NBC’s Memoli: Yes, Tim Walz Had Filed Paperwork Earlier, But He Was Aware that Deployment Was Possible

EXCERPT:

MEMOLI: “As it relates to Walz's service in the National Guard, there are two interesting components to this. One is the timing, of course, of his eventual retirement from the National Guard. Yes, he had filed his candidacy paperwork to run for Congress ahead of learning officially that his unit would be deploying. But you have to also remember the context of this moment, in 2005 when the situation in Iraq was deteriorating, the toll on the U.S. military was growing, and more and more National Guard units were being deployed. So there was an awareness that this was possible. And Walz's advisers in particular want to be very respectful of the fact that this was a complicated time. But remember, Walz won his seat in part because of the opposition growing in this country to the war in Iraq at this point.”