Army War College probes plagiarism claims
against Montana senator
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[July 25, 2014]
By Laura Zuckerman
(Reuters) - The U.S. Army War College has
opened an inquiry into accusations that Senator John Walsh, a Montana
Democrat now facing a tough election challenge, plagiarized parts of a
research paper tied to a master’s degree he earned from the school.
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The college's announcement on Thursday that it had launched an
investigation came a day after the New York Times reported Walsh may
have lifted at least a quarter of his master's thesis, citing an
examination of the 14-page paper he submitted to obtain his degree
in 2007.
Walsh's campaign has said he inadvertently misused citations in what
was a research paper, rather than a thesis.
A preliminary analysis of the paper in question led the college to
determine that a more thorough examination was warranted by faculty
members of an academic review board, which handles cases of
suspected plagiarism or misconduct, the school said in a statement.
The college has previously revoked the graduate status of eight
former students since 1990, six for plagiarism and two for other
types of misconduct, the college said.
"Then and now, we trust our students to uphold high standards of
academic integrity," it said.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2014/Jul/25/images/ads/current/cca_laptop-sda021709.png) The New York Times said six recommendations Walsh presented in his
paper were taken almost verbatim from a Carnegie Endowment for
International Peace document, which he did not cite.
A campaign statement said Walsh "acknowledges the citations were not
all done correctly but that it was an unintentional mistake."
It added, "This story will not change Senator Walsh’s commitment to
his campaign, and it does not change his resolve in dealing with the
issues that matter most to Montanans."
Walsh's election opponent, Republican U.S. Representative Steve
Daines, did not respond to a request for comment.
Montana's governor on Thursday urged respect for the courage shown
by Walsh, an Iraq war veteran and former commander of the Montana
Army National Guard, during his military service.
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"Senator Walsh has a long history of fighting for Montanans, both at
home and in combat," Governor Steve Bullock said.
Bullock added that he had no knowledge of the issues raised the New
York Times when he appointed Walsh in February to fill the Senate
seat vacated by the retirement of fellow Democrat Max Baucus.
Walsh is up for election to a full six-year term in November as
Democrats fight to retain majority control of the U.S. Senate.
University of Montana political science professor Jeffrey Greene
said the uphill campaign battle Walsh faces has been made more
challenging by the plagiarism claims, which are most likely to
discourage swing voters from supporting him.
"Even though he’s the sitting senator, he was facing a difficult
contest. This makes it worse for him," said Greene.
(Reporting by Laura Zuckerman in Salmon, Idaho; Editing by Cynthia
Johnston, Mohammad Zargham and Clarence Fernandez)
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