I think he is standing behind the guy on the right with the cap.
Wade Sanders
Posted on 05/03/2009 5:11:50 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
FEDERAL COURT — War hero, activist, former high-ranking Pentagon official – Wade Sanders has led a life full of peril and achievement, of great highs and deep lows.
Just a few years ago, Sanders stood onstage at the Democratic National Convention as his fellow veteran, Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., accepted his party's presidential nomination.
That was a high point.
Tomorrow afternoon in federal court in San Diego likely will be a low point for him.
Sanders, 69, is scheduled to be sentenced after pleading guilty in December to possession of child pornography.
He could face as much as 10 years in prison after federal agents found child pornography on several of his home computers.
Just as Sanders once stood behind Kerry, the senator is now standing behind him. In one of dozens of letters submitted on behalf of Sanders, Kerry urged U.S. District Judge Thomas Whelan to weigh Sanders' record of service and community work when making a decision on sentencing.
The hearing promises to be dramatic, with more than 50 people lining up in support of Sanders. In addition to Kerry, they include former U.S. senator and war hero Max Cleland of Georgia, who headed the Veterans Administration under President Jimmy Carter.
Also offering support are former Rep. Lynn Schenk of San Diego, a lawyer and longtime friend of Sanders; and numerous retired Navy officers, friends and relatives of Sanders. Bernie Jones, the Opinion page editor of The San Diego Union-Tribune, where numerous commentaries by Sanders have been published over the years, also wrote a letter opposing a prison term.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Alessandra Serano is seeking a 63-month sentence for Sanders, as well as a requirement that he register as a sex offender and be on 10 years of supervised release after he gets out of prison.
The case against Sanders started in October 2007, when an FBI agent went online to search for people sharing child pornography using a file-sharing computer network.
The agent entered a search term widely used by pornographers, and among the results returned was one that eventually linked to Sanders' home computer.
A few months later, FBI agents raided Sanders' San Diego home. In court papers, Serano said three computers seized in the raid had child pornography on them.
Sanders and his attorney, Knut Johnson, say that Sanders was downloading the images as part of a research project on the subject. In her court papers, Serano noted that at the time of the raid, Sanders never told this to FBI agents.
Serano also said no notes or other materials relating to a research project were found. In a meeting with prosecutors before he pleaded guilty, Sanders did produce three pages of handwritten notes that were undated, she said.
Sanders also is arguing that his work was a product of an obsessive-compulsive disorder he has developed. He claims it is a product of post-traumatic stress disorder, which he said is a crippling residue of his combat service.
Sanders was awarded the Silver Star, Bronze Star and Purple Heart in his military career. He led a Swift boat on numerous missions in Vietnam, often coming under intense fire and harrowing circumstances.
In a 13-page statement to Whelan, Sanders talks at length about that experience and how it shaped him. “There is a part of me that died in Vietnam and now, for the first time in my life I am facing that reality,” it begins.
One symptom of PTSD is compulsive behavior, Johnson argued. He said Sanders became “obsessed about writing an article or otherwise uncovering the source of child pornography.”
In his letter, Kerry lauded Sanders' record in the war and after, when Sanders became a prominent advocate for veterans' causes.
“The Wade Sanders I know is someone who has always put love of country first,” Kerry wrote. “He's been an advocate for his friends, his fellow veterans, his state and his country.”
I’m with you.
noticing your sig line, child porn is Sanders’ destiny then?
Wasn’t Pete Townsend just doing “research” when he got snagged for kiddie porn?
A bunch of dirty old men...
As a Marine veteran, I see him swinging from the end of a rope.
Posting on a Blackberry can make you a little slow on the uptake.
I assume you're joking.
There should be no mitigating factors for pedophiles.
Well Devil Dog,
I like the way you think.
My best regards, and if I may:
Semper Fi!
Keep em’ flying,
AR
Why? The one has nothing whatsoever to do with the other. Thousands of bronze stars out there, damn few of them are perverts. He isn't above the law. He needs to go to prison for a decent stay, just as you or I would.
What John Kerry & the Dems are doing to the country is even more obscene. They are capital-molesters.
For not admitting his crime he should be given the maximum. The justice system should look for true repentance before giving anyone a lesser sentence.
Wow, this guy sure hasn't had much of a life has he?
It's pretty similar in tone to the bile Sanders spewed in 2004 on behalf of his benefactor...
I think he is standing behind the guy on the right with the cap.
Wade Sanders
When are these guys going to learn that the Pete Townsend defense only works for Pete Townsend?
Thanks for the review link.
See? If you were in the military with John Kerry and you volunteered to lead boyscouts on overnight camping trips, were a youth wrestling coach, and a mentor for troubled boys, you can watch all the child porn you want.
In horse face's America anyways.
his story is so revealing. The guy is a good looking former vet but also a leftie and Kerry supporter. Turns out to be into child porn. That in itself gives us an incredible glimpse of the reality behind the facade.
And then his fellow lefties like Cleland and Kerry support him! Talk about a double eye opener.
Used to be supporting a chld porner was off limits for politicians. But not for these scumbags.
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