Former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura on defamation suit victory

Jesse Ventura the pro wrestler turned politician is celebrating a courtroom victory this morning but some critics say the fight over a best-selling book hurt the deceased author and his family will talk with the form of governor in just a moment of Minnesota jury decided Tuesday that a fellow Navy SEAL veteran damage mentors reputation Chris Kyle was regarded as the deadliest military sniper in US history he wrote in his best-selling 2012 book that he punched out a celebrity inside a California bar back in 2006 Kyle's book American sniper called the man scruff face and said he was quote running his mouth about the Iraq war Kyle said the man took a swing at him and after that scruff face ended up on the floor but in promotional interviews Chris Kyle identified the man he slugged as Jesse Ventura Ventura was in town for Navy graduation but says the incident never happened in 2012 shortly after the book was published a pro wrestling former governor Minnesota filed a defamation lawsuit against the author Kyle was shot and killed by fellow veteran on a Texas gun range in 2013 but the high-profile lawsuit continued in videotaped testimony taken before his death Kyle said his story was accurate a federal jury deliberated for six days and on Tuesday would have been tore up close to two million dollars his attorney said the case was about Ventura reputation it is a victory in a sense that the jury did tell the world Chris Kyle's story is a lie and it was a fabrication former governor Ventura joins us from Minneapolis for an individual seat first on CBS s morning good morning gum good morning so your attorney said that there are no winners here and the question then is why pursue this lawsuit well you pursue a lawsuit for the truth I would have been a big time loser had I not pursued the lawsuit because of the lawsuit the whole story was fabricated I was accused of treason which in the militaries of the death penalty I would think that would be enough to inspire anyone to seek the truth and the bottom line is it never happened and that's all we were seeking and you know let's be clear on something taya Kyle had all her attorney fees paid by insurance I did not I incurred two and a half years of insurance or of two and a half years of lawyer fees that I have to pay to clear my name and she had insurance paying everything for her some suggest that Jessie that you may have damaged your reputation by pursuing a suit lawsuit against the widow well if if seeking the truth damages you then we live in a pretty sorry world don't we when the truth can hurt you and the truth came out it never occurred and that's all I sought from it and I'm already damaged I can't go to a seal reunion anymore that was the one place where I always felt safe I can't go there anymore I'd be looking over my shoulder now wondering who's going to come after me next and so don't think I come out of this unscathed all I wanted to do is clear my name and it has nothing to do with a widow or anything like that it was me against an insurance company mrs. Kyle also says Jesse Ventura that the truth is the truth she does not think you're telling the truth she says I'm never out of this fight do you have any plans to reach out to her no I don't I you're not supposed to talk to the other side and you know and she can say what she wants there wasn't one witness that saw me get hit does it bother you that you might have won the case but you were certainly getting hammered in the court of public opinion I'm not getting hammered in the court of public opinion people are walking up to me every day and shaking my hand there's no public what how am I getting hammered in the court of public opinion because I sought the truth the truth gets you hammered in the court of public opinion well if the truth does that I'll happily accept it because I believe in the truth and I still do today why do you go ahead Chris Kyle was a Navy SEAL she survived yes he served his country his wife is a widow he they are two children a nine year old and a seven year old the state has to pay out now this over a million dollars in fees what are you going to do with the money pay my lawyers again like I said I didn't have an insurance company paying the freight for me I had to pay my own and you know it's unfortunate but the jury rendered that decision Jesse Ventura did not render how and why the money would be paid that came from a jury not from me so if you're going to question the money question the jury they made that decision governor Jesse Ventura did not you you were in a bar with Chris Kyle and you too did get in an argument correct no we did not no we did not I have no recollection of Chris Kyle until June of 2012 at the first preliminary settlement here and did I meet him probably I meet 4050 people a night out there we had pictures I posed for pictures there's no hostility whatsoever in any of the photos that were submitted in court as well as we have pictures the next day of me I'm on blood thinners if I get hit I bleed I can't even shave with a bladed razor I have to use electric you're telling me if this guy and I'm 255 pounds of he to hit me there wouldn't have been a mark on me and knock me down I think so why do you think Chris Kyle said this well it sells I don't know it's called a see story in the Navy it happens all the time one sailor lies to another sailor that second sailor then tells the story three more times and all of a sudden the sea story becomes the truth and that's what you had here they were drunk they were drinking heavily and it was just a story that happened in another bar and erupted six years later okay do you plan to take further action that's the last question well I plan to visit HarperCollins they published a book and did no due diligence to find out if the story was true all right governor Jesse Ventura thank you so much thank you

Channel: CBS Mornings

Views: 247,119

Keywords: video, cbs, news, jesse ventura, defamation, court case, sniper

Id: t6Jbj4FPmM8

Length: 6min 31sec (391 seconds)

Published: Wed Jul 30 2014