Montana's Sen. John E. Walsh (D) is under extreme criticism when news reports surfaced that he plagiarized at least one-third of his graduate thesis from the U.S. Army War College.

The newly elected senator's thesis, titled "The Case for Democracy as a Long Term National Strategy" was posted online by the New York Times and showed that the Walsh copied published word-for-word without scholarly attributions.

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According to the Times report, the new senator copied an entire page from a Harvard published paper, while six of his thesis' conclusions were copied from a Carnegie Endowment for International Peace document without citing it as reference.

However, Walsh, 53, denied that he plagiarized the content of other published works when confronted at Capitol Hill on Tuesday.

Walsh's spokesperson Lauren Passalacqua does not deny what appears to be plagiarism and said it was "unintentional" on the new senator's part.

"It was a mistake and unintentional," Passalacqua said in a statement. "Some areas in the paper should have been cited differently, but it was unintentional."

To compensate for the mistake, Passalacqua reminded Walsh's critics of the senator's 33 year-long and honorable service for his country both in Iraq and in Montana.

Meanwhile, observers believe this recent scandal could have serious consequences for the Democratic Party.

To get control in the senate, Republicans need to gain six net seats this fall. Walsh is running against Republican Rep. Steve Daines, who might see this as an opportunity to beat Walsh.  

In Montana, Walsh is running to complete his term as senator after former Sen. Max Baucus left his seat to become the country's ambassador to China. 

With South Dakota and West Virginia as likely GOP pickups and Arkansas, Louisiana, North Carolina and Alaska that Obama lost in the 2012 election, the Republicans may take advantage of this opportunity to get majority of the Congressional seats that will give them control over the Senate.

Walsh's campaign has already been uphill due to another case, where he got reprimanded by the, Army Vice Chief of Staff, Peter Chiarelli, who questioned his ability to lead.

Amid these controversies, the party's Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee says it stands behind Walsh.

"It is disgusting that Steve Daines and Washington Republicans are questioning John's distinguished service," spokesman Justin Barasky said. "Especially after multiple polls show our guy is gaining." 

The plagiarism charges may not be enough to make Walsh lose his senate seat, but Montana State University political scientists David Parker thinks otherwise.

"If the thesis in isolation where it, it would probably not be such a big deal," Parker said. "But now we've have two issues of honor and competency, and that might cast a shadow over Walsh in spite of his 33-year long and honorable service for his country."

TagsPlagiarism, John E. Walsh, US Senator, U.S. Army War College