Will John Kerry Sue the Swiftees for Libel?
NewsMax.com has the details.
The central weakness in John Kerry's entire case vis-a-vis Swift Boat Veterans for Truth is that he never dared take legal action against the group. If, as Senator Kerry and his fellow travelers here and elsewhere continue to allege, John O'Neill and his fellow Swiftees were lying, then Senator Kerry would have a cause of action on the grounds of libel (when you write or print lies about someone) or slander (when all you do is talk about those lies). That he did not only lent credence to the Swiftees' story.
On the other hand, if John Kerry does decide to file a libel or slander action, then he opens himself up to pre-trial discovery. O'Neill's attorneys will move, and the court will probably grant, that John Kerry be compelled to release his medical and other personnel records to the trial court and jury, if not to the public. He has never once released those, and that was another weakness in his case.
Thus far all that Newsmax.com has about Kerry contemplating legal action is an anonymous tip. I would guess that, in the end, Kerry will decline to take any such action, and that for the same reason he declined to pursue any recount in Ohio--because the process of evidentiary discovery would embarrass him and vindicate his opponents, which is exactly what he would not want.
The central weakness in John Kerry's entire case vis-a-vis Swift Boat Veterans for Truth is that he never dared take legal action against the group. If, as Senator Kerry and his fellow travelers here and elsewhere continue to allege, John O'Neill and his fellow Swiftees were lying, then Senator Kerry would have a cause of action on the grounds of libel (when you write or print lies about someone) or slander (when all you do is talk about those lies). That he did not only lent credence to the Swiftees' story.
On the other hand, if John Kerry does decide to file a libel or slander action, then he opens himself up to pre-trial discovery. O'Neill's attorneys will move, and the court will probably grant, that John Kerry be compelled to release his medical and other personnel records to the trial court and jury, if not to the public. He has never once released those, and that was another weakness in his case.
Thus far all that Newsmax.com has about Kerry contemplating legal action is an anonymous tip. I would guess that, in the end, Kerry will decline to take any such action, and that for the same reason he declined to pursue any recount in Ohio--because the process of evidentiary discovery would embarrass him and vindicate his opponents, which is exactly what he would not want.
posted by Temlakos at 10:50 PM
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