So let’s drop the snark and call a spade a spade: The very last thing John Kerry wants is to ever give the SwiftVets the legal tools they’d need to conclusively document their claims, because truth is, of course, a complete defense to defamation claims. Kerry doesn’t deserve vindication, and he knows he could never get it in court. In court, there would be compulsory discovery of witnesses and documents, followed by a fair and disciplined adversary process, followed by a definitive determination of the truth or falsity of the SwiftVets’ charges — a determination that he damn well knows would go against him.
— Beldar, 27 August 2007