Days after The New York Times found that Richard Blumenthal LAW ’73 has misrepresented his record of military service — and despite the media firestorm that followed — Blumenthal accepted the Democratic nomination for the Connecticut U.S. Senate seat on Friday, the Times reported.
“I have made mistakes,” he said at the state convention, according to the Times. “I regret them. And I have taken responsibility. But this campaign must be about the people of Connecticut. I want to get results for the people of Connecticut. And I’ve proven I can.”
The Times ran a story Monday reporting that Blumenthal, the Connecticut attorney general, has said he served in Vietnam when he actually never did. Blumenthal received five military deferments and then was in the Marine Corps Reserve, according to the article.
But since Monday, Blumenthal has come out on the defensive.
Blumenthal’s campaign manager, Mindy Myers, issued a statement Monday night calling the original Times story an “outrageous distortion.” The Times reported on Tuesday that Blumenthal’s aides had posted a video, titled “Richard Blumenthal Has Been Consistent, Honest and Clear About His Military Service Record,” on YouTube, showing that Blumenthal said in a March 1 debate that he did not serve in Vietnam.
Blumenthal also held a press conference Tuesday at a Veterans of Foreign Wars post in West Hartford, Conn., where he said his mistakes were “totally unintentional,” according to the Times.
“On a few occasions I have misspoken about my service, and I regret that and I take full responsibility,” he said at the conference. “But I will not allow anyone to take a few misplaced words and impugn my record of service to our country.”
Blumenthal seeks to fill the seat currently held by Sen. Christopher Dodd.