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KANSAS MEETING AT ISSUE -=- By THOMAS H. LIPSCOMB Special to the Sun

A Vietnam veteran who said he remembers John Kerry participating in a
1971 Kansas City meeting at which an assassination plot was discussed
says an official with the Kerry presidential campaign called him this
month and pressured him to change his story.

The veteran, John Musgrave, says he was called twice by the head of
Veterans for Kerry, John Hurley, while a reporter for the Kansas City
Star worked on a follow-up piece to a New York Sun article about the
November 1971 meeting of Vietnam Veterans Against the War at which a
plot to kill U.S. senators was voted down. Asked by The New York Sun if
he felt pressured, Mr. Musgrave said, "In the second call I did." Mr.
Musgrave said Mr. Hurley said Mr. Kerry had told him "he was definitely
not in Kansas City."

According to Mr. Musgrave, Mr. Hurley said, "Why don't you refresh your
memory and call that reporter back?"

A spokesman for Mr. Kerry's presidential campaign, David Wade, last week
issued a statement to the Sun, following a week of denials, that said
"we accept" Mr. Kerry's presence in Kansas City as a "historical footnote."

By then, the recollections of six witnesses, along with minutes and FBI
records, placed Mr. Kerry at the Kansas City meeting.

But the news of the calls from the campaign to Mr. Musgrave may move the
episode from what the campaign is describing as a "historical footnote"
to a matter that involves the contemporary behavior of Mr. Kerry and his
campaign.

Mr. Musgrave said he received three Purple Hearts in Vietnam. After the
third Purple Heart for wounds by three 7.62 rounds, one to the jaw and
two to the left chest, Mr. Musgrave refused the standard release from
further service in the combat zone offered Marines with three Purple
Hearts and tried to return to his unit, he said.

But because of the extent of his injuries he was retired from the
Marines with full disability and sent home, he said.

Mr. Musgrave said, "I told Hurley it was my first meeting as a state
officer of the VVAW, and I remember John being there. I remember what I
remember."

When asked whom he is supporting in the presidential election, Mr.
Musgrave replied, "I am undecided. But I am sure not voting for some guy
who called me a liar."

Mr. Hurley did not return calls for comment for this article.

Another related episode in which the Kerry campaign had to handle
questions about Vietnam Veterans Against the War involves a statement by
Mr. Kerry himself.

At a Capitol Hill press conference on March 11, 2004, Mr. Kerry was
asked by a reporter if he thought his credibility had been affected by
his close association with Al Hubbard, a key VVAW colleague of Mr.
Kerry's who had appointed him to the leadership of the Vietnam Veterans
Against the War.

Mr. Hubbard claimed to be a wounded Air Force officer who had served at
Danang during the Vietnam War. He appeared with Mr. Kerry many times,
including the "Meet the Press" interview after Mr.Kerry's Senate
testimony about American "war crimes" in Vietnam.

But Mr. Hubbard was never in Vietnam, was never wounded, and was not an
officer, as subsequent research and Mr. Kerry himself have pointed out.

Mr. Kerry answered this month that he had not spoken to Mr.Hubbard since
the week of April 19, 1971.

Yet the Kerry campaign now apparently accepts that Mr. Kerry was at the
November 12 to 15, 1971,VVAW meeting. Mr. Musgrave said he remembers
that at that meeting, Mr. Kerry challenged Mr. Hubbard's continuing to
maintain his false claims to being an Air Force officer wounded at Danang.

"Hubbard sort of sat there with his eyes downcast and Mike Oliver really
did all the arguing for him," Mr. Musgrave said. "And suddenly Hubbard
got up and said he was having an ulcer attack and had to get to New York
immediately to see his doctor and ran out of the room.You would think we
didn't have any doctors or hospitals in Kansas City."

In addition, the New York Times reported on an August 29, 1971,
fundraising party for the Vietnam Veterans Against the War at which "Mr.
Kerry and Al Hubbard, another veteran, explained some of the aims of the
organization."John Kerry's Role as a Vietnam Anti-War Activist Poses
Challenges to His Campaign


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Republicans' Letter to Federal Election Commission
By Republican National Committee
CNSNews.com Information Services
August 23, 2004

(Editor's note: What follows is a letter from the Republican National Committee to the Federal Election Commission, responding to the Kerry campaign's FEC complaint. As CNSNews.com reported on Friday, the Kerry campaign complained that the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth was illegally coordinating with the Bush-Cheney campaign.)


The Honorable Bradley Smith
Chairman
Federal Election Commission
999 E Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C.


Dear Commissioner Smith:

The Commission is about to receive a frivolous complaint from Kerry-Edwards 2004, Inc. baselessly alleging illegal coordination between Bush-Cheney '04 Inc. and a group called Swiftboat Veterans for Truth. This complaint should be promptly dismissed since, as the attached verified transcript demonstrates, Mr. Kerry's own spokesman, Tad Devine, could not present even one piece of hard evidence to back up the Kerry campaign's allegations.

Sadly, the Kerry campaign is misusing the Federal Election Commission's process to distract attention and gain free publicity concerning charges for which it publicly admits it has no evidence.

The Bush-Cheney campaign flatly denies any coordination with Swiftboat Veterans for Truth. 11 C.F.R. 109.21. Furthermore, Mr. Devine's own performance demonstrates that the Kerry-Edwards campaign also has no evidence of illegal coordination. The Commission should act pursuant to 2 U.S.C. 437g(a)(1) and dismiss this complaint immediately.

As the attached CNN Inside Politics verified transcript shows, Kerry campaign spokesman Mr. Devine is basing his charges solely on a newspaper article, "...it's in the New York Times today." However, not even this newspaper article presents evidence of "coordination." What has been reported are the Kerry campaign's unsubstantiated charges along with the explicit denial from the Bush-Cheney campaign. In fact, after inquiring about the alleged coordination reported in the New York Times story referred to by Mr. Devine, Wolf Blitzer, based on an earlier interview with a reporter who wrote the New York Times story, corrected Devine by stating, "They don't have any hard evidence backing it up." This complaint is based on nothing more than the Kerry campaign's false accusations, having them reported in the media, and then the Kerry campaign referring to the published false accusations as proof.

As you know, the statute, 2 U.S.C. 437g(a)(1), states that any complaint filed with the Commission must be signed and notarized and made under "pain of perjury and subject to the provisions of section 1001 of title 18." The Commission must deal with this complaint in an appropriate matter.

Respectfully,

Thomas J. Josefiak
General Counsel



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Swift Boat Veterans for Truth Respond to MoveOn PAC’s Ad Campaign
Author:
Dated: Monday, August 16 2004 @ 09:00 AM PDT
Viewed: 11151 times
For Immediate Release
Monday, August 16, 2004

Swift Boat Veterans for Truth Respond to MoveOn PAC’s Ad Campaign

The following statement by the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth concerns a new ad campaign announced today by MoveOn PAC.

“We find it odd that MoveOn PAC would question the right of a group of veterans to voice an opinion on a legitimate issue-an issue first raised by John Kerry-and now the centerpiece of his campaign,” said Rear Admiral Roy Hoffmann, U.S. Navy (Ret.), founder and chairman of Swift Boat Veterans for Truth (www.swiftvets.com). “The 300-plus veterans who make up the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth have every right to participate in a public debate concerning the controversy surrounding John Kerry’s military service record. We were there. We served alongside John Kerry and we know the history of his service. We will not be silenced.”

-30-

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Statement By Swift Boat Veterans for Truth Member Van Odell
Author:
Dated: Thursday, August 19 2004 @ 02:00 PM PDT
Viewed: 13294 times
For Immediate Release
Statement By Swift Boat Veterans for Truth Member Van Odell

A courageous, soft spoken man of the Midwest, Larry Thurlow has a heart bigger than the great plains and a commitment to truth and honesty that is boundless. He is under attack, because John Kerry is feeling the heat of truth at the hands of this honest man and others like him.

The Kerry Campaign is attacking the truthfulness of this man and the Bronze Star he so richly deserves for his actions on March 13, 1969. I was there. I saw what happened.

The mine’s detonation lifted PCF-3 completely out of the water just yards ahead of me. All boats commenced suppression fire in case enemy small arms fire ensued. None did.

All boats came to the aid of PCF-3, except one: John Kerry’s boat. Kerry fled.

Larry Thurlow piloted his boat straight toward the mine-damaged PCF-3 from which thick, black smoke billowed. He jumped aboard and personally led damage control operations that saved the boat and rescue operations that saved the lives of badly wounded men. Larry’s leadership was in the highest traditions of the naval service. His leadership allowed the other men and boats of the mission to exit the river safely. This "single act of meritorious service" -– the chief requirement of the Bronze Star -– should be honored, not ridiculed, by the Kerry campaign and its allies in the mainstream media.

To reiterate, only one enemy weapon was deployed that day -– the command-detonated submerged mine that disabled PCF-3. Larry Thurlow's citation contained references to "enemy small arms and automatic weapons fire," because that was the language chosen by John Kerry who penned the "spot report" on the action that day. There was no "enemy small arms and automatic weapons fire" received that day. John Kerry’s report was fiction -– a hoax on the entire chain of command. Larry Thurlow's heroism and meritorious service, however, is real.

To me Larry is one of the heroes of our country. He is a man who served his country when called and who returned home to be a productive citizen. Larry and men like him are the strong backbone of our society. I am proud to have served with him.


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Statement By Swift Boat Veterans for Truth Member Jack Chenoweth
Author:
Dated: Thursday, August 19 2004 @ 02:00 PM PDT
Viewed: 12075 times
For Immediate Release
Statement By Swift Boat Veterans for Truth Member Jack Chenoweth

I am outraged by Michael Dobbs' attack on Larry Thurlow and his Bronze Star award.

The reason the citation mentions "enemy small arms and automatic weapons fire" is because it is based on the "spot report" that John Kerry submitted. Any and all awards presented for actions on 13 March 1969 would be similar, if not verbatim, regarding enemy gunfire, because the only information submitted to the chain of command was falsified by Kerry.

Mr. Dobbs also grossly mischaracterizes my statements, and probably those of Richard Pees as well, when he states that we "do not remember coming under 'enemy fire.'" He needs to go back and review his notes. I emphatically told him -– as I’ve told countless other reporters -- that there was no enemy gunfire from either bank at any time, that the only event of the day was the mine under PCF 3, followed by suppression fire from all of our boats.

Mr. Dobbs is entitled to take whatever position he wants on the issue of who is telling the truth, but it is not right for him to mischaracterize my remarks so that it looks like I didn't "remember" whether there was enemy fire. I remember vividly. There was no enemy fire.