Free Republic

Top Republicans in Washington are trying to determine whether or not John Kerry received an honorable discharge from the Navy, the reporter who's taken the lead in probing Kerry's naval records said Sunday. "I've already received an indication from high-ranking Republican officials that, basically, there is a major effort going on in Washington to find proof" of the type of discharge Kerry received, New York Sun reporter Thomas Lipscomb told WABC Radio's Steve Malzberg. Last week, Lipscomb quoted a spokesman for Sen. John Warner, who was Secretary of the Navy at the time, as saying his boss "has no recollection...

Steve Malzberg interviewed Thomas Lipscomb this morning. Listen to it now by visiting my website and scrolling to the bottom of the page.

Forget the discharge, what Kerry is hiding are the letters of reprimand.

WASHINGTON - Weeks after Texas National Guard officials signed an oath swearing they had turned over all of President Bush's military records, independent examiners found more than two dozen pages of previously unreleased documents about Bush. The two retired Army lawyers went through Texas files under an agreement between the Texas Guard and The Associated Press, which sued to gain access to the files. The 31 pages of documents turned over to AP on Thursday include orders for high-altitude training in 1972, less than three months before Bush abruptly quit flying as a fighter pilot. The discovery is the latest...

Mystery Surrounds Kerry's Navy Discharge BY THOMAS LIPSCOMB - Special to the Sun October 13, 2004 An official Navy document on Senator Kerry's campaign Web site listed as Mr. Kerry's "Honorable Discharge from the Reserves" opens a door on a well kept secret about his military service. The document is a form cover letter in the name of the Carter administration's secretary of the Navy, W. Graham Claytor. It describes Mr. Kerry's discharge as being subsequent to the review of "a board of officers." This in it self is unusual. There is nothing about an ordinary honorable discharge action in...

Independent Review Finds Bush Records Texas National Guard Officials Missed By Matt Kelley Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) - Weeks after Texas National Guard officials signed an oath swearing they had turned over all of President Bush's military records, independent examiners found more than two dozen pages of previously unreleased documents about Bush. The two retired Army lawyers went through Texas files under an agreement between the Texas Guard and The Associated Press, which sued to gain access to the files. The 31 pages of documents turned over to AP Thursday night include orders for high-altitude training in 1972, less...

Toverify John Kerry's account of his war exploits, ABC goes to the Viet Cong!

New York, NY, Oct. 15 (UPI) -- ABC TV has produced and will air next week a documentary on the Vietnam War fight that has both distinguished and dogged John Kerry's presidential campaign. Kerry has not hesitated to invoke his status as a war hero, gained partly for a 1969 incident when he was commanding a river boat in Vietnam, in seeking to win Democratic Party's nomination and in campaigning against President Bush, ABC News reported Friday. But the 1969 incident for which Kerry won a Silver Star has also been the focus of one of his most virulent enemies,...

[snip] My experiences as a combat surgeon in Vietnam (Dec. 10, 1967 to Dec. 11, 1968) and also as a forensic consultant for the past two decades, however, lead me to the conclusion that Mr. Kerry's first Purple Heart award is his most serious problem. The recent revelation of the use of falsified documents (by CBS and Dan Rather) might not be the first time such a technique has been used. During Mr. Kerry's four-month tour in Vietnam, which he presents as his principal qualification to be president of the United States, his application for his first Purple Heart...

In the controversy over Sen. John Kerry's service in Vietnam, Americans have heard from Kerry, from the crew of the Navy Swift boats he commanded, and from other Swift boat veterans who question the official account of a 1969 incident for which Kerry was awarded a Silver Star. But there is one group they have not heard from: the Vietnamese who were there that day. According to the military citation, Kerry was awarded the medal for his actions during an intense firefight on Feb. 28, 1969, during which he shot and killed a Viet Cong fighter who was armed with...

If John Kerry has a less than honorable discharge in his military records (just like having a felony conviction in a criminal court) it is 'not' protected information" It does not need a Standard Form 180 to be investigated. The proper authorities should, and must, determine if this man is qualified to be President and if this man is qualified to hold a high level Security Clearance. A person cannot hide behind privacy when a felony has been committed, and the office this man seeks requires that his qualifications be tested. The public right to know far outweighs the individuals...

Not sure how to classify this but Steve Malzberg is discussing the Lipscomb article RIGHT NOW

Review Of Washington Post And Newsweek Articles Exhausts Efforts Of The Naval IG Office Navy Secretary Refuses To Conduct Independent Inquiry (WASHINGTON, D.C.) – Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, stated today that it received a response from the Naval Inspector General (IG) to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) open records request for Navy IG records documenting the investigation of the awards and conduct of Lieutenant (jg) John Forbes Kerry, USNR. The request was prompted by a Sept. 17, 2004, letter from Vice Admiral Ronald Route, the Naval IG, to Judicial Watch. Admiral...

The above url is to a WLS Mp3 stream. Airing now is Shawn Hanity radio show. Shawn Hanity mentioned (in a call with live callin) the NySun article about the Kerry Discharge. Shawn backed away from it saying he wanted to study it further. But the damage was done, its now on the radio and I'm sure Shawn will mention it again. Also mentioned on the subsequent call and played in a audio clip was the "Kerry will make them Walk" claim. This link is a link to WLS streaming Audio in mp3 format. http://abcrad.sc.llnwd.net:12015/ He is on at the...

<p>BY THOMAS LIPSCOMB - Special to the Sun October 13, 2004 URL: http://www.nysun.com/article/3107 An official Navy document on Senator Kerry's campaign Web site listed as Mr. Kerry's "Honorable Discharge from the Reserves" opens a door on a well kept secret about his military service. The document is a form cover letter in the name of the Carter administration's secretary of the Navy, W. Graham Claytor. It describes Mr. Kerry's discharge as being subsequent to the review of "a board of officers." This in it self is unusual. There is nothing about an ordinary honorable discharge action in the Navy that requires a review by a board of officers. According to the secretary of the Navy's document, the "authority of reference" this board was using in considering Mr. Kerry's record was "Title 10, U.S. Code Section 1162 and 1163. "This section refers to the grounds for involuntary separation from the service. What was being reviewed, then, was Mr. Kerry's involuntary separation from the service. And it couldn't have been an honorable discharge, or there would have been no point in any review at all. The review was likely held to improve Mr. Kerry's status of discharge from a less than honorable discharge to an honorable discharge. A Kerry campaign spokesman, David Wade, was asked whether Mr. Kerry had ever been a victim of an attempt to deny him an honorable discharge. There has been no response to that inquiry. The document is dated February 16, 1978. But Mr. Kerry's military commitment began with his six-year enlistment contract with the Navy on February 18, 1966. His commitment should have terminated in 1972. It is highly unlikely that either the man who at that time was a Vietnam Veterans Against the War leader, John Kerry, requested or the Navy accepted an additional six year reserve commitment. And the Claytor document indicates proceedings to reverse a less than honorable discharge that took place sometime prior to February 1978. The most routine time for Mr. Kerry's discharge would have been at the end of his six-year obligation, in 1972. But how was it most likely to have come about?</p>

TWO RECENT ITEMS in The Free Lance-Star prompt me to respond. In the first, "Service debate distracts" [Sept. 26], Norm Mosher, chairman of the Lancaster County Democratic Committee, says, "I think the president should let it go and tell those Swift-boat liars to get back in their holes." Then, in a letter to the editor ["Didn't Bush find Guard enticing 'escape hatch?'" Sept. 27], Lewis P. Fickett Jr. writes, "For the most important job in the land, should we prefer a three-time Purple Heart winner (John Kerry), or a person whose military track record borders on the fictional (Mr. Bush)?"...

"Treason against the United States shall consist only in levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort". U.S. Constitution, Article III ,Section 3. "No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or any under any state, who, having previously taking an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any state legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any state,...

Nat'l Guard Produces More Bush Records Published: October 06, 2004 12:10 PM EDT WASHINGTON More than a week after a court-imposed deadline to turn over all records of President Bush's military service, the Texas Air National Guard belatedly produced two documents Tuesday that include Bush's orders for his last day of active duty in 1973. The orders show Bush was on "no-fly" status for his last days of duty because he had been grounded almost a year earlier for skipping an annual medical exam. The files, released to The Associated Press under a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit, are orders...

There has been increased interest over Dan Rather's quick "tour of duty" in the Marine Corps. He was released at the end of boot camp and it is unclear whether he finished or why he was released. B. G. Burkett, author of "Stolen Valor" claims he was physically unfit. If so, why was he not released early on or put behind? It is known he had rheumatic fever as a child but he played high school and college football. As the article points out, he claims he "was a Marine."

Winging it with ‘W’ By MICHAEL MILLER Staff Writer, (609) 463-6712, E-Mail OCEAN CITY - Joseph Tordella is sure President George W. Bush served his country honorably as a member of the Texas Air National Guard. How does he know? Tordella was Bush's wingman in the F-102 fighter jet. The former U.S. Air Force pilot trained with Bush in early 1972. This is the year of Bush's military service that, 32 years later, has come under increasing scrutiny by those who claim he shirked his guard duties. Tordella, 66, said he flew with Bush in March or April of that...