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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Anti-Kerry vet admits lying about affair

Associated Press

OREGON CITY, Ore. — A prosecutor who called John Kerry a liar in a political commercial has acknowledged that he lied about an extramarital affair with a secretary.

The Clackamas County district attorney’s office placed Alfred French on a 30-day paid leave while it conducts an investigation, the Oregonian reported in its Friday editions.

French, one of the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, has faced scrutiny since the anti-Kerry ad became an issue in the presidential campaign.

French said in the ad and swore in an affidavit, “I served with John Kerry. … He is lying about his record.” French subsequently acknowledged he relied on the accounts of his friends and did not witness Kerry in combat.

Since then, he’s faced pickets outside his office and complaints of unethical conduct to the state bar.

French’s former boss, James O’Leary, said he asked French about the rumored affair about 10 years ago, but French denied it. O’Leary said he would have fired French if he’d admitted the relationship because it violated office policy.

French, 58, admitted to the Oregonian that he had the affair and denied it to O’Leary.

“It is an indiscretion that occurred during my employment,” he said.