Jump to Navigation msnbc The Rachel Maddow Show / The MaddowBlog Nebraska Republican Senate candidate, former State Treasurer Shane Osborn participates in a debate in Omaha, Neb., Tuesday, March 11, 2014. Nebraska Republican Senate candidate, former State Treasurer Shane Osborn participates in a debate in Omaha, Neb., Tuesday, March 11, 2014. Nati Harnik/AP Photo Shane Osborn’s fake Navy memo 03/25/14 11:00 AM—UPDATED 03/26/14 01:36 AM 2 save share 24 By Steve Benen In Nebraska’s open U.S. Senate race, where the winner of the Republican primary is expected to win the seat fairly easily, the top two GOP candidates are Midland University President Ben Sasse and former state Treasurer Shane Osborn. They’re both very conservative – in fact, prominent far-right activist groups are split between them – though there’s one big difference between them. Osborn is a military veteran, which is a part of his background he’s been eager to emphasize. Unexpectedly, though, it’s this signature element of Osborn’s biography that seems to be causing him the most trouble. In 2001, during something called the Hainan Island incident, Osborn piloted a Navy EP-3 reconnaissance plane over China, which collided with a Chinese Navy jet, forcing Osborn to make an emergency landing. Osborn was interrogated and released after 12 days. (China returned the U.S. reconnaissance plane slowly and in pieces, after studying its components and reverse-engineering its technology.) Because Osborn has made his military service such an important part of his campaign, the Hainan Island incident has generated a fair number of questions. To help resolve the matter, the Republican’s campaign distributed an official-looking Navy memo supporting his account of what transpired. But as it turns out, it wasn’t actually a Navy memo (thanks to my colleague Tricia McKinney for the tip). 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,” Lt. Cmdr. Katie Cerezo, a Navy spokesperson, told the Omaha paper. “We couldn’t discuss a memo that we can’t authenticate.” And that’s a bit of a problem. Some of Osborn’s critics have suggested he shouldn’t have landed the reconnaissance plane in China, though he insists his decision saved the lives of his crew. Given the circumstances, it’s probably a legitimate area of discussion. But trying to shut the debate down with a fake Navy memo generally makes matters worse, not better. We don’t yet know the name of the official who wrote the memo as a favor – he or she is apparently concerned about career repercussions – but the author told the Omaha paper, “We didn’t do anything wrong. But we did it to sort of shortcut the process.” David Nir added, “Faking up military documents is a pretty grave sin, and entire campaigns have gotten derailed for less.” Explore: The MaddowBlog, Election 2014, Elections and Nebraska 2 save share 24 More Like This Melissa Harris-Perry ELECTION 2014, VOTING RIGHTS Yes, Texas still needs the Voting Rights Act 61 save share 67 Virginia residents wait in line in the pre dawn hours to vote in the presidential election the Hunter House at Nottoway Park in Vienna, Va. on Nov. 6, 2012. ELECTION 2014, VOTING RIGHTS GOP war on voting sweeps US 59 save share 446 The U.S. Capitol on Oct. 2, 2013. 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No, it doesnt, case point, John Mc Cain who, you wont be surprised, came in in the bottom 1% at the military academy. And this guy who might have just chose to... reply Top msnbc Commenters billyban billyban 11 followers follow bigmon bigmon 0 followers follow L78lancer L78lancer 0 followers follow 113th United States Congress 113th United States Congress 230 members join group Team Rev Team Rev 828 members join group No Stupid Questions! No Stupid Questions! 60 members join group create new group Nebraska Shane Osborns fake Navy memo 03/25/14 11:00 AM—UPDATED 03/26/14 01:36 AM Add your comment create new group see allGeneral Discussion 24 comments comment author avatarGasman The First YESTERDAY Osborns anonymous benefactor in the Pentagon said, “We didn’t do anything wrong. But we did it to sort of shortcut the process.” If he/she did nothing wrong, then why are they hiding? Osborn is just another lying sack of sh*t Republican weasel. If he lies like this during his campaign,... reply comment author avatarDragoon21b YESTERDAY Faking Up Military Documents isnt a Pretty Grave Sin....its potentially a Federal Felony reply comment author avatarDogjudge YESTERDAY Another Republican faking their service records. Oh, tell me it isnt true. I remember when tea partier, and former tea party Congressman Joe Walsh tried to go after Tammy Duckworth and her military record. If memory serves me correct, he focused on her injuries not being that bad. Said... reply comment author avatarAnita Brady YESTERDAY I read about this early this morning. It is unf**kingbelievable. reply comment author avatarRobman3 YESTERDAY SO, he crashed one of our planes, was held prisoner, wants to be a senator, and someday will lead the GOP field for president, lose, then retire to the rubber chicken Sunday talk show circuit. Meanwhile China reverse engineers our ops, not exactly the same trade off seen with that copter we... reply facebook twitter google plus tumblr instagram rss msn Help Terms of Use Privacy Policy Independent Programming Report Closed Captioning msnbc Info Blog Careers Advertise AdChoices NBCNews Today CNBC BreakingNews TheGrio Bing MSN Hotmail ©2014 NBC UNIVERSAL
Posted on: Wed, 26 Mar 2014 23:15:06 +0000
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