Ted Sampley

Ted Lane Sampley has been the publisher and writer of the internet-based The U.S. Veteran Dispatch since 1986. 

Sampley co-founded Vietnam Veterans Against John Kerry, now described as "part of the editorial division of the on line US Veteran Dispatch newspaper", with Mike Benge (Michael D. Benge) and Jerry Kiley 9 (Gerard W. Kiley).

John Murtha
"The latest salvo appears to be a new smear site, MurthaLied.com," Bob Geiger wrote June 27, 2006, in AlterNet, "which is about to be drawn out from under a rock and it certainly has all the looks of the same people who brought you pure fiction about Kerry in 2004. The website is run by a woman named Amanda Doss, who has a long alliance with&mdash;guess who?&mdash;the Swift Boat Liars and a whack job named Ted Sampley, who runs the hate site, The U.S. Veteran Dispatch."

Note: The MURTHALIED.COM website was inactive as of July 5, 2006.

Geiger wrote June 25, 2006, in AlterNet that Sampley's "name may sound familiar to you. This is the same guy who once wrote of John McCain as 'The Manchurian Candidate' and suggested that McCain had been brainwashed during his lengthy captivity while a POW in Vietnam. Oh, yeah, he also said McCain was a KGB Spy. It's also the same Sampley who headed Vietnam Veterans Against Kerry and was responsible in 1992 for faking a photo of Kerry allegedly shooting an American MIA in Vietnam. [See below.]

"It was Republican McCain who called Sampley 'one of the most despicable people I have ever had the misfortune to encounter' and said 'Sampley has a nose for publicity and knack for making money from invented controversies'," Geiger wrote.

"If you want to know what kind of people are going after a legitimate American hero like John Murtha, look no further than the likes of Sampley, Doss, and David Thibault, the editor in chief of Cybercast News Service&mdash;"who picked up the prevailing tactic of the GOP, which is to smear the patriotism and good name of any Democrat who dares question [George W.] Bush and the war &mdash; even if, like Murtha, you happen to be a 37-year military veteran and a former Parris Island drill instructor decorated for valor in combat"&mdash;"and their Republican backers."

"KerrysTreason.com"
Because John Kerry had "told both Tim Russert on Meet the Press and Don Imus on his morning MSNBC-broadcast radio show that he [would] sign Standard Form 180", which is used to request military records, Amanda P. Doss created the website KERRYSTREASON.COM on which was posted a SF-180 (pdf), Jerome Corsi wrote February 11, 2005, in WorldNetDaily.

The group, Corsi wrote, was calling "for a campaign to flood Kerry's Senate office with SF180s sent in from all over America. The website [gave] Kerry's Washington office address and [listed] specific instructions for printing the SF180 and sending it in."

"KerrysTreason.com wants the senator held accountable," Corsi wrote. "Read the site and you will see an argument that Kerry should be impeached for treason. The group wants support for launching impeachment proceedings to remove Kerry from the Senate. 'This conflict will last as long as John Kerry remains a senator and poises himself to ever run again. To restore tranquility to the memories of the Vietnam War, John Kerry must be held accountable for his treasonous actions and statements, and efforts will continue to ensure that he does not whitewash. That is why we will not just go away.'"

The group was "sponsored by the online newspaper, U.S. Veteran Dispatch, whose publisher is Ted Sampley," Corsi wrote.

However, the KERRYSTREASON.COM domain name was not registered to Doss but, rather, had been registered December 29, 2004, to Sampley's US Veteran Dispatch, which is also listed as both administrative and technical contacts. The website is active.

Veterans Traveling with Kerry Paid for Services
On August 5, 2004, Sampley was the source for an AgapePress&mdash;"Reliable News from a Christian Source"&mdash;news item written by the American Family Association's Chad Groening. Sampley said that he believed "most of the veterans" who were "traveling with Kerry" on his presidential campaign tour were being "paid for their services."


 * "According to Sampley, those veterans have changed their stories since hooking up with the Democratic nominee. 'In the beginning, the way the crew told it was that Kerry leaped off the boat and executed a wounded Vietcong soldier,' Sampley explains. 'There's a difference between chasing down an armed soldier that is putting up a fight and jumping off a boat and putting a bullet between the eyes of a wounded soldier -- and that apparently is what he did.' The veteran says one must put into proper perspective the story of Kerry's rescue of a Green Beret who fell off his boat. 'He was skipper of the Swift Boat and apparently this Green Beret, from what I can tell, fell off or got knocked off the boat, and when they looked back he was in the water,' Sampley explains. 'And Kerry turned the boat around and went back and got him -- that's what he's supposed to do. What was he supposed to do, leave him in the drink?' Sampley says Kerry should have maintained his post and allowed an enlisted man to rescue the struggling man, instead of pulling the man out himself and then putting in for a medal for doing it."

William B. Rood, a former Navy Commander and Swift Boat Captain who was present with Kerry February 18, 1969, on the Dong Cung, related August 21, 2004, in The Chicago Tribune his recollections and opinion of events, which differed significantly from those of Kerry's main protagonists, John O'Neill and then-Captain Roy Hoffmann.

Kerry "flashed the bird" at Sampley
Sampley's oft-repeated claim that John Kerry "flashed" him the "bird" at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall on Memorial Day 2004, as reported by former Congressman John LeBoutillier, was first published May 31, 2004, by NewsMax:


 * "Ted Sampley, a former Green Beret who served two full tours in Vietnam, spotted Kerry and his Secret Service detail at about 9:00 a.m. Monday morning at the Wall. Sampley walked up to Kerry, extended his hand and said, 'Senator, I am Ted Sampley, the head of Vietnam Veterans Against John Kerry, and I am here to escort you away from the Wall because you do not belong here.'


 * "At that point a Secret Service officer told Sampley to back away from Kerry. Sampley moved about 6 feet away and opened his jacket to reveal a HANOI JOHN T-shirt.


 * "Kerry then began talking to a group of schoolchildren. Sampley then showed the T-shirt to the children and said, 'Kerry does not belong at the Wall because he betrayed the brave soldiers who fought in Vietnam.'


 * "Just then Kerry - in front of the school children, other visitors and Secret Service agents - brazenly 'flashed the bird' at Sampley and then yelled out to everyone, 'Sampley is a felon!'


 * "Kerry was referring to an incident 12 years ago when Sampley confronted Sen. John McCain's chief aide, Mark Salter, in a Senate stairwell after McCain repeatedly offended POW families at a Senate POW hearing. Sampley, whose father-in-law at that time was MIA in Laos, followed Salter into the stairwell and, when they emerged, Salter had a bloody lip and a broken nose."

The NewsMax piece was reprinted verbatim by The Washington Times on June 2, 2004.

Also on June 2, 2004, NewsMax ran a follow-up story in which Sampley said "that photographers were in the vicinity and may have captured Kerry 'flipping the bird' to him."


 * "'There were some cameras,' Sampley told WTN-Nashville radio host Steve Gill. 'A reporter came up to me and asked me my name.'


 * "'I assume it was a reporter. It may have been somebody from the Kerry campaign,' added Sampley, ...


 * "Though Kerry's visit to the Wall was widely covered, Sampley said that he didn't think the insulting hand gesture was captured by any of the TV news crews on hand. 'I did not see any big television cameras,' ..."

NewsMax admitted in the article that it had been "unable to determine whether the still photographers nearby were press, private citizens or part of the top Democrat's publicity team" and that "no photograph of the incident" had surfaced at that time.

Contrary to Sampley's claim that he "did not see any big television cameras" at the Wall, Media Matters for America reported June 3, 2004, that "cameras of CNN and many networks" were present to cover Kerry's visit "with the family of a Marine whose 1976 death was being marked by his addition to the monument."

In its June 1, 2004, article, CNN reported that "Kerry also shook hands with members of a tour group visiting the Vietnam memorial, with several wishing him luck in his presidential bid." No mention was made of Sampley's presence.

Kerry & Jane Fonda
On February 12, 2004, Snopes.com debunked the Claim that a "published photograph" showed John Kerry and Jane Fonda standing shoulder-to-shoulder an anti-war rally.


 * "Unlike an earlier photograph which captured John Kerry and Jane Fonda sitting in the audience of a 1970 anti-war rally at which both were speakers, this image of the two of them together at a speaker's platform is fabricated.


 * "The original Corbis stock photograph ... captured Kerry alone preparing to give a speech at the Register for Peace Rally held in Mineola, New York, on 13 June 1970 (three months prior to the event pictured in the previous Fonda/Kerry photograph). Someone has grafted an image of Jane Fonda with a microphone onto the picture and mocked it up as a newspaper photo to create an impression of closeness between the subjects."

The next day, February 13, 2004, the New York Times ran the story "Conservatives Shine Spotlight on Kerry's Antiwar Record" which detailed the hunt for and purchase of the photograph showing Kerry and Jane Fonda seated in the audience:


 * "Ted Sampley, a retired Green Beret who runs a Web site for veterans devoted to defeating John Kerry, says he spent months looking for a photograph of Mr. Kerry and Jane Fonda, the actress whose antiwar protests still evoke bitter memories. Then, last week, a message from a stranger arrived by e-mail, telling him precisely where he could find one. ... For $179, he bought the image and posted it on his site. By Wednesday it was popping up all over the Internet and on television. Mr. Sampley, of Kinston, N.C., says he does not know who tipped him off to the photograph, and he does not care. 'I'm going to use it as much as possible,' he said. ... With Mr. Bush answering questions about his National Guard service, conservatives are working hard to shine an unflattering spotlight on Mr. Kerry's antiwar activities and his record on military and intelligence matters in the Senate."

By Ted Sampley

 * "John McCain: The Manchurian Candidate," U.S. Veteran Dispatch, December 1992. re John McCain
 * With Tom Ashworth, "Colin Powell: Not the Man You Think," U.S. Veteran Dispatch, October/November 1995 (issue). re Colin Powell
 * "George Bush Parachutes Again to Exorcise Demons of Past Betrayal," U.S. Dispatch, March/April/May 1997. re George H.W. Bush
 * "John Kerry: The Chameleon Senator," SUANews.com, February 11, 2004.
 * "'Don't Know Jack' Murtha. Accused U.S. Marines of 'Cold Blooded Murder'," U.S. Veteran Dispatch, June 29, 2006. re John Murtha
 * "'Swiftboating'. New American Political Jargon Term Meaning 'Outing' the Fraudulent. Exposing the lies, deceit and fraud of self-glorifying public officials," U.S. Veteran Dispatch, July 3, 2006.

Contact Information
Vietnam Veterans Against John Kerry P.O. Box 246 Kinston, N.C. 28502 Phone: 252 527-0442 Email: usveterandispatch AT earthlink.net Website: http://www.usvetdsp.com/ Website: http://www.vietnamveteransagainstjohnkerry.com/ Website: http://www.kerrystreason.com

Related SourceWatch articles

 * Gathering of Eagles
 * John Forbes Kerry's military service
 * U.S. presidential election, 2004

Profiles

 * Biography: Ted Lane Sampley, U.S. Veteran Dispatch.
 * "The Truth About Ted Sampley," Independents for Kerry, 2004. (Internet Archives copy from an April 2, 3004 crawl)

External articles

 * Joe Conason, Opinion: "The Vietnam smear&mdash;from McCain to Kerry. As Bush's military record comes under harsh scrutiny, the same smear campaign used against John McCain in 2000 is being rolled out against John Kerry," Salon, February 10, 2004.
 * Michael Janofsky, "McCain Fights Old Foe Who Now Fights Kerry," New York Times, February 14, 2004.
 * Charles Hurt, "Vets refuse to forgive Kerry for antiwar acts," The Washington Times, February 20, 2004.
 * E.J. Dionne, Jr., "GOP attack dogs smear Kerry's war record," Washington Post (WorkingForChange), April 27, 2004.
 * John Leboutillier, "Kerry 'Flips Off' Vietnam Vet," NewsMax, May 31, 2004.
 * "Sampley: Kerry 'Bird' Shot May Have Been Captured on Film," NewsMax, June 2, 2004.
 * "The Washington Times pushed NewsMax.com Kerry rumor," Media Matters for America, June 3, 2004.
 * Jody Brown, "Commentary & News Briefs," Agape Press, August 4, 2004. Scroll down to " ... A Vietnam veteran and former Green Beret ..."
 * "MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell exposed Ted Sampley's anti-McCain attacks," Media Matters for America, August 11, 2004.
 * "New revelations on Ted Sampley of the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth," The Peking Duck, August 11, 2004.
 * Ted Krepel, "Swiftly Slanted, Part 2: Now They Tell Us," ConWebWatch, August 11, 2004.
 * William B. Rood, "Feb. 28, 1969: On the Dong Cung River: 'This is what I saw that day'," Chicago Tribune, August 21, 2004.
 * Bryan Bender and Michael Kranish, "Vietnam swift boat skipper comes to Kerry’s defense," Boston Globe, August 22, 2004.
 * Mungowit, "Ted Sampley and the Politics of Hero Destruction," Mungowit's End Blogspot, August 22, 2004.
 * lawnorder, "The anatomy of a smear campaign - Rove's Push Polls," Daily Kos, August 26, 2004.
 * Jerome Corsi, "SF180 forms to flood Kerry's office," WorldNetDaily, February 11, 2005.
 * Sean-Paul Kelley, "They're Gonna Swiftboat Murtha," The Agonist, June 23, 2006.
 * Bob Geiger, "Right wing Swiftboater Doss slimes war hero. Republican smear merchant whines about responses in kind," AlterNet, June 25, 2006.
 * Bob Geiger, "Why Do Republicans Hate America's Veterans? The right-wing smear machine has set upon John Murtha -- a decorated combat veteran -- for speaking out against the Iraq war," AlterNet, June 27, 2006.
 * Taylor Marsh, "Swiftboating: A New Low in Dirty Politics. John Kerry, John Murtha and Markos Moulitsas Zuniga have all been targeted by Republican-funded smear campaigns. As the fall election cycle revs up, who will be swiftboated next?" AlterNet, September 12, 2006: "And anti-Kerry organizer Ted Sampley has reappeared in North Carolina to stir up the pot there."
 * gregflynn, "War and Peace on the National Mall Saturday," Daily Kos, March 15, 2007.