HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Montana Gov. Steve Bullock says he didn't know that Sen. John Walsh had plagiarized parts of his master's thesis when he appointed the former National Guard general to the Senate earlier this year.

The Democratic governor said in a statement of support that Walsh has a long history of fighting for the state's residents at home and in combat. Bullock says Walsh "deserves respect for his courage on our behalf."

Walsh's 2007 U.S. Army War College thesis includes a series of unattributed passages taken from the writings of other scholars.

The former state adjutant general characterized the work as "a few citations that were unintentionally left out of a term paper."

Bullock appointed Walsh in February when Sen. Max Baucus resigned to become ambassador to China.