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Defense Department Takes Unusual Step in Sen. John Walsh Probe

A U.S. Army War College official says the Department of Defense has taken the unusual step of overseeing a plagiarism investigation against Sen. John Walsh of Montana.
Image: Sen. John Walsh, D-Mont.
Sen. John Walsh, D-Mont., and other senators rush to the Senate chamber on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2014, for a vote to extend the Treasury's borrowing authority. After a dramatic Senate tally in which top GOP leaders cast the crucial votes, must-pass legislation to allow the government to borrow money to pay its bills cleared Congress Wednesday for President Barack Obama's signature.J. Scott Applewhite / AP file

A U.S. Army War College official says the Department of Defense has taken the unusual step of overseeing a plagiarism investigation against Sen. John Walsh of Montana. The Carlisle, Pennsylvania, college began the investigation after a New York Times story showed Walsh used others' work without attribution in a 2007 research paper required for a master's degree.

Provost Lance Betros said Tuesday Defense Department officials told the college the inspector general's office of the Defense Department will decide whether any discipline is warranted based on the school's review.

Betros says that decision is normally reserved for the school's deputy commandant. He says the Defense Department intervention is very unusual and was done because Walsh is a member of Congress who is a military veteran. Neither the inspector general's office nor Walsh's campaign immediately returned messages.

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- The Associated Press