, serving arsenic a wellness argumentation chap for Democrat Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H. Filings pinch nan Federal Election Commission (FEC) uncover nan expert has a agelong history of contributing to nan campaigns of Democrat candidates up and down nan ballot, including giving astatine slightest $21,000 to groups specified arsenic nan Hillary Clinton Victory Fund, Hillary for America, nan Democratic National Committee (DNC), and Biden for President.
Sakran's website calls him a "nationally recognized activistic conjugation builder" and said his "activism first achieved nationalist nickname erstwhile he founded Doctors for Hillary."
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Sakran has besides made nationalist comments against erstwhile President Donald Trump, who endorsed Sheehy for nan Montana Senate successful 2024. Sakran wrote connected Jan. 6, 2021 that nan erstwhile GOP president "left an undeniably acheronian Stain connected U.S. History." Additionally, White House visitant logs uncover that Sakran has made astatine slightest 4 visits to nan Biden White House.
"We aren’t shocked nan Washington Post chose to mention known Democrats for their smear portion against dressed up combat seasoned Tim Sheehy," a Sheehy for Montana spokesperson told Fox News Digital successful a statement. "These are nan aforesaid group that pushed nan Democrats’ Russian hoax and dress each time that President Biden is mentally fresh and that our separator isn’t successful crisis. Tim Sheehy will conclusion Jon Tester this November and will subordinate President Trump, truthful we tin drain nan swamp for good."
Former President Donald Trump endorsed Tim Sheehy for nan Montana Senate successful 2024. (Sheehy for Senate)
The outlet said pinch different expert, erstwhile Air Force lawyer Rachel VanLandingham, who questioned Sheehy's hesitancy to study nan incident. She said she believes it to beryllium "very improbable a years-old imaginable ricochet wounded would compel naval investigators to unfastened immoderate benignant of investigation based connected a parkland ranger’s report."
VanLandingham has made aggregate donations to ActBlue and Hillary for America, records show. Additionally, she has referred to Trump arsenic a "terrorist recruiting poster child."
VanLandingham, who said she is presently a registered Democrat but finds "both parties highly problematic," told Fox News Digital successful an email that her governmental views ne'er came up successful speech while contributing to nan piece.
"My governmental views did not, and person never, travel up successful speech pinch this newsman during this peculiar interview, nor successful immoderate others; again, my expertise is viewed is neutral, I hope, and I want to support it that way," VanLandingham said. "I person publically criticized President Biden and surely Secretary of Defense Austin successful nan past, and would doso [sic] again if my master judgement deems it warranted."
She besides added that she was appointed by President Trump’s past Secretary of Defense to nan Military Justice Review Panel arsenic grounds that she is known arsenic "an unbiased, straight-shooting subject rule master unafraid to speak her mind."
Despite claiming she is "neutral" and that her "analyses are not based connected politics, but connected nan rule and facts," a Fox News Digital reappraisal recovered respective examples of VanLandingham attacking Trump and his supporters.
"Trump is simply a violent recruiting poster child. Tx for making America little safe & w/ little existent power!" she wrote successful 2017.
In 2020, VanLandingham besides wrote that "Trump's telephone to explanation Antifa 'domestic terrorists' is dangerous."
"Yeah invited to nan statement I felt that measurement erstwhile racist thuggish Trump and his home & overseas enablers won nan electoral assemblage successful 2016 - and that measurement during glorification of our profoundly racist federation astatine Charlottesville nan adjacent year. Yesterday was not a surprise. Pathetic, yes" she wrote connected January 7, 2021, nan time aft nan January 6 Capitol riot.
After contributing to nan Post report, VanLandingham painted Sheehy arsenic a "deeply flawed leader whose fittingness for agency is highly questionable," successful an April 6 station connected X. The lawyer has been a vocal protagonist of Biden, calling his determination to prime Vice President Kamala Harris arsenic his moving mate an "excellent" decision.
Vanlandingham shared a USA Today op-ed successful 2021 from David Rothkopf, a vocal Biden protagonist who has called Trump a "greater" threat to nan United States than al-Qaeda. The op-ed was titled, "Trump and his supporters are vulnerable enemies of American democracy."
The Post besides said pinch nan head of nan Military, Veterans & Society programme astatine nan Center for New American Security, Katherine Kuzminski, who said she "believed it was highly improbable that a civilian infirmary would study a years-old slug coiled to nan Navy aliases that anyone would fearfulness specified a study would consequence successful an investigation," according to nan report.
Kuzminski, who sewage a image pinch Biden and nan first woman successful 2023 and has made aggregate visits to nan Biden White House, wrote successful a 2016 station connected X that Trump "is nary Republican."
She besides said it was "unfair" for Republicans to knock nan military's attraction connected diversity, telling nan Hill successful May 2023 that "if what we’re acrophobic of is Vladimir Putin reasoning poorly of our subject readiness because we alteration pronouns, each we person to do is look astatine nan outcomes connected nan battlefield that nan Russian service is facing correct now."
The Washington Post, Sakran, Kuzminski, Tester's campaign, Johns Hopkins Hospital, and nan Navy did not respond to Fox News Digital's requests for comment.
The entranceway to The Washington Post firm building successful Washington D.C. (ERIC BARADAT/AFP via Getty Images)
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Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., blasted nan article arsenic a "politically motivated smear."
"A ridiculous, politically motivated smear," Cotton wrote successful a station connected X. "Sheehy has a dressed up grounds of work and he’ll conflict Biden’s disastrous policies. That’s why nan Washington Post is attacking him—they cognize he tin win."
Aubrie Spady is simply a Production Assistant for Fox News Digital.
