John Kerry's Watergate

Insight on the News ^ | Sept 16, 2003 | John Pike

[Hon]

Heard of Watergate? Get ready for Lowellgate.

On Sept. 18, 1972, the evening before the primary election during his second attempt for Congress, Kerry's brother Cameron and one Thomas Vallely, both part of his current campaign team, were arrested by Lowell police at 1:40 a.m. and charged with breaking and entering with the intent to commit larceny. The two were apprehended in the basement of a building whose door had been forced open, police said. It housed the headquarters of candidate DiFruscia. The Watergate scandal was making headlines at this time, and it was called the Lowell Watergate.

"They wanted to sever my telephone lines," DiFruscia said recently. Had those lines been cut, Kerry's opponent would not have been able to telephone supporters on Election Day to get out the vote and coordinate poll watchers, vital roles in a close election. "I do not know if they wanted to break into my office," says DiFruscia today. At the time he said, "All my IBM cards and the list of my voter identification in the greater Lowell area are in my headquarters."

Cameron and Vallely, along with David Thorne, who was Kerry's campaign manager at the time and has been close to him since they attended Yale together, did not deny the two entered the building in which they were captured. They said at the time they were in the cellar of the building to check their own telephone lines because they had received an anonymous call warning they would be cut.

This reporter heard an allegation that another congressional candidate placed the alleged anonymous call, which was denied. But if the Kerry campaign was concerned about someone breaking and entering to cut off its telephone service, why didn't they just call the police? Why break the law? And what does any of this say about Kerry's mind-set? Kerry campaign officials did not answer important Lowellgate questions.

The case was transferred to superior court and continued without a finding, where it was dismissed about a year later. But since it happened at the last minute, and Kerry won the primary but went on to lose the general election, this ugly business did not receive intense media scrutiny. Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein were busy investigating another break-in.

[Hon]

Note: The caption in the cartoon reads: "You say the Fifth in Massachusetts? I'll be right up."

[Hon]

To win the primary, the newcomer overcame the election eve arrest of his brother, Cameron, and campaign field director Thomas J. Vallely, both then 22, in the basement of a Lowell building that housed the headquarters of Kerry and another Democratic contender, state Representative Anthony R. DiFruscia of Lawrence. It was almost 2 a.m. - 30 hours before the polls opened - when the two were arrested on charges of breaking and entering with intent to commit larceny.

That day's Sun blared a memorable, double-deck headline: "Kerry brother arrested in Lowell `Watergate."' DiFruscia, getting some extra ink in the campaign's waning hours, had drawn the parallel to the break-in at Democratic headquarters in Washington three months earlier.

The Kerry camp declared it a setup, saying that the two responded to an anonymous phone call, minutes earlier, threatening to cut the campaign's 36 phone lines on the day before its get-out-the-vote effort. Lowell Police arrested the pair in an area near the trunk line for all of the building's phones.

To this day Kerry becomes animated talking about the episode, convinced it was part of a conspiracy against his insurgency. He said he does not know who was involved. He dismissed as ridiculous the charge that DiFruscia was a target. "He didn't figure in the race," said Kerry.

But some of Kerry's claims in the Lowell break-in are wildly at odds with the facts.

"That headline was held open. That page was held open, according to [Sun] typesetters, at 1 o'clock in the morning," Kerry said. "That doesn't happen at a newspaper, you know that. And that headline was out there on the streets the next morning, first thing."

The Sun, however, was an afternoon paper, and its first deadline was hours after the arrests, in plenty of time to write the story for that day's editions. The Eagle-Tribune of Lawrence also reported the arrests that day, in a smaller story under the headline "Shades of Watergate?"

Kerry's brother today declines to elaborate on the circumstances surrounding the arrests and the charges, which were dropped a year later.

"It was an impulsive, rash thing that we did and that John Kerry ended up having to deal with," said Cam Kerry, now a partner at the Boston law firm of Mintz Levin Cohn Ferris Glovsky and Popeo. "That's all we're going to say on that one."

Vallely, a former Marine who served in Vietnam and later became a state representative in Boston, had more to say.

"I kicked in the door," he said, and then, police swarmed the area. Vallely said DiFruscia's office was of no interest; the Kerry phone lines were. In hindsight, he said, "We probably were overreacting to someone who was joking."

http://www.boston.com/globe/nation/packages/kerry/061803.shtml

[Cautor]

Thanks for the post. Interesting.

[Dog]

This is how Chris Lehane works his black magic...

[Dog]

Kerry has just been smacked by Chris Lehane.

[Bogey78O]

Interesting...

[surrey]

I'm hoping that Howie Carr knows some interesting tidbits about our horse-faced Senator. I know Howie thought it pretty funny that Kerry keeps talking about "special interests". I guess he's the King of "special interests". Howie, if you're a lurker, which I'm pretty certain you are, start spilling the beans on John Forbes Kerry.

[Dog]

Beats the evening deadline so it can get in tomorrow mornings newspaper and will be repeated all day on the cable networks. Watch Drudge feature this later .....might even rate a siren and light.

[mewzilla]

Vallely on Ketchup Boy. From this link a quote:

“John needs a kind of tension to be at his best,” the article quoted Thomas Vallely, a Vietnam vet and close friend of Kerry. “Part of him needs the high-wire act.”

This from Ketchup Boy's friend and advisor...

[Cautor]

Kerry has just been smacked by Chris Lehane

Lehane: the king of political porn strikes again, this time hitting the French-looking candidate who believes we need a permission slip from the UN before we can protect our national security.

[Bogey78O]

Well we need to slow him down so Dean can catch up.

Heaven help us if they latch on to Edwards. EH's really their best chance of beating Bush.

[Hon]

Given that Anthony R. DiFruscia is now a state Representative in New Hampshire, you would think this might make some news in the New Hampshire primaries.

http://www.republicanstatehouses.com/profile.asp?ID=4385

But the media is too busy trying to figure who is ahead.

[Mo1]

LOL .. with pictures of the paper too !

[Dog]

I was wondering when he would strike. Cutting it a little close with this one.....wonder what major media outlet picks this up first. I know Lehane shopped this to several outlets so when this breaks ....it will overwhelm the Kerry camp.

That is the Lehane MO.....and how he almost did Bush in with the DUI charge..

[I_be_tc]

bump for later read

[Dog]

I love politics..

[mewzilla]

Click here for both parts of John Pike's article The Many Faces of John Kerry.

[mewzilla]

Is Mary Beth Cahill still Ketchup Boy's campaign manager? If so, with her around, who needs to worry about Lehane?

[Dog]

Hey mew did Lehane call you....LOL!

[mewzilla]

In his dreams :)

[Mo1]

LOL .. so do I

And Dang I have to go to my laws now, could ya ping me to anything good you see?

[mystery-ak]

I love politics too, but this year is going to be a doozy, if I survive..LOL

[Dog]

Will do...

[expatpat]

What is the tagline under the cartoon?

[Cautor]

Cutting it a little close with this one

I agree. But just a few short days ago, Kerry didn't look like he needed whacking because his campaign was tanking in NH and elsewhere. Ketchup boy came on fast and furious.

[Hon]

It's above it:

Note: The caption in the cartoon reads: "You say the Fifth in Massachusetts? I'll be right up."

This is a reference to how Kerry shopped around for a Congressional District to run in. That's a scandal in itself.

[Hon]

"But some of Kerry's claims in the Lowell break-in are wildly at odds with the facts."

And this is from the Boston Globe!

[annyokie]

Heaven help us if they latch on to Edwards. EH's really their best chance of beating Bush. Hubby and I have been saying this for at least a week.

[Bogey78O]

Yea, he'll swing enough votes in the South to maybe capture one or two states and he's guaranteed the liberal states who are voting ABB- anyone but Bush.

Kerry has that same inocuous appela but not enough to capture swing states.

[Miss Marple]

Earlier today Walter Shapiro was being interviewed on Fox and he said that there could still be "surprises" which might affect the race. I said then (on the Sunday Talk Show thread) that I thought that Shapiro had caught wind of something Lehane was floating.

Ta-da!!!

[M Kehoe]

The sad part about this article is that everyone (including Republicans) expect the democRATs (i.e. the Longs', Kennedys', Daleys', etc.) to commit voter fraud (i.e dead people voting, felons, etc.), electioneering, B&E, wiretapping, walk-around money, larceny, strong arm tactics, foreign contributions, etc., etc.

Nothing new here, time to moveon.org (AA).

(AA=anti-American A$$holes) Kinda like the ACLU.

5.56mm

[MJY1288]

I saw that and I wondered why Shapiro would use the word "surprise" in the way he did

[Hon]

"Kerry has just been smacked by Chris Lehane."

I have no idea what you or Miss Marple are trying to suggest with these remarks.

I found this material myself via Google. Anybody could do it. (In fact, more people should be doing it.)

[Hon]

"Earlier today Walter Shapiro was being interviewed on Fox and he said that there could still be "surprises" which might affect the race. I said then (on the Sunday Talk Show thread) that I thought that Shapiro had caught wind of something Lehane was floating.

Ta-da!!!"

Again, this post is not the handy work of any backroom politicking and it is laughable that you and others are suggesting this. Do you think it makes you sound worldly?

If more people would just use their browsers and maybe spend a little less time chatting, you'd be amazed what you can find. (This is not directed at you, personally.)

It is also counter-productive to try to suggest that this is just opposition research. That cheapens my and other people's efforts.

[Timesink]

I don't think this is Lehane. Look at the dates on those articles; they're from last year, when Lehane still worked for Kerry.

It's too late now for any Lehane puke politics to have much of an effect on Tuesday's voting. My guess is that Clark has, with good reason, written off NH to focus more on other states, and Lehane is thus holding back in case he needs to drop this bomb later on.

[Peach]

Good catch on the date. The ONLY bomb anyone would need to drop on Clark would be today's transcript of the Stepanapolous show.

He pulled a Clinton with the word "the". I checked the ABC website and in order to get a transcript I'd have to fork over $19.95 and knowing ABC, they've probably expunded the portion I'll repeat here.

George asked Clark why he supported "the Iraq resolution for war last year but is opposed to it now."

Clark responded "that depends on the meaning of the word 'the'."!!! No joke. We didn't hear the follow up to that sentence because we were literally roaring with laughter and a mixture of disgust and anger.

What's with a candidate that he would parse the word "the"; way to Clintonian for my tastes.

[Grut]

But if the Kerry campaign was concerned about someone breaking and entering to cut off its telephone service, why didn't they just call the police?

Best reason in the world: the police were not fond of the protest movement and no competent political operative would have given them any entry whatever into the Kerry campaign.

If this 'issue' isn't DOA, it'll only serve to make those who promote it look like partisan idiots.

[mabelkitty]

So who bankrolled Kerry in his first run for Congress.
Who wanted him to win and run so badly, and what did they get in return?
Big Dig connection?

[Neenah]

Turn on C-SPAN....NOW !

[mabelkitty]

In light of the article, I thought it was a reference "to the Fifth".

[Hon]

"So who bankrolled Kerry in his first run for Congress."

This was actually not Kerry's first foray into politics. He had tested the waters before--as a Vietnam hero. But when that proved to be unpopular, he ran again later as a war protester.

But it is an interesting question, given that Kerry's campaigns were always record-setters for being the most expensive to date. This has been true at every level he has run.

[mabelkitty]

Stunning.
Clark's done.

Does anybody know when this and his dereliction of duty in regards to NATO will make big news?

[kcvl]

Sen. John Kerry (D-MA), left, gestures under a bust of Ho Chi Minh, during a Nov. 1994 meeting in Hanoi with Do Muoi, general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam. In 1955, as a leader in the communist land reform movement, Muoi helped annihilate Vietnam's middle-class landowners. Over 50,000 Vietnamese landowners were murdered that year, making it one of the bloodiest periods in Vietnam's history.

[mabelkitty]

Hence, my question - who was desperately trying to get Kerry into Congress and footing all the bills.

[XHogPilot]

“John needs a kind of tension to be at his best,” the article quoted Thomas Vallely, a Vietnam vet and close friend of Kerry. “Part of him needs the high-wire act.”

Very understandable. Kerry was a SEAL. Knowing many a Special Ops guy, I truly believe some acquire an strong addiction to adrenalin.

[mabelkitty]

What's going on?

[kcvl]

Senate connection to Riady/Lippo Group.


An indication of just how deep and subtle Red Chinese roots run in U.S. business and government affairs deals with Sen. John Sidney McCain (R-AZ) and Sen. John Forbes Kerry (D-MA). Both McCain and Kerry fought long and hard to provide the political cover Clinton needed when he made the controversial decision to normalize trade and diplomatic relations with Vietnam.

McCain's current wife, Cindy, is the daughter of James Hensley, who is the second largest Anheuser-Busch distributor in the United States. Sen. McCain is an officer in Hensley & Co. and Cindy is a vice president. The McCain family owns several million dollars in Anheuser-Busch stock.

As a part of an aggressive campaign to enhance its international standing in the beer market, Anheuser-Busch has been signing contracts and investing hundreds of millions building brewery operations in China and Vietnam. It remains unclear whether any of those contracts involve Lippo.

Documents retrieved from the Internet reveal that Riady's Lippo is the holder of a license for Sea World in Indonesia and that Anheuser-Busch owns all the Sea World themeparks in the United States as well as some overseas. Again, this begs the question, is there a connection between Anheuser-Busch and Lippo?

McCain has requested the Justice Department appoint an independent council to investigate Huang and the Lippo group for the contributions violations. Rep. Gerald Solomon (R-NY) has asked for investigators to focus on assertions made by James Riady, that Huang was "my man in the American government."

A member of Sen. Kerry's family, specifically his cousin, C. Stewart Forbes, is Chief Executive Officer of the Boston, Massachusetts-based Colliers International, one of the largest real estate federations in the world.

In Dec. 1992, Vietnam granted Colliers a contract designating Colliers the "exclusive real estate agent representing Vietnam." Colliers has since written contracts in Vietnam worth billions, upgrading Vietnam's ports, railroads, highways and government buildings.

Colliers is involved with Lippo in multimillion contracts in Indonesia. Kerry, who has a blind trust run by members of his family, claims he knows nothing about his cousin's business deals or affiliations.


http://216.239.41.104/search?q=cache:5Tyc-5o_i7cJ:ojc.org/powforum/editor/lippo2.htm+Senate+connection+to+Riady/Lippo+Group.&hl=en&ie=UTF-8

[mabelkitty]

How much has the Heinz empire increased in revenue since they've started distributing their products in Vietnam?

[kcvl]

Sunday, December 14, 2003

Post-war rebel

After requesting a discharge so that he could run for Congress -- from Massachusetts in 1970 -- Kerry dropped out of that race when he found that he was destined to be a loser.

Then, Kerry found a new cause that already had been active for three years, and which he today claims as his own. This former naval officer abandoned his oath of office, joined up with the hard-communist left and now claims to have founded Vietnam Veterans Against the War, or (VVAW). He did attend their conference in February 1971 with Jane Fonda -- Hanoi Jane, their most successful promoter and fund-raiser.

The VVAW made its debut in 1967, in New York City at an anti-Vietnam war protest that was also planning the disruption of the 1968 Democratic Party National Convention in Chicago. By the spring of 1970, it numbered several hundred members and the organization had gone national.

All without John Kerry, who remained in Boston.

Kerry later arrived in Washington for an encampment to protest the war, and to provide evidence against his country on Capitol Hill, dressed in his fatigues. Much of the speech Kerry gave to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee painted his fellow GIs as brutal sadists.

He picked up on the testimony of one Marine Sgt. Scott Camil, who said the U.S. military had raped, cut off ears, heads and limbs and participated in many other atrocities. He said that he found the accounts of torture "shocking and irrefutable."

In the last week of April 1971, some 250,000 protesters were in Washington for massive protests against the draft and the war. They were preparing for their attack on the U.S.government on May 4, when they hoped to shut down the capital. Kerry was everywhere, now promoting the pro-communist People's Peace Treaty, drawn up in East Germany and developed by Tom Hayden and Rennie Davis. The treaty advocated the communist line to withdraw all U.S.troops from Vietnam and then negotiate with Hanoi for the release of our GIs who had been taken prisoner.

But Kerry lost his support base, even then, by playing both sides. He attacked the May Day rioters as criminals for the looting, tire-slashing and window-breaking.

Kerry turned himself from a nonentity into a national icon. Since then, he has married twice, and his partner today is Teresa Heinz Kerry, the widow of Pennsylvania's late Sen. John Heinz. Teresa, despite this marriage in 1995, is a very bright and accomplished woman who, notwithstanding her 65 years, would, without the encumbrance of her present husband, have had a remarkable career.

But it is John Kerry who has had a more than remarkable career.

As long ago as June 1971, a reporter for the Marxist Liberated Guardian described how Kerry was raising money from Wall Street's liberal elite, led by Edgar Bronfman, president of Seagram's Distillers, who gave $5,000 of 1971 money. The writer, a true Marxist, bemoaned that the donors had previously supported the Vietnam War, and wrote: "Most of these financiers of political movements are only interested in 'future access to the White House.' Does Kerry want to be in the White House someday? And if he were, how would he answer their calls?"

The Democrats of the left have waited 32 years to find out what makes John Kerry tick. Now, they are finding out the truth.


Dateline D.C. is written by a Washington-based British journalist and political observer.