Some Bad Advice that Kerry Won't TakeRichard Doak suggests that
he sue the Swiftees:
The Swift Boat Veterans for Truth was the group that, among other charges, asserted that Kerry did not deserve the combat medals he was awarded by the Navy in Vietnam. The available evidence indicated the Swift Boat assertions were false.
For a public figure to win a libel suit, however, it is not sufficient to establish that the statements were false. The plaintiff must be able to prove that the statements were published with "actual malice." That is, the Swift Boat Veterans must have known the information was false or published it with reckless disregard for whether it was true or false.
Kerry would have a heavy burden of proof if he decided to sue, but he might be able to show at least a reckless disregard, perhaps even knowing falsehood. Statements made by some in the group apparently differed from statements they had made in the past.Nobody looked closer at the Swift Boat Vets said last year than I did; you can tell with the little weasel words ("available evidence" and "apparently differed") that Doak didn't. Kerry doesn't have a prayer of winning a trial for libel. The fact is the Swiftees caught Kerry in ten lies for every error they made (Correction per Tom the RiverRat: For every conclusion that the Swiftees reached that is still unproven by the historical record). And in any libel trial, the first thing any defense lawyer would petition for is the complete Naval record of the Boston Strangler. We know the extraordinary lengths Kerry went to avoid having those released.
Kerry also probably could prove that the Swift Boat campaign cost him votes and possibly the election, bolstering the case for stiff punitive damages.Sigh. Let me guess, Doak does not suggest that President Bush sue CBS News and 60 Minutes?
John O'Neill and the Swiftees are praying that John Kerry will be stupid enough to sue them. There's a reason why Susan Estrich discovered that the Kerry Campaign had no "talking points" on these issues; it's because what they said was substantially true, from Christmas in Cambodia to Where Was Rassmann.
