Ventura wins 1.2 million from Kyle's widow

[Bang]

APNewsBreak: Ventura Passage to Be Cut From Book

MINNEAPOLIS — Jul 30, 2014, 11:12 AM ET

By STEVE KARNOWSKI Associated Press

Associated Press

The passage from the best-selling memoir "American Sniper" that sparked former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura's defamation lawsuit against author Chris Kyle will be removed, publisher HarperCollins said Wednesday.

A federal jury in St. Paul awarded Ventura over $1.8 million in damages on Tuesday, finding that a section of the book defamed Ventura.

Kyle, a former Navy SEAL regarded as the deadliest sniper in U.S. military history, wrote that he decked Ventura at a California bar in 2006 after Ventura made offensive comments about SEALs, including that the SEALs "deserve to lose a few" in Iraq.

Ventura, himself a former SEAL and former pro wrestler, testified he never made the statement and that the confrontation never happened.

"The passage will be removed," HarperCollins spokeswoman Erin Crum told The Associated Press in an email. The publisher did not immediately respond to follow-up questions about how and when it would delete the passage.

Kyle was slain at a Texas gun range last year. He stood by his story in a deposition videotaped before his death. The lawsuit continued against his widow, Taya Kyle, as executor of his estate.

"We were surprised and disappointed to hear about the jury's decision and are supportive of Taya as she moves forward," HarperCollins said in a statement reacting to the verdict. "We steadfastly remain honored to be Chris's publisher."

Ventura's attorney, David Bradley Olsen, told reporters Tuesday they would ask HarperCollins to remove the subchapter, which was called "Punching Out Scruff Face." He said the publisher would be acting at its own risk if it left the passage in.

A woman answering Ventura's phone Wednesday said he was not available. But in an interview with "CBS This Morning" on Wednesday, Ventura said: "I plan to visit HarperCollins. They published the book and did no due diligence to find out if the story was true."
__________________________________________________ ___________

If Kyle lied in his book, shame on him. I don't know whether there were witnesses called to disprove Kyle's statement. One would certainly hope the effort was made to investigate the truth of the matter. The jury's decision was a split one, so it apparently became a matter of subjective credibility acceptance/rejection of testimony. Odd though, that someone punching Ventura would not bring a dozen witnesses to verify it.

[Hawk]

Hmm. I read that book last year and don't recall that passage.
I think that I would have remembered it being that I'm a fan of Ventura.

[TXDMERC73]

Ventura must be broke and desperate to go after a widow! whoopee doo if the book said about Ventura if he got decked serves him right for trash talking about dead SEALS, if Ventura was really a former SEAL he wouldn't have an ounce of respect trash talking about SEALS who gave their lives for their country.


Its gonna make him look even worst then being defamed in a book taking money from a SEAL's widow!

[RockIsland]

Apparently there were witnesses. Regardless of what happened, he's a scumbag for suing the estate of a dead Seal.


Witness in 'American Sniper' defamation suit says she saw Jesse Ventura get punched in bar

ST. PAUL, Minn. — A woman testified Monday that she saw someone punch Jesse Ventura in 2006 at a California bar, contradicting the former Minnesota governor's assertions that the incident described in a slain military sniper's autobiography never happened.

Laura deShazo of Salt Lake City was called as the first defense witness in Ventura's defamation case against the estate of Chris Kyle, who is regarded as the deadliest military sniper in U.S. history.

Kyle wrote in his best-selling book, "American Sniper," that he punched a man he called "Scruff Face" that night who loudly said the Navy SEALs "deserve to lose a few" while a large group of SEALs and family members were there for a wake for a fallen comrade. Kyle later identified the man as Ventura, a former SEAL.

DeShazo was there for the wake because her brother was on the same SEAL team. While there, she, her sister and her brother's girlfriend posed for a picture with Ventura, which was shown in court and showed him sporting a braided goatee. DeShazo said she later saw Ventura get into a "scruffle with a group of people" and saw a man punch Ventura. She said she doesn't know who threw the punch and didn't know Kyle, but she gave a description that was consistent with him.

But deShazo's testimony conflicted with a sworn video deposition Kyle gave before he was slain in Texas last year. DeShazo said she was "positive" the confrontation happened on the patio at the pub. Kyle said it happened out on the sidewalk. She said she didn't see what else happened and didn't see Ventura go down as Kyle claimed.

"It was a time of mourning for us. A bar fight was not a priority for me," she said.

DeShazo's statements led off what is expected to be a week of testimony from people who told attorneys they saw small pieces of the alleged incident but not the entire thing. The defense last week said the pieces will add up to a whole that vindicates Kyle, while Ventura's lawyer said the accounts are riddled with inconsistencies that make them unreliable.

Ventura testified again Monday that there was no fight and that Kyle fabricated the story.

In his second day on the stand, Ventura, a former pro wrestler who now makes his living mostly off TV shows, said he blames the book for a 90 percent drop in his earnings since it came out in January 2012. He said job offers have dried up as a result.

Ventura said he earned close to $11 million from 2002-2012. The defense introduced income tax returns showing his income was in decline over the period. He enjoyed a high of $3.8 million in 2003, while under contract to MSNBC. He made $676,455 in 2011, before the book came out, during the last season of his truTV series Conspiracy Theory.

Ventura made $190,378 in 2012 and said he thinks truTV canceled the series because of the controversy over Kyle's book. But he acknowledged he can't prove it.

But Kyle estate attorney Chuck Webber suggested the falloff was Ventura's own fault because of what Webber called his propensity for making outrageous and offensive statements on TV and in his own books.

Besides the financial hit, Ventura said Kyle's story hurt his reputation within the tight-knit SEAL community. He said he no longer feels welcome at reunions.

"It's a hole in my heart," he testified.

Ventura and Kyle were at the pub near a SEAL base in Coronado on Oct. 12, 2006. Ventura was in town for a SEAL reunion, while Kyle was there for the wake for Michael Monsour, who threw himself on a grenade. Kyle said in his deposition that Ventura was being offensive and that he thought Ventura was about to hit him, so he decked him first.

The second defense witness was Debbie Lee, of Surprise, Ariz. Lee, whose son, Marc Lee, was on the same SEAL team as Monsour and Kyle, said Ventura went off on what she called a disrespectful rant about the Iraq War when someone from the wake introduced him to her and told Ventura of her own son's death in Iraq.

[NathanB]

Ifnhe thinks the book hurt his rep amongst his brother seals this is going to be the nail in his coffin to them

[TXDMERC73]

I keep wondering how Jesse could even remember what happened, it was in a bar (im sure he was drunk couldnt remember) plus his many years of smoking grass has his brain scrambled eggs.

another thing hes calling Chris Kyle the greatest sniper that ever lived a liar? i would take Chris Kyles word over that lying backstabbing former politican any given sunday.

[Berks_Iraq_Vet]

He has always been a loony tune.......Now he's just a douchebag loony tune......

[Svickstc]

You guys have a lot of the facts mixed up.....

1. There was isurance, his wife wont pay a dime in the lawsuit
2. Multiple witnesses on Jesse's side (seals alike said it never went down like that) (not really a "fact")
3. Defamation is a serious thing, Jesse gave the family the ability to remove that piece from the book and he would avoid a lawsuit, the family declined, he went ahead with his lawsuit
4.After this rumor came out Jesse was being ousted from his own community, his own people...

Clearly the judge weighed the facts and evidence present...

RIP Chris Kyle

[Qtrborecrazy]

The SEALS already told the bald bastard to go to hell. I listened to his lame excuse this morning blaming the jury, no dumbass you brought the suit. He said it was a sea story by a bunch of drunk guys, ah were you drunk also Ventura and could not remember? F Ventura, has been wrestler wanna B.

[Don Quixote]

Hmm. I read that book last year and don't recall that passage.
I think that I would have remembered it being that I'm a fan of Ventura.

I am pretty sure he did not call out Ventura by name. He called him something like "Mr. Scruffy" or another silly name. I think Kyle later said that Ventura was the person he was referring to.