Posted on 08/23/2004 6:41:24 AM PDT by veronica
Did Navy Lt. Kerry violate The UCMJ?
August 23rd, 2004
The Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) is a federal law, enacted by Congress. Its provisions are contained in United States Code, Title 10, Chapter 47. Article 36 of the UCMJ allows the President to prescribe rules and procedures to implement the provisions of the UCMJ. The President does this via the Manual for Courts-Martial (MCM) which is an executive order that contains detailed instructions for implementing military law for the United States Armed Forces.
The UCMJ states:
ART. 104. AIDING THE ENEMY
Any person who--
(1) aids, or attempts to aid, the enemy with arms, ammunition, supplies, money, or other things; or
(2) without proper authority, knowingly harbors or protects or gives intelligence to or communicates or corresponds with or holds any intercourse with the enemy, either directly or indirectly;
shall suffer death or such other punishment as a court-martial or military commission may direct.
What we know:
John Kerry, in sworn testimony before the Senate in April 1971, said he met with the North Vietnamese and Vietcong delegations in Paris in May 1970. He said they discussed their peace proposals -- especially the eight points of Madam Binh. Kerry strongly recommended that the Senate accept those proposals.
I have been to Paris. I have talked with both delegations at the peace talks, that is to say the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and the Provisional Revolutionary Government and of all eight of Madam Binh's points...
…I realize that even my visits in Paris, precedents had been set by Senator McCarthy and others, in a sense are on the borderline of private individuals negotiating, et cetera.
In the ensuing months, Kerry became even more strident in his insistence that the US accept Madam Binh's (and the NVM and VC's) peace proposals.
Meanwhile, other representatives of Kerry's group, the Vietnam Veterans Against The War (VVAW ), met with the NVM and VC delegations in Paris, in March 1971. They were even photographed sitting at a table with them, as in a photo displayed in Winter Soldiers, by Richard Stacewicz, page 284:
Subsequently, VVAW representatives met with the North Vietnamese and Vietcong delegations on numerous occasions, both in Paris and even in Hanoi.
The VVAW even signed a treaty with the North Vietnamese which included all of Madam Binh's points, as noted by the historian of the anti-war movement, Gerald Nicosia, his book Home To War:
These people signed their own symbolic "people's peace treaty" with the Vietnamese. As Jan Barry recalls, the gesture was intended as a means of embracing the people they had harmed, of asking forgiveness for those they had killed.
You can read the "Peoples Peace Treaty" here:
According to Nicosia, FBI files show Kerry made another trip in 1971 to meet with the NVM and VC delegations:
The [FBI] files record that Kerry made another trip to Paris that summer to learn how the North Vietnamese might release prisoners.
It is quite likely that Kerry's actions were in violation of the so-called Logan Act: United States Code Title 18, Part I, Chapter 45, Sec. 953
Any citizen of the United States, wherever he may be, who, without authority of the United States, directly or indirectly commences or carries on any correspondence or intercourse with any foreign government or any officer or agent thereof, with intent to influence the measures or conduct of any foreign government or of any officer or agent thereof, in relation to any disputes or controversies with the United States, or to defeat the measures of the United States, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both.
Kerry's own comments in his Senate testimony show he might have been aware of this. But no one has ever been prosecuted under the Logan Act.
That might not be true of article 104 of the UMCJ, however.
Perhaps it is the fear of this legal liability that caused the Kerry camp to fudge the chronology of Kerry's service record to provide a two year gap, from (coincidentally) April 1970 to 1972.
January 1, 1970 Kerry promoted to (full) Lieutenant
January 3, 1970 Kerry requests discharge
March 1, 1970 Kerry's date of separation from Active Duty
April 29, 1970 Kerry listed as Registrant who has completed service
And then here:
John Kerry joined the United States Navy after college and served from 1966 through 1970 rising to the rank of Lieutenant, Junior Grade. Afterwards, Kerry continued his military service in the United States Naval Reserves from 1972 through 1978.
But the official Navy records show that Kerry was transferred from active duty to the Naval Reserve on January 3, 1970. He was put on standby reserve on 1 July 1972. He was finally discharged from the Navy on February 16, 1978.
So Lt. Kerry was in the Naval Reserves during the time he was meeting with the enemy. Did his reported activity not violate the UMCJ? If not, why not?
Looks like he did to me. But will anything come of it? No. I can't remember if UCMJ has a statute of limitations. But the violation is clear.
WILL KERRY TESTIFY (RAT OUT) BEFORE THE U.N. IF HE DISAGREES WITH AMERICAN POLICY.
I UNDERSTAND THAT HE IS ALREADY APPEALING TO KOFI ANAN TO HOLD HEARINGS AGAINST BUSH AND AMERICA IF HE LOSES.
Not to mention falsifying testimony on offical US Navy documents (after action reports...requests for citations and medals)?
It depends on what the meaning of "intercourse" is.
He has admitted to War Crimes while in Vietnam. Of course he has UCMJ.
violated
Bump, and pings to some well-versed in the UCMJ.
Kerry clearly violated the oath of office he he signed as a Naval Officer. This alone should have gotten him jail time.
SURPRISE!!!!!! Swifties are just making him squirm a little bit.......for now,at least :)
COINTELPRO 5/14/68
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Delphi/1553/fbi51468.html
COINTELPRO: The Untold American Story
http://www.jackblood.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/cointelpro.htm
Okay, here it is -- the mother lode of FBI files on Vietnam Veterans Against the War. This archive contains 21,477 pages of documents received in response to our Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, bundled up by the FBI as PDF-format Files of Unusual Size.
http://ice.he.net/~freepnet/kerry/staticpages/index.php?page=20040518192545112
This propaganda was also used against American soldiers in Vietnam. An interrogation report of an Enemy Proselytizing cadre stated "Photographs of peace movements had been sent to COSVN by the peace organizations in the US and these were used in the leaflets (NFI) and sometimes produced by the Source himself."…….. McCain for his inexplicable demeanor during the Select Committee hearing when he routinely attacked witnesses who suggested that the government's efforts in this issue had been less than exemplary. The current Vice President of the U.S. Trade Council is Ms. Francis Zwenig, who served as Chief of Staff for the Senate Select Committee on POW/MIA. Ms. Zwenig had also served as Legislative Assistant to Sen. John Kerry………the Senate Select Committee adjourned, some of the key personnel assigned to the Committee quickly seized high salaried positions within the U.S./Vietnam Trade Council, a business group designed to facilitate normalization and trade between the U.S. and Vietnam………Sen. Harkin visited Vietnam on July 4th, 1995, in which he also praised their cooperation in solving the POW/MIA issue. Upon returning to the U.S., Sen. Harkin personally briefed President Clinton and encouraged him to move forward in the normalization process, to include access by American businesses in Vietnam to the Overseas Private Investment Corp. Insurance (OPIC). However, MIA family members were alarmed to discover that his wife is President and CEO of this organization. This organization is designed to "bail out" American investors from potential failures due to Vietnamese government reneging on business contracts and financial investments……..Several elected officials of the U.S. government have also called for normalization with Vietnam, including Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts and Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa. Sen. Kerry has remarked publicly on Vietnam's "superb" cooperation, and he has been seen by many as championing Vietnam's attempts to lift the economic embargo and diplomatic sanctions.
http://www.pownetwork.org/docs/part2.htm
(L.A. Times, March 22, 2004) Kerry, now the presumed Democratic presidential nominee, has long known he was a target of FBI surveillance, but only last week learned the extent of the scrutiny, he told The Times
http://www.reclaimdemocracy.org/articles_2004/kerry_vvaw_cointelpro.html
I don't think there IS a statute of limitations on "war crimes". Look at how many concentration camp "guards" have been identified and brought to trial, and deported even here in the U.S. within the past 20 years.
I think it depends on the violation. similar to civilian law. I have a copy of the UCMJ at home. Maybe I'll research it on line.
But the violation is clear.
The inactive reserves do not have meetings but you are still under military law until the full term is met.
Regarding statute of limitations:
http://usmilitary.about.com/library/milinfo/ucmj/blart-43.htm
(Hasn't run.)
Regarding jurisdiction:
http://usmilitary.about.com/library/milinfo/ucmj/blart-3.htm
(Includes inactive reserves.)
My personal opinion regarding Kerry is such him being a 'TRAITOR' because not only did he negogiate deals with the Communists, but also caused additional torture on the POW's. Kerry was NOT discharged from the NAVY until 1978 - therefore, his actions amounts that of an 'Traitor'.
I think he is pond scum, but none of the above matters. He will never under any circumstances be prosecuted or disqualified from office. Move past this and work to defeat him in the election.
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