On the October 12 edition of CNN's American Morning, Sinclair Broadcast Group vice president Mark Hyman claimed that if Sinclair's plan to preempt regular programming and broadcast a documentary film (Stolen Honor: Wounds That Never Heal) attacking Senator John Kerry amounts to “an in-kind contribution to George [W.] Bush -- if you use that logic and reasoning, that means every car bomb in Iraq would be considered an in-kind contribution to John Kerry.” Hyman also said networks that have chosen to ignore the anti-Kerry film “are acting like Holocaust deniers.”

HYMAN: [T]he accusations coming from [Democratic National Committee chairman] Terry McAuliffe and others -- because there's some elements of this that may reflect poorly on John Kerry, that it's somehow an in-kind contribution to George [W.] Bush -- if you use that logic and reasoning, that means every car bomb in Iraq would be considered an in-kind contribution to John Kerry. Weak job performance rating that came out last month would have been an in-kind contribution to John Kerry. That's just nonsense. This is news. I can't change the fact that these people decided to come forward today. The networks had this opportunity over a month ago to speak to these people. They chose to suppress them. They chose to ignore them. They are acting like Holocaust deniers and pretending these men don't exist.

Media Matters for America has noted that, in a televised September 13 commentary entitled “Kerry and the Killing,” Hyman leveled false accusations relating to Kerry's receipt of the Silver Star in an attempt to cast new doubt on Kerry's Vietnam service record.

MMFA has written a letter to David D. Smith, Sinclair president and chief executive officer, asking him to cancel plans to air Stolen Honor.

(Hat tip to bloggers Joshua Micah Marshall and Daily Kos.)