Walz's former employees made misleading comments about the drunk driving arrest

Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz is facing fierce backlash after reports emerged that his 2006 congressional campaign made false claims about a drunken driving incident while he was a high school teacher.

In 1995, a police officer in Nebraska stopped Mr. Walz, then 31, for driving 96 miles per hour (154 km/h) in a 55-mile zone.

In March 1996, he pleaded guilty to reckless driving. He lost his license for 90 days and was fined $200 (£154), the Associated Press reported.

But in 2006, his then-campaign manager told the media that Mr. Walz was not drunk when he was stopped, falsely suggesting that it was a misunderstanding.

According to court documents, Mr. Walz failed the breathalyzer and breathalyzer test after the officer smelled alcohol on his breath.

He was then taken to the hospital for a blood test. According to court documents, his blood alcohol level was 0.128%, compared to the legal limit of 0.10%.

Mr. Walz told the Minnesota Star Tribune newspaper that he had been watching college football with friends before his arrest. He was taken to the Dawes County Jail.

A high school teacher at the time, he reported the incident to his principal and resigned as football coach at the school. He offered to quit his job as a teacher, but the principal persuaded him to stay, the Star Tribune reported.

He said he stopped drinking after the incident and described it in a 2018 interview as a “gut feeling moment.”

The recent reactions to Walz have been due to the way his former campaign aides from his 2006 run for Congress have described the incident to local media.

His campaign manager at the time said that Mr. Walz was not drunk because he had suffered hearing loss due to his service in the National Guard and could not understand the police officer.

The campaign manager also falsely claimed to the Rochester Post Bulletin that the judge who dismissed the case criticized the arresting officer for failing to understand that Walz suffered from hearing loss.

Walz underwent ear surgery in 2005 to correct his hearing loss, the Associated Press reported. However, court records do not mention that Mr. Walz had difficulty hearing the police officer at the time of the arrest.

His campaign team at the time also claimed that Mr. Walz was allowed to drive himself to prison on the night of his arrest, which was not true.

Mr. Walz reportedly admitted to being drunk at the time of his arrest.

“It's just a dangerous situation,” Walz said in a court transcript from the 1996 hearing. “Not just for me, but for the others who aren't even involved.”

The BBC has asked the Harris-Walz campaign team for comment.