Setting aside the phone transcripts and the results of the Army’s investigation, does Scott Beauchamp’s signature on the statement certifying that he received a “Memorandum of Concern” regarding his conduct mean that he does not dispute the memorandum’s finding that his stories for TNR contained “gross exaggerations and inaccurate allegations”? Today’s Drudge item suggested that the answer is yes, but a lawyer who defends soldiers and knows these issues well says no:
It is merely an acknowledgment that the Memo of Concern has been received by the officer to whom it was addressed. It is NOT an admission of guilt. That was an easy one.
So was the Drudge item misleading on this point? Yes. Is it a small matter compared to the hugely embarrassing contents of the phone transcript and the results of the Army’s investigation? Yes.