Kerry Friend Beau Dietl 'Shocked' by Assassination Plot

NewsMax.com ^ | March 20, 2004 | Carl Limbacher

[Carl/NewsMax]

Legendary former New York City homicide detective Beau Dietl said Saturday that he was "shocked" by reports that Sen. John Kerry participated in a 1971 Kansas City meeting of the Vietnam Veterans Against the War where a plot to assassinate seven U.S. Senators was considered.

"I was shocked listening to the story," Dietl told WABC Radio's Monica Crowley, who had just broadcast an update by the reporter who broke the news last week, The New York Sun's Thomas Lipscomb.

"I like John very, very much as a person," said Dietl, who's a personal friend of the Massachusetts Democrat. "But if this has any validity to it, it could be earth shattering."

Dietl said Kerry may have committed a crime if he took part in any discussions about the assassination plot.

"When you talk about killing somebody that's conspiracy to commit murder," he told Crowley. "At the point you talk about it you're guilty of a crime."

Dietl said it made no difference whether or not the plot was carried out, telling Crowley, "By just talking about it, it's the crime of conspiracy."

The former lawman, who now operates his own security firm "Beau Dietl & Associates," urged his old friend to come clean about the 1971 episode, warning, "Once they start to cover things up, that's when the crimes are going to start to begin again."

Dietl went out of his way to assure Crowley that, despite his comments, he has a warm relationship with the likely Democratic nominee, explaining, "John Kerry is a friend of mine. He was at my birthday party. I was at Mara Lago with him last year and he's a good person."

[Texasforever]

To me the fact that he apparently did not report the meeting to the Feds is damning regardless of his subsequent protest resignation. He had guilty knowledge of a conspiracy as far as I can see. I will now stop playing lawyer because this is too bazaar for me.

[Hon]

"Helms is/was an unlikely target as he was elected to the Senate in 1972 and took his seat in January 1973."

Right. And Helms was a name cited by Terry DuBose who was there for the vote. So it just goes to show you how memory is untrustworthy to some extent.

[Texasforever]

Wonder if the shooters were vets?

Was anyone charged for the shooting?

[texasbluebell]

Strange that John Tower died in a plane crash as did John Heinz.

And even more strangely, as someone posted the other day, those 2 died just one day apart. (It was a number of years though after the meeting that is the topic of discussion, however.)

[Texasforever]

To me, if he VOTED

BINGO! He should have made a citizens arrest. No I am not trying to be funny.

[Hon]

This thing won't be decided on the legalisms anyway--if the public ever get wind of it, that is.

It will probably come down to whether Kerry should have "ratted on his pals" versus, "he had a moral obligation to report this discussion."

The Kerry camp is already trying to palm it off as just a footnote to history and nothing of interest. It will be interesting to see if the media accepts that. You can be sure they wouldn't if it were a Republican candidate for the Presidency.

I mean, in the grand scheme of things, I think most people would find this more significant than say attending 9 days worth of National Guard meetings (which Bush DID attend). But of course the media have a different agenda from regular people.

[Texasforever]

Well in any debate that Brit Hume is a part of it would be interesting to see the question asked, right after Peter Jennings asks GW about the ANG.

[Howlin]

Do you know if he voted?

[Texasforever]

I have no idea. He sure as hell didn't report it though.

[pepsionice]

I think Hillery is sitting there and just smiling...the state election business is wrapped up and either Kerry dumps all of his electors, or they go with a iron-clad loser. I bet Kerry withdraws by mid-July and Hillery is coached into running.

[Howlin]

From what I have read, the plot/plan was discussed for a day and a half; if he stayed more than 15 minutes, he needs to be arrested; and for more than one "count."

[Sabertooth]

That's an excellent point, and Stennis is somebody who had been in my mind since I read about that near-fatal shooting.

I remember it was called a robbery right away. Watergate was just breaking, the Ervin Committee had convened, and Wallace had been shot the year before, so a report of a Senator having been shot made the mind immediately leap to "assassination," but it was reported as a bungled robbery. The perps were captured, two of them, if I recall correctly.

Here are a couple of links, though they are sparse on info...

Several years ago, the late United States Senator John Stennis of Mississippi was shot during an attempted robbery in front of his Washington, D.C. home.  One of the first persons to rush to his bedside was Senator Mark Hatfield of Oregon.  The reported story of their friendship amazed many students of politics.  Mark Hatfield was a liberal Republican and outspoken critic of the Vietnam War.  John Stennis was a conservative Democrat and one of the war's staunchest supporters.
Faith in Politics
Paul Hillegonds | Fifth Annual Henry Lecture
Calvin College | April 30, 2001

Senator Stennis' unselfish achievements during his long years of hard work did not come without great adversity. In 1973 he was shot twice during a holdup attempt in his front yard in northwest Washington, D. C. Although doctors didn't at first give much hope of Senator Stennis' survival, then later of ever walking again, he surprised practically everyone and recovered almost completely. He said his chief thought during those doubtful days was, "Would I be useful?" Senator Stennis' dedication and commitment to duty would not allow him to stop or slow down.
U.S. Senator John C. Stennis
www.ssc.nasa.gov/about/history/stennis

This is a weird one, apparently from a foreign language reading comprehension test, but it basically fits with my recollection...

Senator Stennis was the victim of a classic street crime. He happened to be an important politician, but that is not why he was shot. What happened to him could happen to anyone else.

Senator Stennis, Who is 71, Got out of his white car at 7:40 p.m. , outside his home at 3609 Cumberland Street. Two youths said, "Get them up." He put up no resistance. He handed over his wallet containing credit cards, driver's license, and the like, a gold watch and all the cash he had in his pockets-- twenty-five cents. The youths said, " Get them up." He put up no resistance. He handed over his wallet containing credit cards, driver's license, and the like, a gold watch and all the cash he had in his pockets¬ótwenty-five cents. The youths said either "Now we're going to shoot you any way," or "We ought to shoot you anyway." Anyway they did. One bullet hit him in the thigh and struck the bone, and the other entered his chest just below the breast pocket of his suit. It narrowly missed his heart.

Senator Stennis is a powerful political figure, but it is unlikely that the two young men knew who he was.

More likely his offense was that he had no more cash than a quarter¬ónot enough for a taking of drugs or two cups of coffee.
LINK

[Hon]

Thanks. Of course by that time the war in Vietnam was effectively over. (And had been since January 1973.) But that might not have stopped someone with a bee in their bonnet.

[Sabertooth]

The Kerry camp is already trying to palm it off as just a footnote to history and nothing of interest. It will be interesting to see if the media accepts that.

The can't call it a footnote with the Kerry 2004 campaign in contact with Scott Camil, trying to get the Greenpeace vote in Florida.

[Hon]

From what I have read, the plot/plan was discussed for a day and a half; if he stayed more than 15 minutes, he needs to be arrested; and for more than one "count."

+++++

As I've mentioned elsewhere, Randy Barnes (who is currently working on the Kerry Campaign) said at the time that everyone knew that by participating in this discussion they were laying themselves open to being charge for criminal conspiracy. (Paraphrasing because I'm too lazy to look up the exact quote.)

[Hon]

Okay, here's the exact quote (from HOME TO WAR):

According to Barnes, everybody knew that the discussion in that hall "was grounds for criminal indictment of conspiracy."

[Howlin]

I can't wait to see how Douglas Brinkley explains not having THIS in his book either; what is this now, about five things he missed?

[Hon]

AFAIK, Brinkley didn't talk about Kerry and the other VVAW members' trips to Paris to meet (and negotiate) with the Vietcong and North Vietnamese representatives either.

If Nicosia mentioned this, I've yet to notice it.

A cynical person might begin to wonder if he and Brinkley didn't set out to sanitize Kerry's anti-war activities.

[Sabertooth]

Thanks. Of course by that time the war in Vietnam was effectively over. (And had been since January 1973.) But that might not have stopped someone with a bee in their bonnet.

Well, Stennis was shot on January 30th, 1973, and the Paris Peace Accords were signed January 17th, with the cease-fire taking effect on January 27th, 1973.

AGREEMENT ON ENDING THE WAR AND RESTORING PEACE IN VIET-NAM
The Parties participating in the Paris Conference on Viet-Nam,

With a view to ending the war and restoring peace in Viet-Nam on the basis of respect for the Vietnamese people's fundamental national rights and the South Vietnamese people's right to self- determination, and to contributing to the consolidation of peace in Asia and the world,

Have agreed on the following provisions and undertake to respect and to implement them:

Chapter I
THE VIETNAMESE PEOPLE'S FUNDAMENTAL NATIONAL RIGHTS

Article 1

The United States and all other countries respect the independence, sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity of Viet-Nam as recognized by the 1954 Geneva Agreements on Viet- Nam.

Chapter II
CESSATION OF HOSTILITIES - WITHDRAWAL OF TROOPS,

Article 2

A cease-fire shall be observed throughout South Viet-Nam as of 2400 hours G.M.T. [Greenwich Mean Time], on January 27, 1973.

At the same hour, the United States will stop all its military activities against the territory of the Democratic Republic of Viet-Nam by ground, air and naval forces, wherever they may be based, and end the mining of the territorial waters, ports, harbors, and waterways of the Democratic Republic of Viet-Nam. The United States will remove, permanently deactivate or destroy all the mines in the territorial waters, ports, harbors, and waterways of North Viet-Nam as soon as this Agreement goes into effect.




Agreement on Ending the War and Restoring Peace in Vietnam
signed in Paris and entered into force January 17, 1973

IIRC, we continued bombing between the 17th and 27th, because the North kept fighting.

[Howlin]

Not exactly "the" authoritative book on Kerry, is it?

Hell, by the time we get to the convention, Brinkley may have made as many revisions as Toobin did!