Registered under
Section 527 of the
Internal Revenue Code, SBVT publicized its criticisms of Kerry during the election campaign in a book, in television advertisements that the group ran in
swing states and in the media coverage some members received. The group was the subject of several complaints to the
Federal Election Commission (FEC). After the election, the group was credited by media and praised by
conservatives as contributing to Kerry's defeat.[SUP]
[11][/SUP] The group's tactics are considered an example of a successful political
smear campaign[SUP]
[12][/SUP][SUP]
[13][/SUP][SUP]
[14][/SUP][SUP]
[15][/SUP][SUP]
[16][/SUP][SUP]
[17][/SUP][SUP]
[18][/SUP] for its widely publicized[SUP]
[19][/SUP] and
later discredited claims.[SUP][20][/SUP][SUP][21]
[/SUP][SUP]A major part of the SBVT controversy centered on the group's testimony. The SBVT statements were accompanied by affidavits. One affiant, Alfred French, acknowledged he had no firsthand knowledge of the events to which he had sworn.[SUP][70][/SUP]
[/SUP]
In May 2006,
The New York Times reported that an early member of the group, Steve Hayes, stated that he came to believe that the group was twisting Kerry's record, and broke with the group and voted for Kerry. Hayes told the Times: The mantra was just 'We want to set the record straight' ...
It became clear to me that it was morphing from an organization to set the record straight into a highly political vendetta. They knew it was not the truth. Hayes also told
The New York Times that he provided a long interview to Kerry's supporters, backing their version of the incident for which Kerry received the
Bronze Star.[SUP]
[71]
[/SUP]
[SUP]The claims of the group were discredited,[SUP][20][/SUP][SUP][21][/SUP] and most[SUP][4][/SUP] of the Vietnam veterans who served alongside Kerry or under his command disputed the criticisms and supported Kerry's version of events and his presidential aspirations.[SUP][5][/SUP][SUP][6][/SUP][SUP][7][/SUP][SUP][8][/SUP][SUP][9][/SUP][SUP][10][/SUP]
[/SUP]