News of the Iraq War veteran's plagiarism broke on Wednesday, and the now senator has been deflecting the fallout from the scandal.

The New York Times broke the story on Wednesday, publishing an article which showed that Senator John Walsh, 57, a Democrat from Montana, lifted around a quarter of his master's degree thesis from various uncited sources while attending the United States Army War College.

Before serving as senator, Walsh was Montana's adjutant general overseeing the state's National Guard.

Titled "The Case for Democracy as a Long Term National Strategy," the 14-page paper contained various parts copied, at times word for word, from multiple policy essays, academic papers and books available online.

Walsh wrote the paper in 2007 when he was 46 and earned "one of the highest-profile credentials of [his] 33-year military career."

Walsh was appointed to the Senate after Sen. Max Baucus resigned to become U.S. ambassador to China, The Associated Press reported. Walsh has blamed his plagiarism, in part, to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

"I don't want to blame my mistake on PTSD, but I do want to say it may have been a factor," the senator told The Associated Press. "My head was not in a place very conducive to a classroom and an academic environment."

Walsh said that he suffered from PTSD following his service in Iraq and was receiving medication at the time he was writing the thesis. He was also stressed by the recent suicide of a fellow veteran, according to the news agency.

Following the news of Walsh's plagiarism, the Army War College is investigating whether or not Walsh did plagiarize his thesis.

"The Army War College initiated its own analysis of the paper and determined this morning that there was reasonable cause to refer the case to the U.S. Army War College Academic Review Board," reads a statement by the college posted online on Thursday.

The statement adds that Walsh may appear before the board and present evidence in defense of his case.

As the scandal continues, Walsh is currently running for re-election. According to the Missoulian, Walsh will not step down from the U.S. Senate race against Republican Rep. Steve Daines, campaign spokeswoman Lauren Passalacqua said.

The National Democratic Party has also said they will continue to back Walsh "100 percent," according to CBS News.

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