Montana
‘So Confusing’: Montana GOP Senate Candidate Gives Shifting Explanations About Gunshot Wound
Montana Republican Senate candidate Tim Sheehy offered shifting explanations for a gunshot wound he’d sustained on his arm in a new interview on Friday — a controversy that has nagged his campaign against Sen. Jon Tester (D-Montana).
Last month, Kim Peach, a former U.S. Park Service ranger, came forward publicly and said that Sheehy accidentally shot himself with a gun on a family trip in 2015 at Glacier National Park in Montana — contradicting the former Navy SEAL’s campaign bio, which says he was “wounded in combat.”
Recently, Sheehy has claimed that he actually lied to the ranger in 2015, telling Peach that he’d accidentally shot himself, in order to conceal the fact that he may have obtained the bullet wound during a friendly-fire incident while deployed abroad.
Asked Friday if there were medical records to prove his story, Sheehy told former Fox News host Megyn Kelly there is “not an extensive medical record” from his emergency room hospital visit. He said he had “internal bleeding” after the bullet in his arm became dislodged after he fell while on a hike in the park.
“There’s not a whole lot to talk about,” Sheehy said, calling the story “a distraction.”
“So confusing,” Kelly responded during an interview with Sheehy on her SiriusXM radio program.
Sheehy has also offered contradictory explanations for who may have been responsible for the gunshot wound.
In his interview with Kelly on Friday, the 37-year-old GOP Senate hopeful suggested that he may have been shot by an Afghan ally in a friendly-fire incident. He called the environment at the time “messy” and described the challenges of operating alongside Afghan forces, saying it was “very, very common where you’d have Afghans who, either intentionally or unintentionally, would end up shooting friendly forces.”
“It was a hazardous environment when you’re dealing with actual hostile forces … but half the time, you’ve also gotta have one eyeball looking at our partner forces,” he added.
But in his 2023 memoir, Sheehy wrote he was “struck by a friendly fire ricochet bullet” by a fellow SEAL who he wanted to shield from repercussions.
“I didn’t want the teammate who had fired the shot, a total stud who went on to have a successful career as a SEAL, to be punished officially or reputationally ― by an accident that was in no way his fault,” Sheehy wrote in the book. “It wasn’t even a tough or dangerous mission; it was a milk run, just like this training flight, but it went bad quickly.”
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When the Post asked Sheehy about that passage in his book in April, he said he was not certain whether he was shot by friendly fire or by whom, describing an incident where his team came under fire at night.
“To be very clear, I don’t know where the bullet came from,” Sheehy said. “Sometimes people find that hard to believe, but in Hollywood, they make it look like [in] a gunfight everyone knows exactly what’s going on. … That’s just not how it goes down.”
Meanwhile, the ranger, Peach, told The New York Times earlier this month he was “100 percent sure [Sheehy] shot himself that day” in 2015. He recalled unloading Sheehy’s gun at the time and “finding five live rounds and the casing of one that had been fired,” as the Times reported.
Republicans have dismissed the allegation on the basis that Peach has a history of supporting Democrats.
Polls show Sheehy leading Tester in a critical race that could determine which party controls the Senate next year. The three-term incumbent senator is trying to pull off an upset in a state Donald Trump won by 16 points in the 2020 election.
HELENA — When President Donald Trump announced a plan last week to import more beef from Argentina, it drew quick criticism from ranchers in Montana. Now, Montana’s members of Congress say they’re pushing the administration to change course.
U.S. Sen. Steve Daines told MTN he quickly began hearing from Montanans in the cattle business after reports came out about Trump’s plan.
“The word I would describe is they feel betrayed,” he said.
(Watch the video to hear more reaction from Montana’s congressional delegation.)
Montana’s congressional delegation pushing back on plan to import beef from Argentina
Daines said Montana beef producers have already been under pressure from drought and market forces. He said this step was “an unforced error” by the administration.
All four members of Montana’s congressional delegation are Republicans. They all say the Republican president’s plan was the wrong direction and that they’ve made that case when speaking with administration leaders.
U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke, who represents Montana’s western congressional district, says he understands why Trump wanted to tackle high beef prices, but that this wasn’t the right way for him to do it.
“Having a healthy cattle industry, having a healthy poultry industry and having a healthy supply chain for food is really national security,” he told MTN. “So he understands that, and I think we’re going to see some action in making sure or calming a lot of the fears from the cattlemen out there.”
Earlier this year, Daines visited Argentina and met with its conservative president, Javier Milei, during a South American tour advocating for Trump’s trade policies. He said his opinions on the country and its government don’t play any role in his feelings on this proposed deal.
“I don’t care if this is Argentinian beef or beef coming from anywhere else in the world,” he said. “The answer for what’s going on right now in the markets is not to import more beef – bottom line. It doesn’t matter where it comes from; it happens to be Argentina.”
Daines said it would be better for Montana’s cattle industry for the U.S. to focus on opening export markets rather than import markets. In 2017, Daines celebrated an agreement that led to China buying millions of dollars in Montana beef – but he said Thursday that the country has shut the doors to American beef during the ongoing trade dispute with the Trump administration.
“We were shipping over $1 billion a year in beef last year, and now it’s gone to zero,” he said.
In a statement to MTN, Sen. Tim Sheehy said he’s been talking with Trump and his team, looking for a path forward.
“Empowering hardworking ranchers who feed America and lowering prices for American families at the grocery store are not mutually exclusive,” he said. “Both can be accomplished by lowering input costs and providing a reliable, pro-growth environment for producers so ranchers can grow their operation, capture more of the value they create, and feed the nation with affordable, healthy, high-quality beef.”
Zinke and Daines say they also see areas where the federal government can make moves that will benefit both Montana ranchers and Montana consumers. Daines wants Congress to do more to tackle the huge market share four large packing companies have in the beef industry – a situation he calls a “monopoly.”
“Our ranchers don’t set the price; that price is set for them,” he said.
Zinke wants to put additional emphasis on country-of-origin labeling for beef.
“In Montana, we have a brand and that brand has value,” he said. “When it’s made in Montana, you know it’s at the top, the quality is there. And our ranchers sell premium product – that’s important.”
Daines said he supports country-of-origin labeling also, though he wants to make sure any additional steps the U.S. takes doesn’t lead to unintended consequences or retribution from countries like Canada.
WESTERN MONTANA — Here’s a look at Western Montana’s top news stories for Wednesday.
The University of Montana removed Business Professor Anthony Richard Pawlisz from faculty after he was charged with criminal endangerment in Ravalli County court. Pawlisz allegedly pulled a gun on a man and fired a shot into the air after a fight outside of a bar in Florence on Aug. 17, according to court documents. His former class will continue under Professor Udo Fluck. (Read the full story)
Nathaniel Luke Smith pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct on Monday after posing a threat to Mission High School on Oct. 8, which prompted increased police presence while classes continued. Smith is also serving a three-year deferred sentence for intimidation from an incident in November 2024. (Read the full story)
Montana Governor Greg Gianforte said he will not be using state funds to temporarily cover SNAP benefits for nearly 78,000 enrolled Montanans if federal funding runs out on Nov. 1. Amidst a government shutdown, he said it’s a federal responsibility — despite calls from Democrats and food banks to use leftover state money. (Read the full story)
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