Yeah, but in Majied's case, he broke the silence to use his elite status to support a political claim -- then pulled the cone of silence in around himself.
Compare the actions of another left-wing political character who claims to be a veteran of an elite service (actually several), Stan Goff. If you call Goff on his claims he will tell you exactly where he served and with whom and, bedamned if the claims don't check out. Goff is a Communist but he really did serve in Rangers and SF. (I'd like to know who the bozo was that signed off on his security clearance, but Goff's claims about his service can mostly be verified, and other soldiers remember him).
In contrast to this, Majied says that he changed his name after serving as a SEAL and in Vietnam. But he won't tell anybody. He is coy and fences around about his background. He sure didn't do that when he was making his initial claim.
d.o.l.
Criminal Number 18F
And that’s exactly it! Just as you said it, his statements get a little more hilarious by the day. You didn’t call him a liar, a fraud, or call his house to harass him. You ridiculed the probability of his claim and his subsequent silenced very effectively.
A typical middle of the road Democrat who might be inclined to withhold support for Kerry with this as the last straw only has his opinion bolstered by what you said. Very reasonable and measured…
And you didn’t pressure him to break his right to silence after we waved it. You didn’t call him names. You just ridiculed his use of it a little bit because of the suspicious timing. That’s a very effective method of persuasion.