New Witness: Kerry Was Present at Dark Plot Meeting

NY SUN | 3-15-04 | Tom Lipscomb

[doug from upland]

Publication:The New York Sun;

Date:Mar 15, 2004;

Section:National;

Page:4

New Witness: Kerry Was Present at Dark Plot Meeting

Group Debated and Voted Down Plan To Assassinate Senators

By THOMAS H. LIPSCOMB Special to the Sun


    Another witness has come forward to attest that John Kerry was at a November 1971 meeting of Vietnam Veterans Against the War at which the group debated and voted down a plan to assassinate senators who supported the Vietnam War.

    A Kerry campaign spokesman, David Wade, has said Mr. Kerry did not attend the Kansas City meeting, and Kerry biographer Douglas Brinkley has said Mr. Kerry told him he was a “noshow.”

    “Kerry may have resigned shortly after that meeting or at the meeting…” recalled the VVAW Kansas State coordinator at the time, John Musgrave, in an interview that was published Saturday in the Kansas City Star. Mr. Musgrave is the third VVAW member at the time that has been named as seeing Mr. Kerry at Kansas City. Mr. Musgrave specifically remembered Mr. Kerry’s attendance and his speaking against the murder plot against the senators.

    The Star cited the national director of Veterans for Kerry, a former VVAW member, John Hurley, as saying: “I think he is confusing the St. Louis and Kansas City meetings.”

    But if Mr. Hurley is acknowledging that Mr. Kerry was present at the earlier St. Louis meeting, he is disagreeing with the Kerry spokesman, Mr.Wade, and calling into doubt a recent statement by Mr. Kerry.

    At a Capitol Hill press conference Thursday, 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 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 he had not spoken to Mr. Hubbard since the week of April 19, 1971. But in the New York Times of August 30, 1971, reporter Enid Nemy, covering an East Hampton fund-raising party for the Vietnam Veterans Against the War, states: “Later, Mr. Kerry and Al Hubbard, another veteran, explained some of the aims of the organization….”

    Those present included journalists Jimmy Breslin and Peter Maas, Bruce Jay Friedman, Tom Paxton, and Patricia Kennedy Lawford.

    In separate interviews with The New York Sun, both VVAW member Terry DuBose and Kerry biographer Mr. Brinkley have confirmed Mr. Kerry’s presence at the July St. Louis steering committee meeting of the VVAW.

    Gerald Nicosia, author of the 2001 book “Home to War,” also writes that Mr. Kerry was at that meeting. In a memorable account, Mr. Nicosia said Mr. Kerry “resigned from the executive committee” after a spectacular argument with Mr. Hubbard.“Kerry made a long speech punctuated at frequent intervals by the demand: ‘Who is Al Hubbard?’” and “challenged him to prove he was a Vietnam veteran.” According to the book, Mr. Hubbard “freaked out” and screamed insults at Mr. Kerry.

    In the Kansas City Star account, one of the three veterans who has placed Mr. Kerry at the Kansas City meeting, Randy Barnes, first was quoted as saying Mr. Kerry was in Kansas City, which is what he had stated in his interview with the Sun.

    According to the Star, “upon reflection later in the day [Barnes stated] that he could ‘not be absolutely certain’ that Kerry was in Kansas City for the meeting.”

    Terry DuBose, who initially remembered a great deal, began having failures of memory on a third call. And Scott Camil, who in his interview with the Sun could not recall whether Mr. Kerry was at the Kansas City meeting, suddenly remembered in talking with the Star several days later that Mr. Kerry was not.

    In a March 13, 2004, story, the New York Times cited concern among Democrats about “careless utterances of a fatigued, or undisciplined candidate,” but Mr. Wade reassured that “every statement he made we stand by.”

[Mo1]

Whether Kerry was there or not, or resigned before during or after the meeting are secondary considerations to his not reporting it. Not one version of his story denies that he knew about the group's plans for assassination.

Exactly

By not reporting it to the proper people is just as bad, if not worse then if he voted a yes

[Ditto]

Hummmm? What a turnabout. Now Kerry has to prove he did go AWAL from the VVAW. LOL. Serves the Fonda butt sniffer right.

[Registered]

Good post. Looks like you just moved into the driver's seat...lol.

[doug from upland]

No, it is still you know who's work. He deserves the credit. I don't want any credit. I want the RATS stopped.

[RippleFire]

bump

[trebb]

The lack of a huge, ululating howl from the Dims would indicate that they are trying to be low key about it - that usually indicates guilt...

[Bonaparte]

"...there should be a paper trail..."

Let's just hope the democrats' "cleaning lady" hasn't been there already.

[Smartass]

I haven't bothered to search federal statutes.
However, I believe if proven true, could carry a
nasty penalty. Your right, conspiracy to assassinate
federal officials, is trying to overthrow our government
with force. Could carry the death penalty.

If the idiot knew about, he should have not adhered to
an unwritten code of silence.

[dc-zoo]

The only mainstream media so far was fox on sunday afternoon. I don't understand why the other networks and even Drudge, Rush, and Hannity are ignoring this.

[pinz-n-needlez]

That's the sound bit! lol

We know Bush's teeth were in the National Guard /
Were Kerry's Teeth in KC?

Great job, Doug.

Pinz

[Sabertooth]

how many does this make 4???

These are the names I have of eyewitnesses that placed Kerry in Kansas City:

1. Randy Barnes
2. Terry DuBose
3. John Musgrave

Am I missing any?

Barnes and DuBose appear to be backtracking a bit.

Scott Camil, who hatched the assassination plot, hasn't placed Kerry at the Kansas City meeting.

Kerry's problem, however, will be his campaign's contacts with Camil in Florida discussing the possibility of some sort of "Greenpeace for Kerry" role for him. Camil's been on the public record for at least a dozen years as having plotted to assassinate Senators whil he was with the VVAW.

[Clodia Pulcher]

IF you Freepers want your favorite talk show hosts to cover it... send them a link and let them know.

They aren't psychic and none of us can read everything.

I am trying to get to as many of them as I can.. and you KNOW they DO pay attention

[Eva]

I am sure that the FBI has the truth because it was general modus operandi at that time for the FBI to infiltrate these groups and report everything that went on. I know because the FBI tried to recruit my cousin while she was a student at Berkeley.

[doug from upland]

I spoke with Laura Ingraham and she said she would get Tom on the air. Hugh Hewitt said he would do it. Larry Elder and Al Rantel have not yet responded.

[prairiebreeze]

Holy criminey Doug! Great work! Keep after them.

Prairie

[Clodia Pulcher]

As they used to say in the Westerns (this time looking at the phone)

"It's quiet."

"TOO quiet..."

[dd5339]

I was wondering if "Gunny Musgrave" was there. Guess this answers it.

Vic, got John's number where you could confirm this?

Semper Fi

[Vic3O3]

FWIW, I do know Mr Musgrave personally, and have for many years(ye gads! almost 30yrs...!) He is frightfully honest, AFAIK, and has a good memory. If he says he saw John Kerry at the KC VVAW meeting, I believe him.

And to answer your question DD, yes.

[Vic3O3]

FWIW, I do know Mr Musgrave personally, and have for many years(ye gads! almost 30yrs...!) He is frightfully honest, AFAIK, and has a good memory. If he says he saw John Kerry at the KC VVAW meeting, I believe him.

And to answer your question DD, yes.

[Carolinamom]

#24 Excellent question.