Posted on 07/01/2004 5:43:54 PM PDT by The Bandit
BOSTON -- When Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry dismissed calls that he make his divorce records public, he apparently didn't know many of them already are.
In 1988 Kerry and his first wife, Julia Thorne, were granted a "no-fault" divorce after 18 years of marriage. They cited the generic grounds of "irretrievable breakdown of the marriage," according to divorce records.
The only portion of the records that are sealed involve the couple's financial information, including salary, assets and debts, which are impounded in all divorce cases, Assistant Norfolk Probate Registrar John Jenney said.
Kerry has denounced inquiries about whether his divorce records should be unsealed, a question that has been raised frequently since Illinois Republican candidate Jack Ryan dropped out of the U.S. Senate race last week. His unsealed divorce and child custody records revealed allegations that he tried to pressure his former wife, television actress Jeri Lynn Ryan, to have sex in public at clubs.
Kerry spokeswoman Stephanie Cutter said when Kerry said he wouldn't make his divorce records public "he was probably thinking about the pieces that are sealed."
After nearly six years of separation, Kerry and Thorne filed jointly for a divorce on June 24, 1988. Norfolk Probate Court Judge James Sweeney approved the divorce on July 25, 1988.
A separation agreement, which included custody and alimony arrangements, was presented to the judge, but it is not included in the public file. It is within the judge's discretion to allow the attorneys in the case to hold them in their own files, which they did in this case.
According to Jenney, separation agreements do not contain the grounds for divorce but the nitty-gritty of the financial arrangement between the two parties.
On June 9, 1995, Kerry and Thorne submitted an application to impound "all pleadings and other papers filed with the Court" in connection with their divorce. Norfolk Probate Court Judge John Cronin denied the request the same day.
Massachusetts became a no-fault state in 1978, meaning that parties do not have to provide a reason for the divorce unless one side contests it.
Kerry and Thorne married on May 23, 1970. They had two daughters, Alexandra and Vanessa. Kerry married Teresa Heinz, the widow of Pennsylvania Sen. John Heinz, in May 1995.
(Excerpt) Read more at boston.com ...
Did Kerry get alimony?
It sounds like AP's Jennifer Peter is running interference for the Kerry camp. 'The records, well most of them, are already available...'
The yacht she bought him wasn't big enough.
"Many of them already are"?
That seems to be the Kerry mantra. Many of his military records are available too--those he choses to show on his web site. The rest are sealed.
We still don't even know whether or not he has received the annulment he requested. I presume that he has not, because if he had he would have made it selectively public.
"Did Kerry get alimony?
Beter question....was he married in the Catholic Church the first time? Did he get a church annulment? If not, why is he remarried and receive Communion?
The annulment records are the ones I would like to see, You can get a divorce because you no longer like one another, Annullment is another story you have to have a reason, such as not consumating the marriage, or someone told a big lie.
An AP reporter, Karen Gullo, did the same for the Clintons.
Catholic annulments are easy to get, particularly if you can afford a nice donation. The reason can be as simple as one of the parties didn't "have an honest intention" in marrying.
I have no doubt that Kerry got one in the Boston diocese, and the records won't show anything interesting.
I said yesterday, I would rather the records weren't opened. Since there is probably nothing of substance in them, there is more political traction to be gained if they are left sealed. People will wonder why Jack Ryans political career was destroyed because his were opened and Kerry gets a pass. The perception of bias by the courts is a negative to JF'nK in my opinion. And it doesn't take a genius to spot it.
Poor Julia. After 18 years she was bored nearly to death. Doctors revived her with repeated showings of Saturday Night Live's first year...especially the one with Paul Simon in the turkey costume.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
