Posted on 10/04/2005 3:20:54 PM PDT by pabianice
Update: POWs and Carlton Sherwood File Suit Against John Kerry and Anthony Podesta for Defamation, Conspiracy
Carlton Sherwood, Red, White and Blue Productions, Inc. and Vietnam Veterans Legacy Foundation v. John F. Kerry and Anthony T. Podesta
On October 3, 2005, Carlton Sherwood, Red, White and Blue, and the VVLF filed suit in Federal court against Sen. John Kerry and Anthony Podesta for events relating to the suppression of the documentary film Stolen Honor. Legal Documents:
10/03/2005: Defamation, Defamation/Business Disparagement, Intentional and/or Negligent Interference with Prospective and Existing Contractual Relations, and Civil Conspiracy Complaint, filed in Eastern District Court of Pennsylvania [PDF: 818K]
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Update: John Kerry Surrogates File New Lawsuits Against Vietnam POWs and Carlton Sherwood
Jon Bjornson, M.D. v. Carlton Sherwood and Red, White and Blue Productions, Inc., Vietnam Veterans Legacy Foundation and NewsMax
Another "Winter Soldier" has brought a lawsuit claiming that he was libeled by Carlton Sherwood's documentary Stolen Honor. In a complaint filed August 25, 2005, nearly a year after Stolen Honor was released, a man named Jon Bjornson alleges that Stolen Honor implied he was a "fraud and a liar" who made up stories of atrocities by US soldiers in Vietnam in order to deceive the American people. Bjornson's name was never mentioned in Stolen Honor. Represented by the same counsel representing Kenneth Campbell in his defamation lawsuit against Carlton Sherwood, Bjornson has sued not only Sherwood but also the VVLF and its board of directors. Four members of the VVLF's board are veterans who served more than five years each as POWs in North Vietnamese prisons. The VVLF did not yet exist when Stolen Honor was put together and released.
Like Kenneth Campbell, whose suit against the VVAW and Carlton Sherwood is described below, Bjornson testified at the Winter Soldier Investigation in 1971. John Kerry relied on Bjornson's and others' accounts of war crimes and atrocities when he testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that war crimes were authorized "at every level of command."
Legal Documents:
08/25/2005: Libel and Slander Complaint, filed in the Court of Common Pleas, Philadelphia County, PA [PDF: 523K]
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Kenneth Campbell v. Vietnam Veterans Legacy Foundation and NewsMax
Also on August 25, 2005, Kenneth Campbell initiated a legal action against the VVLF and NewsMax for which the complaint is not yet available. Legal Documents:
08/25/2005: Writ of Summons, issued by the Court of Common Pleas, Philadelphia County, PA [PDF: 54K]
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Kenneth Campbell v. Carlton Sherwood and Red, White and Blue Productions, Inc.
On October 18, 2004, just two weeks before the 2004 Presidential election, a libel lawsuit was filed in Philadelphia by a Vietnam veteran and antiwar activist in an attempt to prevent the public from seeing Sherwood's documentary film Stolen Honor. Stolen Honor addressed John Kerry’s antiwar activities and showed how Kerry's Senate testimony alleging war crimes and atrocities by U.S. troops resulted in the additional mistreatment of U.S. POWs by their North Vietnamese captors.
The plaintiff, Kenneth Campbell, claims that he was defamed by Stolen Honor, even though he is never identified in the documentary. Campbell is allegedly shown for a few seconds as he appeared more than 30 years ago at the "Winter Soldier" hearings held in Detroit, Michigan by the Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW), where he testified about war crimes and atrocities that he said he personally committed or witnessed while in Vietnam. Campbell now alleges that Stolen Honor implies that he lied about those war crimes and atrocities. The lawsuit is now in the discovery phase and trial is not expected until next year. We will provide regular updates on the history and progress of the lawsuit. Read the docket of the lawsuit here.
Legal Documents:
10/19/2004: Libel and Slander Complaint, filed in the Court of Common Pleas, Philadelphia County, PA [PDF: 929K]
11/23/2004: Defendants' Preliminary Objections [PDF: 2.1M]
12/14/2004: Plaintiff's Response to Preliminary Objections of Defendants (1 of 2) [PDF: 1.6M]
12/14/2004: Plaintiff's Response to Preliminary Objections of Defendants (2 of 2) [PDF: 1.9M]
01/31/2005: Case Management Order [PDF: 87K]
02/28/2005: Order Overruling Preliminary Objections of Defendants [PDF: 40K]
03/18/2005: Answer and New Matter of Defendants to Plaintiff's Complaint [PDF: 932K]
03/30/2005: Plaintiff's Answer to New Matter of Defendants [PDF: 287K]
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George Butler, Swift Boat Film, LLC and Winter Film v. Sinclair Broadcasting, Red, White and Blue Productions, Carlton Sherwood and John Doe 1-62.
On October 21, 2004, a copyright infringement lawsuit was filed in New York City by George Butler and others claiming that they owned the copyrights to the documentary films "Winter Soldier" and "Going Upriver: The Long War of John Kerry" and other photos used in Stolen Honor.
Plaintiffs allege that defendant Sherwood was infringing those copyrights by using portions of the films and other photos in Stolen Honor, and that Sinclair Publications would also infringe on the copyrights if it showed Stolen Honor on its television stations around the country. The plaintiffs sought an injunction that would preclude the defendants from using excerpts of any of these works in any manner, including by showing Stolen Honor on the Sinclair television stations. The plaintiffs also sought unspecified damages and attorneys fees, including the disgorgement of any and all profits realized from Stolen Honor.
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I like nothing better than to see frauds like Kerry exposed and made to squirm. But I have to question the wisdom of taking this kind of action. To what end? The lawyers will make money. Other than that, I don't see this as being a profitable enterprise for anyone else. It's just adding to the litigiousness that is already overwhelming and beyond comprehension to most people.
Perhaps the vets are tired of getting sued every time they exercise their first-amendment rights, or are those rights reserved strictly for the lunatic fringe?
I'd like to say thank you to all of those who served courageously in the Vietnam War. It's unfortunate that John Kerry flip flopped on his peers and spoke out against them to Congress while the war was still going on. He's still flip flopping today.
Thank you,
J. Scott Davis
Veteran: U.S. Navy & Persian Gulf War
Thank you for clearing that up. I just read a thread about that further down the page. I understand it much better now.
This site moves so fast that it's impossible to keep up with everything. Unless, of course, you don't have anything else to do. And I do.
Ditto on that.
Glad to know these guys are fighting back! I hope they'll get publicity from Sean Hannity, Tony Snow, Rush, Laura Ingram, etc. As far as I'm concerned a blinding light needs to be shed on this travesty of justice.
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