CNN anchor Michael Smerconish said concerns surrounding the 1995 drunken driving arrest of Vice President Harris' running mate Tim Walz are a major issue the campaign must confront.
“The DUI story is indefensible,” he said, then asked whether Walz was adequately investigated by the Harris campaign.
Walz has tried to downplay his drunken driving arrest in the mid-1990s, but questions about his run-in with police continue to haunt him.
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CNN anchor Michael Smerconish said concerns surrounding the 1995 drunken driving arrest of Vice President Harris' running mate Tim Walz are a major issue the campaign must confront. (CNN)
On Sept. 23, 1995, while Walz was working as a teacher in his home state of Nebraska, he was pulled over for going 96 mph in a 55 mph zone.
In comments to reporters in 2006, Walz's campaign for Congress in Minnesota's 1st District insisted he was “not drunk” and attributed Walz's “deafness” to a “misunderstanding” with police, which his then-campaign manager said had been “surgically corrected.”
“I don't think so,” Smerconish said, rejecting claims that Walz's DUI was related to his “hearing impairment.”
“In the end, it will all come down to the highest fine, but for me, the DUI charge is more important than the theft charge, not for the alcohol consumption, but for the lie,” he said.
Walz has been criticized by veterans, including some former Army National Guard members who served alongside him, for leaving the Guard before it was deployed to Iraq.
KAMALA HARRIS' VOTING MATE TIM WALZ, PICTURED IN A PROTECTIVE PHOTO IN NEBRASKA IN 1995 AFTER BEING ARRESTED FOR DRIVING UNDER THE LIGHTS
Asked how Harris' campaign should address the controversy surrounding Walz's portrayal of her 1995 DUI in her political career, Smerconish said it needs to be addressed “head on.” (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Asked how Harris' campaign should address the controversy surrounding Walz's depiction of his 1995 DUI, Smerconish said it needs to be addressed “head on.”
“Maybe this is due to the accelerated nature of her rise as a candidate,” Smerconish said of the Harris campaign's vetting of the Minnesota governor. “But I wonder how much they actually knew about it.”
While Walz has claimed during campaigns that his DUI was related to his “deafness,” a state police report obtained by Alpha News contradicts those claims.
“A strong odor of alcoholic beverages was detected emanating from Mr. Walz.[‘s] The report said Walz had taken a field sobriety test and a preliminary breathalyzer test but failed.
“Walz spoke in a careless manner and should not have presented the role he had as if it were a permanent role when it was not,” he said.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the Democratic vice presidential nominee in 2024, is shown in an arrest photo in 1995 after a DUI arrest in Dawes County, Nebraska. (Dawes County Sheriff's Office)
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Harris' campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
Fox News' Chris Pandolfo and Taylor Penley contributed to this report.
