Welcome! Here are the topics for today’s independent commentary:

• Sheehy Gunshot Wound Debacle
• Mayorkas Impeachment
• FISA Reauthorization

SHEEHY GUNSHOT WOUND DEBACLE:

I have “Tim Sheehy” in my Google Alerts and I’m getting 8-10 hits per day and many of the alerts have 2-3 articles. Most articles are not positive. Things are not going well for Sheehy. As I have said for the last week, he should suspend his campaign and save his family from going through the mess that he created.

The “Sheehy gunshot wound debacle” is from a headline in Lee Newspapers. They finally started writing about it.

The most damaging news of the day was another article from the Washington Post (WaPo). WaPo filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the National Park Service and the information received is damaging to Sheehy. WaPo reports that Republican Senate candidate Tim Sheehy apologized and asked for leniency in 2015 after he said a gun he kept in his vehicle for bear protection fell and discharged, striking him in his right forearm in Glacier National Park, according to new National Park Service documents released through a Freedom of Information Act.

WaPo also found that a National Park Service summary of the incident, which was also included in the newly released documents, says an unidentified park visitor reported an accidental gun discharge in Logan Pass. That differs from Sheehy’s current account, that law enforcement was first contacted by personnel at a hospital that treated him for wounds that he now says he received from falling during a hike.

One of the other things hanging over Sheehy is the WaPo report that says Sheehy has offered varying accounts of how many times he was shot while serving and under what circumstances. In his 2023 memoir, “Mudslingers,” Sheehy wrote in one passage that he received multiple bullet wounds in Afghanistan. In another, he wrote that his body was hit by a bullet just once. In the book, he also offers varying accounts of how he was shot.

Sheehy is making the mistake of responding on social media:

You people are deranged. @pkcapitol – Why did you take down this tweet on @lizcgoodwin’s BS story rehashing the fact that I was shot in Afghanistan? Are you done lying about my military service and trying to defame a Purple Heart, Bronze Star with Valor combat veteran? What’s next in your smear campaign playbook? This is why people have stopped trusting the media. It’s not about “news” anymore, it’s about partisan agendas!

The fact is that Montanans don’t know what to believe about Sheehy. Whenever I get a Google Alert about Sheehy, I wonder what else the press has discovered about him.

WaPo found a statement from Brad Johnson that hits the nail on the head:

Brad Johnson, the former secretary of state of Montana and Sheehy challenger in the June Republican primary, slammed Sheehy in a statement provided to a local TV outlet. “This is what you get when a couple of DC insiders like Mitch McConnell and Steve Daines anoint an unknown, untested and unvetted candidate and then dictate to Montana Republicans who their nominee to the United States Senate is going to be,” he said.

Good for Brad.

A few years ago, I wrote a Kindle “E-Book” about campaigning called, “Preparing for the Race: 50+ Questions for the Potential Candidate.” I covered many of the questions that candidates should ask themselves and groups who are recruiting candidates should ask the candidates in the vetting process. I guess I need to add a section about gunshot wounds. You can find the book HERE. I don’t think Steve Daines read it.

MAYORKAS IMPEACHMENT:

On Wednesday I watched an hour or two of the U.S. Senate attempting to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. The Senate voted to dismiss the two articles of impeachment.

There were about 12 votes taken in the Senate. Montana’s senators were on different sides of the impeachment with Steve Daines wanting to impeach Mayorkas and Jon Tester voting against it. (Source)

All in all, the “impeachment” session was a waste of time, but it is showing voters that the Republicans can’t be trusted to lead. The House of Representatives is a mess with the Republicans running it. The Senate would be the same way if the Republicans ran it.

FISA REAUTHORIZATION:

My wife asked me why I was speaking so softly at home. I told her I was afraid the government was listening to us. She laughed. I laughed. Alexa laughed. Siri laughed.

Unlike many folks, I don’t worry too much about the FISA reauthorization that is coming up for a vote in the Senate soon. Section 702 is one of the key provisions that people talk about. For example, U.S. Senator Jon Tester issued a statement that, in part, says:

U.S. Senator Jon Tester today issued the following statement on his concerns that reauthorizing Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) would undermine Montanans’ freedom and privacy:

“Montanans care deeply about their right to privacy and don’t want the government intruding on their personal lives. That’s why I introduced bipartisan legislation to shut dangerous loopholes and prevent the Biden Administration from accessing Montanans’ personal information without a warrant. I do not support reauthorizing FISA Section 702 in its current form and call on the Senate to take action to stop warrantless searches by the government and law enforcement agencies to protect Montanans’ freedom and privacy.”

Last November, U.S. Senator Steve Daines released a statement:

U.S. Senator Steve Daines helped introduce the “Government Surveillance Reform Act” to establish new safeguards for government surveillance and accountability for abuse, reauthorize and reform FISA section 702, and establish protections for Montanans whose private information is collected under other intelligence authorities.

“Americans have a constitutional right to be protected from unreasonable searches and seizures that is nonnegotiable,” said Daines. “As the federal government is increasingly sticking it’s nose into Americans’ private conversations and records, we must put an end to illegitimate searches and protect this fundamental right.”

Tester and Daines need to calm (TF) down.

I suggest people read an overview of Section 702 from the Director of National Intelligence. That can be found HERE. After reading, pour yourself a glass of wine and have Alexa play your favorite playlist. Relax.

## THE END ##