Control of the U.S. Senate could very well come down to 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 Republican Party has nominated a rival with an unhappy record.

For example, as regular readers know, Sheehy has used racist rhetoric when speaking about Native Americans—which is indefensible under any circumstances, and which is especially foolish in a state with a significant indigenous population. He has also accused women who support abortion rights of being “indoctrinated.” Sheehy has also been accused of plagiarism, doctoring images in a campaign commercial, disparaging firefighters, distorting the basic tenets of the impeachment process, having a controversial lobbying background and exaggerating his successes in the private sector.

In case that wasn’t enough, the candidate wrote in his book that he was discharged from the military for medical reasons, but NBC News reported last month that the discharge paper shows that he resigned voluntarily and that he did not have any medical conditions state that could cause that. forced him out.

But the most important question is how and when Sheehy was shot. NBC News reported this weekend:

The conservative host hopefully told the Senate that his version of events is “so confusing,” and it was a rare instance where I agreed with Kelly.

Let’s go back to our recent reporting and see how we got to this point.

The Republican candidate, a retired Navy SEAL, has told Montana voters that he has a bullet in his right forearm “from Afghanistan.” It’s the kind of statement that communicates to the audience that Sheehy wants to be seen as tough, while at the same time reminding people of his military service.

And while it certainly 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 in April that Sheehy visited Glacier National Park in Montana in 2015, at which time he told a National Park Service ranger that he accidentally shot himself when his Colt .45 revolver fell and discharged as he entered his vehicle the park was loading. . Shortly afterwards, the Post article added, a ranger cited Sheehy for allegedly firing his weapon illegally in a national park, relying on the Republican version of events, and the relevant reports were filed.

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

The ranger who had contact with future Senate candidate Kim Peach doesn’t believe it. Peach even told The New York Times that he remembers seeing Sheehy in the hospital in 2015 “with a bandage on his arm,” presumably because he had accidentally shot himself.

The article added: “Because it is illegal to discharge a firearm in a national park, Mr. Peach said, he and Mr. Sheehy went to Mr. Sheehy’s vehicle, where Mr. Peach weapon temporarily seized and unloaded. live bullets and the casing of one that had been fired.

The Times also spoke with one of Sheehy’s former SEAL colleagues, Dave Madden, who recalled exchanging war stories with the Montanan about their experiences, and Sheehy never said anything about being shot.

“Sir. Madden said he was surprised when Mr. Sheehy recently began talking about being shot in Afghanistan that spring and became convinced that Mr. Sheehy had made up the story,” the article said.

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

In fairness, the Republican candidate remains adamant that he was shot in Afghanistan and lied about the park incident to protect his former platoon mates from a possible investigation.

As Sheehy explained, he believed that if he had told the truth in 2015, it could have been reported to the Navy, raising questions about 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 civilian hospital would report a years-long gunshot wound to the Navy.”

In theory, the candidate could release the relevant medical records and let the matter rest. In practice, Sheehy now says that such medical records do not exist.

No wonder Kelly found this all “so confusing.”

As for what this means, Sheehy doesn’t have much experience to draw on, so if he lied about being shot in Afghanistan, it would dramatically damage one of the key pillars of his entire candidacy. Watch this space.

This message updates our related previous reporting.