Jury Awards Jesse Ventura $1.8 Million in Damages

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — An attorney for former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura says he thinks a jury acted fairly in awarding Ventura $1.8 million in his defamation case against slain military sniper Chris Kyle.

Ventura accused Kyle of lying about punching Ventura out at a California bar in 2006. Kyle wrote in his best-selling memoir "American Sniper" that he did it after Ventura badmouthed Navy SEALs.

Ventura said the punch never happened and neither did the remarks.

David Bradley Olsen says it was more important to Ventura to get a verdict that showed Kyle's story "was a lie."

Olsen said Ventura's reputation among other Navy SEALs, especially younger ones, may never recover.