NE SEN candidate fakes a navy document

[Statistikhengst]

This is weird. Probably won't affect the outcome of the race in November, but the story is bizarre.

Shane Osborn (R) a candidate for the Senate Seat in Nebraska, was a navy pilot who landed a disabled navy recon plane on Chinese soil in 2001. In order to combat criticism on the landing, Shane produced this document to say that all was cool:

http://omaha.com/assets/images/OW10020322.JPG

The problem is, the Navy did not make that document for him. A "buddy" of his working in the Navy forged that document for him.

Reported by multiple sources, like the Omaha-World-Herald:

Dogged by questions about his 2001 decision to land a crippled Navy EP-3 reconnaissance plane in China, U.S. Senate candidate Shane Osborn has distributed an official-looking Navy memo supporting his account.

The memo, written Aug. 8, 2013, on Navy letterhead, is titled “Disposition of actions by EP-3E flight crew on April 1, 2001.” It explains that Osborn's plane was authorized to land on China's Hainan island “due to the extreme circumstances and condition of this aircraft.”

But The World-Herald has learned that the unsigned memo was not authorized by the Navy, or vetted through normal channels, and was written as a favor to Osborn by a Navy buddy working at the Pentagon.

“We cannot confirm the authenticity of this document,” said Lt. Cmdr. Katie Cerezo, a Navy spokeswoman. “We couldn't discuss a memo that we can't authenticate.”

Osborn's campaign sent the memo to a World-Herald reporter Feb. 26. The paper later contacted the Navy's public affairs office to verify its accuracy and requested an interview with the author, who was not named in the memo. After three days of searching, the Navy said it couldn't authenticate the memo and declined to discuss it further...

...The memo's author said the contents are accurate. He said his immediate supervisor at the time OK'd it, but he declined to give that officer's name and said he is currently unavailable because of a deployment.

“This was an effort to put (the orders) into an unclassified format, on a tight timeline,” he said. “It was not something that was intended to go through channels.”

The author asked for anonymity, saying he was concerned his career could be jeopardized if anyone learned he had written the memo.

“We didn't do anything wrong. But we did it to sort of shortcut the process,” the officer said. “I'm passionate about it. I flew with John and Shane. If they would have ditched that aircraft, none of these guys would be alive.”

A typical Navy vetting process would send a memo slated for public release to relevant military offices for approval to ensure that it is accurate and that classified information isn't leaked.

For the Osborn memo, that might include the U.S. Pacific Command, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Office of the Secretary of Defense — all offices mentioned in the memo.

For a commissioned military officer, circulating an unauthorized memo could potentially lead to a criminal charge of violating orders or dereliction of duty. It could also result in administrative punishments such as a reprimand or fine.

If it were prepared on a government computer or during working hours, it could also represent a violation of the Hatch Act. That law forbids federal employees from participating in political activities while on duty.

So, this dude Osborn gets a buddy to break the law for him in order to make his landing in China look ok so he can gain some points in a political race?

Also not that the "buddy" of his says once that everything they did was right, but he doesn't want to be identified for fear of losing his career.

Hint: if what you are doing forces you to be anonymous, you might want to consider whether it is legal or not.

Here is Shane Osborn with then President George W. Bush (43) in mid 2001:

And here is Shane about 1 month ago:

Here is Osborn's website:

Shane Osborn for Senate

He is running a heavy anti-Obamacare campaign.

Of the four candidates declared for the primary to pick a GOP candidate to replace outgoing Senator Mike Johanns, Shane and a man named Ben Sasse are the candidates doing the best in to-date sparse polling of the primary race:

United States Senate election in Nebraska, 2014 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


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So, I remember the story of the downed pilot from 2001, so I assume it is Osborn.

I assume that the Navy is not saying much as it is probably conducting it's own internal investigation.

It sure makes Osborn look really, really bad.


Just to be sure: a Navy document that was not ever sent through the right channels and was never signed is definitely not kosher in any way, shape or form.


Any navy guys out there with more insight into a "disposition of actions" report?

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The story is also being reported at all these places:

Nebraska Republican Senate Candidate Campaigns On Fake Navy Memo

Shane Osborn's fake Navy memo | MSNBC

Yes, even Breitbart is nailing him:

Report: Shane Osborn Used Connections to Acquire 'Official' Navy Memo Clearing Him in China Incident

This GOP Senate Candidate Did Something Shockingly Stupid

Memo vouching for Nebraska Senate candidate Osborn came from friend, not Navy

Nebraska Republican Senate candidate circulates fake Navy memo to praise military record - NY Daily News


No need to anyone to feel they need to defend this, I'm not even attacking the guy, but I would say that he just sunk his own campaign. BTW, Sarah Palin has endorsed the other guy, Ben Sasse.

 

[JakeStarkey]

Won't affect the race, though it is wrong.

A NJ dem said falsely he was a combat hero in a senate race and got caught out.

Sleeze ball in all parties and in all churches and in all sororities.

 

[Statistikhengst]

And now, Shane Osborn is backpedaling:


http://www.omaha.com/article/20140326/NEWS/140328844/1694


And apologizing.

 

[Statistikhengst]

Won't affect the race, though it is wrong.

A NJ dem said falsely he was a combat hero in a senate race and got caught out.

Sleeze ball in all parties and in all churches and in all sororities.

True, but his case is especially intriguing.

I mean, you have to jump through a lot of hoops just to get someone to fake a document from within the Navy, or?