“I served during the Vietnam era,” he said. “I remember the taunts, the insults, sometimes even physical abuse.”

"When we returned, we saw nothing like this," the senator said at a Connecticut rally in support of troops in 2003.

"We have learned something important since the days that I served in Vietnam," he said at another event in 2008.

But what is striking about Mr. Blumenthal’s record is the contrast between the many steps he took that allowed him to avoid Vietnam, and the misleading way he often speaks about that period of his life now, especially when he is speaking at veterans’ ceremonies or other patriotic events.

In truth, between 1965 and 1970, Blumenthal did receive at least five military deferments, and in April 1970, when his last deferment was in jeopardy, he got assigned to the Marine Corps Reserves.

“The Reserves were not being activated for Vietnam and were seen as a shelter for young privileged men,” David Curry, a professor at the University of Missouri at St. Louis, told the Times in 2010.

WASHINGTON — Investigators for the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, recently searched the Northern Virginia home of President Trump’s former campaign manager, Paul Manafort, for tax documents and foreign banking records, a sign that the inquiry into Mr. Manafort has broadened, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The search was carried out at Mr. Manafort’s Alexandria, Va., home shortly after Mr. Manafort met with investigators for the Senate Intelligence Committee on July 25. In that meeting, Mr. Manafort answered questions and provided investigators with notes from a 2016 meeting between Trump campaign officials and Russians claiming to have damaging information on Hillary Clinton.