Gov. Walz faces renewed scrutiny over 1995 drunk driving arrest
(FOX 9) - A 1995 drunk driving arrest for Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is seeing renewed scrutiny as he campaigns as Kamala Harris' running mate.
What happened?
Walz was stopped on the night of Sept. 23, 1995, near Chadron, Nebraska, going 96 mph in a 55-mph zone, an Associated Press report details.
During the stop, the trooper smelled alcohol on his breath and Walz then failed a sobriety test. A blood test later showed Walz had a blood-alcohol level of 0.128. The legal limit at the time for Nebraska was 0.10. Walz was booked into the county jail.
In court the following March, Walz's attorney admitted the future governor had been drinking while arguing for a fine because he was only slightly over the limit.
Aftermath of arrest
Walz ended up paying a $200 fine and lost his license for 90 days.
In court transcripts, his defense attorney said that Walz, then a teacher in Nebraska, informed his principal about the arrest and stepped down as a coach.
How did the arrest resurface?
According to two separate reports at the time, the arrest was first brought to light during Walz's 2006 run for Congress by the conservative blog site Minnesota Democrats Exposed, which Minnesota GOP operative Michael Brodkorb created. In a twist, Brodkorb made some headlines last week when he announced he was endorsing the Harris-Walz campaign.
Twin Cities-based conservative news site Alpha News uncovered a court transcript of the DWI arrest back in October 2022, as Walz was seeking re-election as governor.
More recently, the arrest has seen renewed scrutiny on social media and has been revisited by major news outlets, including CNN, the New York Times, and the Associated Press.
Walz's campaign lied about the arrest in 2006?
The transcript obtained by Alpha News directly contradicted statements made by Walz's campaign back in 2006.
According to a 2006 Rochester Post Bulletin report, Walz's campaign told the newspaper that the arrest was a "misunderstanding." Campaign manager Kerry Greeley reportedly told the Post Bulletin that Walz was speeding but claimed he wasn't drunk. Instead, Greeley blamed confusion and balance issues during the arrest on Walz suffering from deafness related to his National Guard service.
"He couldn't understand what the officer was saying to him," Greeley told the paper.
The report adds that Greeley also said that the DUI charge was dismissed and the judge "chastised the officer for not realizing that Walz was deaf." KEYC-TV in Mankato also quoted a campaign spokesperson as saying: "The DUI charge was dropped for a reason: It wasn't true."
However, as stated above, in the court transcripts, Walz's attorney admitted that his blood-alcohol level exceeded the legal limit.
In fact, according to the transcript, the judge scolded Walz – not the trooper – for drinking and driving as a teacher, saying in part: "This is a real problem for me to see a teacher get picked up for this offense because you have to be a role model."
The judge ultimately told Walz he hoped he would learn from this experience.
In 2018, speaking with the Star Tribune, Walz cited the arrest as a motivation for him to quit drinking.