||| CBS Minnesota |||
Former Minnesota Governor and retired professional wrestler Jesse Ventura says he is finally "vindicated" after settling a 5-year long lawsuit against "American Sniper" Chris Kyle. Ventura sued the late Chris Kyle after the veteran sniper included a story in his autobiography "American Sniper" claiming he beat Ventura in a drunken bar fight.
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Ventura was widely criticized for going through with the lawsuit even after the tragic death of Kyle himself at the hands of a fellow veteran. Chris Kyle was one of the U.S. military's most prized soldiers with the title of most confirmed kills in combat. During his five combat tours, Navy SEAL sniper Chris Kyle racked up an impressive total of 160 confirmed kills.
When Chris Kyle wrote his autobiography "American Sniper", which was later turned into a movie of the same title, he included a bar fight story that Ventura says never happened. That wasn't the only controversial point in his book, Kyle also claimed he took shots at looters from atop a roof during hurricane Katrina although many still debate whether that really happened.
Ventura says he has been vindicated by the victory and he can now return to politics with his name cleared. However, he says his reputation will never be fully restored. "It got destroyed to the point where it will never fully be restored. But what this does is it lifts the yoke off my back to where I can get back into politics–I've been vindicated," Ventura said.
Although the exact amount was not released, Ventura says he can "smile" at the sum currently sitting in his bank account. In 2014, a federal jury in Minnesota awarded Ventura $1.8 million but that verdict was later overturned by an appeal. One can only assume this second sum to be awarded is similar.
Court documents filed Friday show that both parties in the lawsuit, Ventura and the estate of Chris Kyle, agreed to dismiss the case with prejudice. Ventura went on to say he had a meeting with former Reps. Ron Paul and Dennis Kucinich to discuss his return to the political arena.
"I was just out in Aspen, for a meeting of the three biggest–how should I say it? Revolutionaries. We met out there together in one room. One Republican, one Democrat, and me–the ultimate independent. If I do get back into politics Dennis will definitely figure in. I'm not saying I am, though," Ventura told reporters.
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Source: http://www.fox9.com/news/ventura-vindicated-after-settling-lawsuit-against-sniper-author
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