Beauchamp Comes Clean

UPDATE: Rick Moran has a good posting that provides a great reality check over the whole Beauchamp saga and tends to confirm my opinion that outing him was good, but the gloating over it is getting over done.  Over at Neocon News they have a hilarious graphic related to the Beauchamp saga you should check out.

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Via Blackfive, comes this news that Private Scott Beauchamp has admitted to being a fraud:

THE WEEKLY STANDARD has learned from a military source close to the investigation that Pvt. Scott Thomas Beauchamp–author of the much-disputed “Shock Troops” article in the New Republic’s July 23 issue as well as two previous “Baghdad Diarist” columns–signed a sworn statement admitting that all three articles he published in the New Republic were exaggerations and falsehoods–fabrications containing only “a smidgen of truth,” in the words of our source.

By signing the sworn statement admitting he lied, Beauchamp is probably only looking at getting an Article 15 after all of this is said and done.  If he wrote on a sworn statement that his stories were true and then was later proven to be false than he would be looking at big trouble for lying on a sworn statement, which is a huge no, no in the military.  What Beauchamp did does piss me off, but fibbing and exaggerating war stories I seriously doubt is something that rises to court martial offense.  An Article 15 is a good way to handle this issue.  Article 15’s are handled within the unit and are quick to administer thus preventing turning Beauchamp into a leftist martyr by a prolonged court martial process.  

This would be at least the second Article 15 for Beauchamp which could open him up for removal from the military with a chapter for pattern of misconduct.  Judging by his writings he may have psychological issues that may be enough to have him chaptered for a personality disorder.  Anyway chaptering him from the military should be a priority and Beauchamp probably wouldn’t mind because it will speed up his career to become a latest leftist war hero, which is why he joined the military in the first place. 

Another interesting question is if the US military has been sitting on the fact he signed a sworn statement admitting he lied just to let the The New Republic hang itself with all its claims of fact checking and verifying of the story.  If the Army intentionally did that, it was extremely clever, but it was probably an unattended consequence.  Either way The New Republic’s creditability which wasn’t much to begin with, is totally shattered. 

Michelle Malkin and Ace have good postings up as well on the latest Beauchamp news,but I do have to say that I find the gloating a bit over done.  The guy is a dumbass and is being held accountable for his actions.  Probably no punishment for Beauchamp will be more painful than the fact that he has been disgraced in front of everyone in his unit.  Imagine how hard it must be for him to go to the chow hall at Camp Falcon now and look other soldiers in the eye after everyone knows what he did. 

I highly recommend everyone read this article by a Jesuit priest Rev. Paul McNellis, sums up the Beauchamp saga quite well without rejoicing in the fact Beauchamp’s life has hit some definite self inflicted hard times.