Douments reveal FBI surveillance of Kerry in early 1970s [ Partisan Media Spin Alert ]

CNN ^ | 3/23/04 | Phil Hirschkorn

[anonymous_user]

NEW YORK (CNN) -- John Kerry's combat experience in Vietnam is central to his bid to become the next commander-in-chief, but Kerry's outspoken opposition to that war drew the personal attention of the president of the United States and FBI agents 33 years ago, documents reviewed by CNN reveal.

[anonymous_user]

Kerry is the spokesman for guys who discuss killing elected officials, yet the FBI and Nixon are the bad guys for investigating Kerry's actions? There was so much counterclockwise spin in this piece, I think days have to be 25 hours now. Your comments are welcome.

[EEDUDE]

It was common knowledge in the late 60's that the FBI, among others, monitored the activities of subversive groups like VVAW, Weather Underground, SDS, etc.

Anyone professing shock at this either wasn't there or is just plain lying.

These groups contained a significant number of people dedicated to overthrowing the US government.

They SHOULD have been monitored.

[hang 'em]

I wonder about the circumstances of Senator Heinz's death (Tereza's first hubby and source of her wealth).

What did Kerry know and when did he know it?

[dirtboy]

Considering that Kerry's group ended up plotting the assasination of United States Senators, I think the FBI interest in them was quite justified. But this is classic Dem counterspin - when information that is bad for their side comes out, put the means of getting the information on trial in the media. The exact same thing happended with the Senate memos - the media got all over the leak instead of the vile content of the memos.

[paguch]

I believe Kerry may be innocent of planning to kill U.S. Senators and probably spoke against it. He possibly should have followed his considerable conscience and reported these possible actions to the FBI. He may have.

Regardless, I am sure all will agree that all of this will be cleared up when Senator Kerry, a man of great conscience, releases his FBI files.

[dirtboy]

I wonder about the circumstances of Senator Heinz's death (Tereza's first hubby and source of her wealth). What did Kerry know and when did he know it?

That's quite a stretch. Heinz was killed in a bizarre accident close to where I live. To have him assasinated would have entailed having the pilot of a plane feign landing gear problems and a helicopter pilot fly into the bottom of the plane - with both being willing to die.

Nah, Kerry's just an opportunistic sleaze.

[The G Man]

"It was Kerry, the articulate Yale graduate and Navy lieutenant with three Purple Hearts for wounds and a Bronze Star and a Silver Star for bravery, who became the first veteran to testify about the war before Congress."

Geez, I didn't know that. (/sarcasm off)

[Congressman Billybob]

CNN takes the half-truth tack in this article, the same as the Washington Post, yesterday. This is not as bad as the L.A. Times, which wrote about this general subject with NO mention of the assassination plot. But CNN is still dishonest by saying there was "some discussion of assassinating some officials," rather than a specific vote that Kerry participated in, on whether to assassinate seven named Senators.

FreeRepublic is now six days ahead of the lamestream media in covering this story. I am grateful to the research work of Freepers, which allowed me to include this Kerry story in my latest column, "Clear Eye for the Hate Guy."

Congressman Billybob

Click here, then click the blue CFR button, to join the anti-CFR effort (or visit the "Hugh & Series, Critical & Pulled by JimRob" thread). Please do it now.

[VadeRetro]

Saith CN freakin' N:

But before that gathering adjourned, there was some discussion about the idea of assassinating American leaders who voted to prolong the war, said Nicosia and three veterans who attended the gathering.

Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!

The true radicalism of Kerry's past is starting to trickle out. He'll never climb above 45 percent again, Nader in or Nader out.

[Piquaboy]

He will release his FBI files at the same time he releases his military medical records.

[mtbopfuyn]

"It is almost surreal to learn the extent to which I was followed by the FBI," Kerry said in a written statement to CNN Monday. "The experience of having been spied on for the act of engaging in peaceful patriotic protest makes you respect civil rights and the Constitution even more."

Excuse me, but the FBI doesn't have the time or the manpower to spy on every Joe and Joanna Average protester. It takes something or someone very big for them to take notice and pay the phone bill.

Scott Camil, a Florida vet who put forward the idea, says the notion didn't get very far. "If people considered our plans to be so bad, we would have been charged, and they would have made a big stink about it."

If it was nothing more than an off handed joke explain why 4 board members promptly resigned.

[antiRepublicrat]

And somehow they were able to gather all this intelligence without the PATRIOT Act.

[mtbopfuyn]

I wonder about the circumstances of Senator Heinz's death (Tereza's first hubby and source of her wealth).

I've wondered about this too. Heinz's death, I'm sure, was an accident but didn't he have a couple of Kerry's negative letters he read somewhere (don't remember the circumstances). Heinz's didn't care for Kerry so how did he get in so tight with the widow Tay?

[ravingnutter]

{drip...drip...drip...}

Kerry Still Called Himself The Head Of VVAW In January 1973

Kerry camp hiring 'assassin'? (Man who plotted murder of congressmen offered job)

Kerry Met With Viet Cong And North Vietnamese In Paris In 1971

Mr. Waffle will soon be toast.

[anonymous_user]

Help me out. Is that non sequitor or ad hominem?

[ravingnutter]

From the Post-Gazette:

I remember it because it happened at the annual Lincoln Day Dinner of the Allegheny County Republican Party, March 20, 1991, at the William Penn Hotel.

At the time the first George Bush was still flush with victory in the Persian Gulf, and dinnergoers chortled over a videotaped presentation of assorted senate Democrats backpedaling in the wake of a war they'd opposed. Ted Kennedy was shown. News clips were shown. But for Kerry, the speaker simply read the two letters, to everyone's amazement.

"It's like those before-and-after pictures they print in the papers," the speaker said. "If they didn't tell you so themselves, you'd think they were different people."

Kerry has to remember that one. The speaker was Sen. John Heinz. Two weeks later, he would die in a plane crash. Four years after that, Kerry would marry his widow -- a woman who speaks directly and without equivocation and doesn't need two sets of letters to make her mind known.

He might want to ask her for a copy of the speech.

Source

[Sabertooth]

Considering that Kerry's group ended up plotting the assasination of United States Senators, I think the FBI interest in them was quite justified.

The FBI wasn't tailing the VVAW for the assassination plot, they never learned of it. Notice the citation from the FBI files that the Kerry campaign is putting forth as exculpatory (it's actually damning, as I'll explain):

""A review of the subject's file reveals nothing whatsoever to link the subject with any violent type activity," concludes a May 1972 FBI memo about Kerry provided by his campaign.

The FBI never learned of Kerry's presence at the VVAW's Phoenix Project discussions about assassinating six U.S. Senators, because the meeting in Kansas City was moved twice to avoid surveillance.

The reason this cite from the memo is actually trouble for Kerry is that it demonstrates he never informed law enforcement of the plot.

[mtbopfuyn]

Thanks. Flip, flop. Flip, flop.

[antiRepublicrat]

Help me out. Is that non sequitor or ad hominem?

Neither, just going a bit off-topic to another popular topic.

[anonymous_user]

Yikes! Apologies for the snarkieness. I shouldn't post before I'm awake.

Actually, since you brought it up, I'd like to know why the Patriot Act is so evil from someone other than a leftist news anchor. Care to post or freepmail some links?