Democrat vice presidential candidate Gov. Tim Walz said his military record “speaks for itself.” So the Federalist asked the Army for his papers — but with election day here, officials still have not released them.

“We have not received clearance to release the records,” an Army staffer said to The Federalist Nov. 4.

The Federalist had asked if the Army would release Walz’s records by the presidential election, citing the “urgent public interest.” The Federalist first requested Walz’s personnel file and discharge papers Aug. 14, nearly three months ago, and since then has asked for an updated release date eight times with no success. Walz has faced allegations of lying about his military record for years.

In early September, an Army staffer at Fort Knox said the records were “in the review process.” Nearly a month passed before the next update.

“We expect to release responsive records upon completion of our higher headquarters review,” the staffer said Oct. 1. The Federalist asked Oct. 24 if the Army would release Walz’s records by election day, and the staffer said he does “not know.”

Multiple veterans have accused Walz of stolen valor, and the governor has been caught several times lying about his record. 

Walz has often referred to himself as a retired command sergeant major — but the Harris campaign had to remove the rank from its website. In fact, Walz was conditionally promoted to the rank, but the rank was revoked when he failed to meet his obligatory service, as The Federalist previously reported. He retired from the Minnesota National Guard in 2005, dodging his unit’s deployment to Iraq. 

The vice presidential candidate also lied about reenlisting in the National Guard after 9/11. The Federalist did the math, and Walz was not even eligible to retire — much less reenlist — until November 2001, at the very least.

While campaigning for governor in 2018, Walz claimed to have carried a “weapon of war” — an assault-style rifle — “in war.” Since Walz was never deployed to a combat zone, his campaign says he “misspoke.” As far back as 2009, a veteran confronted the staff of then-Rep. Walz, claiming he committed stolen valor.

Logan Washburn is a staff writer covering election integrity. He graduated from Hillsdale College, served as Christopher Rufo's editorial assistant, and has bylines in The Wall Street Journal, The Tennessean, and The Daily Caller. Logan is originally from Central Oregon but now lives in rural Michigan.