Hustler reportedly has photos taken of Lynch “frolicking topless with male soldiers before she went off to war”, according to a New York Daily News story published today (Nov 11). 

The only word from the Lynch camp came from the publisher of her new book, "I Am A Soldier, Too: The Jessica Lynch Story". Paul Bogaards of Alfred Knopf told the New York Daily News, "Jessica Lynch was left for dead and left as a prisoner of war. If she can survive that, she can survive anything."

Larry Flynt the publisher of Hustler said that he plans to run the photos in the magazine’s February issue. According to Flynt, the magazine got the photos from two soldiers that used to serve with Lynch. 

When the subject was broached that the photos might not really be of Lynch, Flint said that he hired an outside photo enhancement lab to verify that the photos were of the 20-year-old private. "You think I'm going to publish nude pics that aren't her?" asked Flynt, "I like owning my company."

Flynt apparently sees this move as a strike against the war in Iraq. “I'm not interested in bashing Jessica Lynch, who really was a victim in this," Flynt said according to the New York Daily News. Flynt feels that the TV movie that aired on Sunday and the new book "should have been an honest portrayal of her role in the war. Everyone wanted a hero from this war."

Update: Flynt has changed his tune. Now the porn king says that he has decided to keep the photos ” out of circulation." 

"I purchased them at first with the intention of publishing them, however, I quickly changed my mind and decided simply to keep them out of circulation," Flynt said in a statement. "If Jessica Lynch wants to join the army and see the world, and if she wants to have a good time while she's at it, I'm not here to judge her." 

Perhaps his lawyer got back to him?  Flynt is spinning this to promote his anti war views and points out the Lynch has been used in a "cynical attempt to create a 'hero' who can 'sell' the war to the American people." 

"But Jessica Lynch is not a hypocrite," he said. "She's a victim of the media and the Government, co-conspirators desperate to justify the war in Iraq."
Lynch’s authorized biography paints a less glorious picture of her rescue than the media and U.S. government would have us believe. But what’s new there?