Kerry was Court Martialed by the Navy for going to Paris and meeting with the North Vietnamese when they sued the U.S. for peace. He was still in the Naval Reserve at this time. As I remember it, it was a DD. Not a General under other than Honorable Conditions or a General Discharge.
Along comes Jimmy Carter, who pardons him and seals the record of the Court Martial.
Kerry did release some of the unsealed portion of his records, but he would have had to ask GWB to unseal the Presidentialy sealed portion.
It did come out at the time of the election, but the legacy media obviously did not report it. If I remember it correctly, the event was mentioned in an article posted here on FR, but maybe somewhere else.
It is because Jimmy pardoned him that it was not brought forward at the time. Because LEGALY it never happened.
Anyway, that's what I remember.
Read the 14th amendment. The President doesn't have the power to allow someone like Kerry to serve in public office through a pardon.
Amendment 14..............................
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 under any State, who, having previously taken 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, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.
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