ABC Objects to Footage in Swift Boat Ad

N E W   Y O R K, Sept. 17, 2004 -- A new ad from a group of Vietnam War veterans who oppose Sen. John Kerry's presidential candidacy uses footage from an ABC News broadcast to buttress its claims that Kerry has given conflicting explanations about military awards he publicly threw away in 1971.

ABC News executives objected immediately to the ad, which Swift Boat Veterans for Truth said it plans to air in two Western states.

"Today, a 527 group began airing a new political attack advertisement which employs footage from an interview conducted by Good Morning America anchor Charles Gibson with Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry. The heavily edited material was taken from a much longer interview," said ABC News Vice President Jeffrey Schneider. "ABC News did not grant permission for the use of this footage and objects to its use for political purposes. ABC News never licenses footage to any political groups for campaign advertising. ABC News has asked the creator of the ad to cease from using ABC News' copyrighted material."

The ad contends that Kerry in 1971 told an interviewer that he threw his own medals away in a symbolic protest of the United States' refusal to withdraw from Vietnam but has since changed his story to fit his political aspirations.

The ad juxtaposes footage of the 1971 interview with scenes of an angry and defiant Kerry telling ABC's Gibson in April of 2004 that he tossed away his own ribbons.

Read a transcript of Charles Gibson's interview with John Kerry on Good Morning America.

Kerry has acknowledged that he did throw several medals belonging to fellow Vietnam veterans but said he has always claimed the ribbons he pitched were his own.

In the Good Morning America interview, Kerry said he has always been consistent when talking about the event, which was captured by photographers and boosted the then-war protester's nationwide fame.