Jesse Ventura scores $2 million off a widow

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ST. PAUL, Minnesota — A jury awarded former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura $1.8 million on Tuesday in his lawsuit against the estate of “American Sniper” author Chris Kyle.

Ventura was awarded $1.3 million for unjust enrichment, and $500,000 in damages for defamation, CBS station WCCO reports.

On the sixth day of deliberations, the federal jury decided that the 2012 best-selling book defamed Ventura in its description of a bar fight in California in 2006. Kyle wrote that he decked a man whom he later identified as Ventura after the man allegedly said the Navy SEALs “deserve to lose a few.”

Ventura testified that Kyle fabricated the passage about punching him. Kyle said in testimony videotaped before his death last year that his story was accurate.

Legal experts had said Ventura had to clear a high legal bar to win, since as a public figure he had to prove “actual malice.” According to the jury instructions, Ventura had to prove with “clear and convincing evidence” that Kyle either knew or believed what he wrote was untrue, or that he harbored serious doubts about its truth.

The jury told the judge Monday that it didn’t believe it could reach a unanimous verdict, but the judge instructed them to continue. On Tuesday, attorneys for both sides agreed that the verdict did not need to be unanimous and would allow a verdict if only eight of 10 jurors agreed.

More at CBS News

Hope he enjoys beating a dead man.

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If he was worried about his reputation with a “new generation of SEALs” as he said after the jury award, he would have let it slide.

And he said Ventura would never have said any of the remarks attributed to him because he remains proud of his and his parents’ military service.

“The statement is completely out of character for Jesse Ventura. He never said anything like that in his life, and he never will,” he said.

Really? This is a guy who has publicly accused the Bush administration of being co-conspirators in 9/11 accusing them of taking down one of the buildings (I believe WTC 5) with explosive devices. He also backed Kerry in 2004 despite his history of degrading his fellow VN Vets and making derogatory comments about those who served on OIF. As for personal integrity, I remember him giving an interview on Entertainment Tonight blasting people who use steroids calling them weak. Years later it was revealed that he took them as well. I’d say the accusations carry a lot of truth. Ventura’s statements fit his beliefs to a ‘T’. Given that Chris Kyle is no longer with us, it’s pretty easy to beat a dead person in court especially when the judicial standards are lowered to where a unanimous decision is not required. Had it been, Ventura would have lost his case.

@DrJohn: It’s probably a good reason why he got his ass kicked. I watched Chris Kyle’s interview and he said that Ventura’s comments bashing the Iraq war and Bush got him mad. The comment about the dead SEALs was obviously the straw that broke the camel’s back. Ventura’s past comments support Kyle’s version of the story. Ventura was probably shooting his mouth off figuring the other SEALs would back his views and found out they didn’t. A good reason not to discuss politics in a bar with strangers.

Who will Ventura sue for compensation due to the damage to his reputation caused by him suing the widow of one of our most remarkable military heroes?

Since I didn’t hear all of the evidence the jury did, and since MOST of the jurors found in favor or Ventura, I have to go along with their decision. I did lose ALL trust in Ventura when he had a TV show about conspiracies, and one of the show said that there were secret tunnels dug under the USA, and showed where one originated.

It was an abandoned mine that is now used by businesses to store products at a constant humidity and cool temperature. Any truck driver who saw the show, and who has delivered or picked up in the WAREHOUSES like I have, knows that is what they are. I had many questions about some of his conspiracy programs, and I quit watching his show after the tunnels under the USA conspiracy.

@ Bill –

Perhaps Ventura will sue himself. I’m sure his attorney can talk him into filing – his wrestler persona suing the non-wrestler persona.

The tunnels under the USA conspiracy has some notoriety in Eastern Colorado. That’s why Denver International Airport was built. It has miles of tunnels that were built for the automated baggage system that never worked and to accommodate a subway-train system that would never be built due to cost. But, when they said the DIA tunnels were connected to NORAD’s Cheyenne Mountain Complex, you wonder how many episodes of Stargate did they watch. 🙂

@Bill: He now has the dubious distinction of having successfully sued the widow of the most successful sniper in U.S. military history. That should go over real well in the military community.

It looks like some SEALs are weighing in on the verdict. From Marcus Luttlrell’s (“Lone Survivor”) facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/The.Official.Marcus.Luttrell.Fanpage

People have already started posting these images to Ventura’s Facebook page. He will regret his decision.

#7
It wouldn’t surprise me if there are tunnels built for defense, but not nearly the amount Ventura says.

After the Denver airport built the failed train system for the luggage, they used unclaimed luggage to test it. The test failed miserably, but a woman who watched a video of the test on the news saw her luggage, and went and claimed it.

Anyone who saw the design of the luggage train system should have seen that it wasn’t going to work. The train was moving fast, and the shoots that the luggage came down on were at a 90% angle to the train. You would think the designers would have had the shoots above the train, and parallel to it so the luggage would be going the same speed as the train by the time the two met. I wouldn’t want the designers to run a dating service.