finally read Kyles book. there's only two guys who know the truth. one is dead, and one is a raging douche who lacked credibility before this even happened, but I had some thoughts.
First...it's a shame that this pointless little paragraph that had no impact on the story caused so much drama. it could have been left out. at the least, Kyle should have listened to his publishers and not named him. the identity would have trickled out without his help.
the lead up to that paragraph was Kyle talking about how much beer seals drink at a seal wake. ALOT.
I think Jesse is a douche of high order, but it's hard to imagine him saying "I hate America" and "you deserve to loose a few (seals) while sitting in the middle of a seal bar. the lawsuit was about those statements in particular, not the punch. I can see him making some political statements that could imply those things, but the book was specific about his wording.
in the prologue of the book, Kyle even says the conversations may not be word for word, but they are from memory, and they get the point across.
from what I've read, Ventura asked him to recant before he filed the lawsuit. don't know if that's
true.
if Kyle was still alive I think Ventura should have taken him to court and called him if out if he denied the incident. he's not, and Ventura should have dropped that ish immediately and went on a PR campaign instead. he would have gained a little respect right there, and in time come out ahead.