Wade Sanders Wants To “Swift Boat” Your Children

Remember John Kerry, the Democrat Presidential candidate who served in Vietnam to further his political career before realizing that his political fortunes would be better served by protesting against the war he spent six months fighting?

Well, one of his Swift Boat shipmates seems to have gotten himself into a little trouble using the Internet.

A San Diego veterans activist and Vietnam War hero who served in a senior Navy post during the Clinton administration pleaded guilty yesterday to a federal charge of possessing child pornography.

Wade Rowland Sanders, 67, acknowledged in federal court in San Diego that last May, he possessed computer files containing 600 images of minors, including a 21-minute video that depicted girls engaging in sex acts with an adult man, according to court records. He was caught under a 2½-year-old Department of Justice investigation called Project Safe Childhood, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in San Diego said.

Authorities arrested him Nov. 7.

Sanders has an explanation for why he had all this child porn in his possession and, interestingly enough, why he plead guilty to the charge against him.

In a telephone interview last night, Sanders said he had downloaded the files as part of his research for an article on the sexual exploitation of children in foreign countries. He said his work for the Clinton administration had included aiding victims of child sex abuse in the former Yugoslavia.

“I have no sexual attraction to children whatsoever,” Sanders said. “There was no evil intent.”

Sanders, a lawyer, said he didn’t realize federal child pornography laws barred downloading or viewing the material even by researchers. He said that is why he decided to plead guilty.

“I thought since my motives were pure and innocent, that would make a difference,” he said. “I’m technically guilty of the crime.”

Sanders pleaded guilty to one felony charge of possession of images of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

In other words, Sanders has “Larry Craig”-ed himself.  He plead guilty to a deviant crime, then goes on to fight his battle in the arena of public opinion.

Sanders served as President Clinton’s Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Reserve Affairs, but chances are he’s one Clinton administration veteran who Barack Obama won’t be asking to join his administration.