Posted on 09/09/2004 1:22:10 PM PDT by TastyManatees
Are the CBS National Guard Documents Fake?
(UPDATED: "At Least" 90% Positive They're Fake)
INDC Exclusive. Must Credit INDC.
Based on Powerline's suspicions of forgery over the documents put forth regarding George W. Bush’s National Guard service, I decided to do some legwork and track down the opinions of forensic document examiners that may have an expertise in old typefaces.
After contacting several experts, a rather notable Forensic Document Examiner named Dr. Philip Bouffard took the time to examine a pdf of the documents and perform an initial visual analysis of their authenticity. Dr. Bouffard has a PhD in Chemistry from the University of Michigan, but got involved in forensic examination of typefaces after working in “graphics” with NCR until 1973 and taking a two-year Certification Program in Document Examination at Georgetown University. After completing the program, he became specifically interested in typewriter classification and went to work for a prosecutor’s crime lab in Lake County, Ohio.
Using something called the Haas Atlas, the definitive collection of various typefaces, Mr. Bouffard (and other forensic document examiners) examined the veracity of various documents for over 30 years. Beginning in 1988, Mr. Bouffard hired a programmer to write a computer database program that catalogues the nearly 4,000 typefaces that appear in the Haas Atlas. This computer program is now a forensic standard that is sold as a companion to the Haas Atlas by American Society of Questioned Document Examiners (ASQDE).
UPDATE: The name of the program that Dr. Bouffard developed is called "The Typewriter Typestyle Classification Program" (C:\TYPE).
What did Dr. Bouffard think of the documents?
First, the necessary caveats:
• The pdf document is of poor quality. It seems to have been copied and recopied several times, blurring letter characteristics.
• Also, certain types of analysis can only be done on the original documents, which don’t seem to be available, even to CBS.
So Dr. Bouffard is very clear that his analysis is not 100% positive. That being said …
“It’s just possible that this might be a Times Roman font, which means that it would have been created on a computer. It’s very possible that someone decided to create this document on a computer... I’ve run across this situation before … my gut is this could just well be a fabrication.”
The reasons why?
• Right off the bat, Dr. Bouffard noted what others in the blogosphere have been talking about – something called “proportional spacing,” which means that each letter does not take up the same amount of width on the page. On old typewriters that do not have proportional spacing, the letter “i” would be as wide as the letter “m.” Except for professional typesetting, proportional spacing was only available on a very few models (an IBM model, "Composer" and perhaps one or two other models) that were not widely available in 1972-73; the vast majority of typewriters did not have proportional spacing. Because of this, Dr. Bouffard’s computer program immediately eliminated “over 90%” of the possible fonts from typewriters that could create such a document, narrowing it down to perhaps 15 fonts used by a very few models.
• Next, Dr. Bouffard began entering individual characters in an attempt to match them to the remaining fonts that were available on proportional spacing typewriters of that era, focusing on numbers. Thus far, one character stood out, the number “4.” In the document provided by CBS News, the number 4 does not "have a foot" and has a “closed top,” which is indicative of Times New Roman, a font exclusive to more modern computer word processing programs. other characters matched the old proportional spacing fonts (available on only a small few typewriters of the era), but this number did not (please note that this is only an initial analysis with numerical characters).
Dr. Bouffard ran this number and could not find a match in his entire database of over 4,000 typewriter fonts that have been maintained and collected into his computer database since 1988. Otherwise, the font is very indicative of Times New Roman, the font that is only available on computer word processing programs.
The final word?
Once again, let’s not forget the qualifications: it's a bad copy of a copy and we have no original document for review, but, based on the initial analysis of the documents by an industry expert with over 30 years of experience in typesetting and forensic document examination, the documents “could just well be a fabrication.”
In light of this information, I think that it would be highly appropriate for CBS News and the Boston Globe to attempt to obtain a copy of the original document for more thorough vetting, and run a correction/addendum to the story.
I still have two other forensic document examiners that are examining the pdf file, and I will update if/when they get back to me. I also plan to ask Dr. Bouffard more detail about the nature of the "th" on the end of dates, though in our first conversation he indicated that some typewriters had the capability to do something in that format.
UPDATE: Dr. Bouffard called me again, and after further analysis, he says that he's pretty certain that it's a fake.
Here's why
* He looked through old papers he's written, and noted that he's come up against the inconsistency of the "4" several previous times with forgeries that attempt to duplicate old proportional spaced documents with a computer word processing program.
* Regarding the small "th" after the date, Dr. Bouffard told me that it was possible to order specialty keys that would duplicate the automatic miniaturization completed by word processors after a numerical date, but it was certainly not standard, and wouldn't make a lot of sense in a military setting. "That by itself, while suspicious, is not impossible, but in conjunction with the (font irregularity of the) number four, it is really significant," he said.
* Dr. Bouffard said that signature analysis isn't that relevant because the signature could have easily been copied and pasted onto one of the photocopied forgeries from another document.
* He said that he didn't know who CBS contacted to verify the document's authenticity, but that there is really only one other man that may be more qualified to determine authentic typefaces than himself. I think that the burden of proof may be on CBS to reveal this information.
I asked him to put a percentage on the chances that this was a fake, and he said that was "hard to put a number on it." I then suggested "90%?" Again he said it's "hard to put an exact number, but I'd say it's at least that high, sure. I pretty much agree that that font is Times New Roman."
I hesitate to render verdicts, but based on an initial visual analysis by one of the country's foremost forensic document analysts that specializes in old typefaces, it looks like CBS was duped.
Dr. Bouffard ran this number and could not find a match in his entire database of over 4,000 typewriter fonts that have been maintained and collected into his computer database since 1988. Otherwise, the font is very indicative of Times New Roman, the font that is only available on computer word processing programs.And what of CBS' claim to have verified the documents before publication?
* He said that he didn't know who CBS contacted to verify the document's authenticity, but that there is really only one other man that may be more qualified to determine authentic typefaces than himself. I think that the burden of proof may be on CBS to reveal this information.
I asked him to put a percentage on the chances that this was a fake, and he said that was "hard to put a number on it." I then suggested "90%?" Again he said it's "hard to put an exact number, but I'd say it's at least that high, sure. I pretty much agree that that font is Times New Roman."
Fox needs to jump all over this!!
Soooo does this mean we will be hearing this in the mainstream media tonight? I doubt it.
Nice work. Sorry I jumped all over you earlier.
If these were forgeries, wouldn't President Bush know that and have the White House all over the issue?
What if it is fake on purpose? Sort of...
If I was a PA on 60 Minutes charged with creating the digital graphics for this story the following might happen:
After scanning the original documents I find they are illegible digitally. So I retype verbatim screen shot, bring it into PhotoShop, paste, apply a dimestore old XEROX filter, then photoshop out the signature and place it. Deadline met, the stylized graphic for production has been created. In general the networks do not require the actual document be shown, they have often in the past insisted it is ok to display the actual text in whatever format meets their production needs. So long as the content is not changed.
It needs to be confirmed that those images on the web, and in the show are images of the actual documents before this story goes on.
I am just saying we should start with the question are these the real documents? Cause these images are not consistent with the period.
-- l8s
-- jrawk
Below is what I typed on my computer using word 2000, Times New Roman. This sure looks like the same as the memo being passed around to me.
19 May 1972
Memo to File
SUBJECT: Discussion with Bush, 1 st Lt Bush
1. Phone call from Bush. Discussed options of how Bush can get out of coming to drill from now through November. I told him he could do ET for three months or transfer. Says he wants to transfer to Alabama to any unit he can get in to. Says that he is working on another campaign for his dad.
2. Physical. We talked about him getting his flight physical situation fixed before his date. Says he will do that in Alabama if he stays in a flight status. He has this campaign to do and other things that will follow and may not have the time. I advise him of our investment in him and his commitment. He’s been working with staff to come with options and identified a unit that may accept him. I told him I had to have written acceptance before he would be transferred, but think he’s also talking to someone upstairs.
You just watch.
WOW! The blogosphere is all over this and it's running like wildfire. There's ahardly a blog out there not discussing this now.
It's difficult to keep up with it all but it seems that the biggest giveaway is not just the proportional spacing which (although rare) was available on some typewriters at the time, but the font, the line breaks which corresponds 100% to MS Word, the typeface (Times New Roman - rare or unavailable on typewriters at the time). Also, some of the language used, the abbreviations, etc. are very uncharacteristic of the military at that time.
Now we're getting somewhere. This has enough specifics to demand access to the original document. At the very least, the most nearly original copy, one that hasn't been scanned electronically.
Now we can get past the irrelevant issues of the superscript and proportional font.
It would be really cool to demand a fistful of documents from the same time and same office to see if the font matches exactly.
What is so stunning is that Rather and friends believe that people in this country are so stupid that no one would know it was a fraud.
I think some of the earlier arguments deserved jumping on. This is an expert's opinion, based on actual font samples and not someone's half-baked assertion that typewriters couldn't do that.
Geez, even the most incompetent forger would try to match actual documents from the period.
No problem. Sorry if I was a little sarcastic. That IBM Composer sure looked like a witch to work with.
Why doesn't someone contact IBM (since they made the only proportional font equipment in the early 70's). Surely they have an archive of their texts-- and if its not theirs, its fake.
Awesome work...
Just goes to show what the lib dems will stoop to.....
I wonder what harkin will say on this now, that pathetic piece of crap excuse of a senator....
Send this to Jim.Angle@foxnews.com (he actually replies)
Also try brit.hume@foxnews.com.
Also CALL FNC and ask to be connected to a reporter with these findings.
Nothing reported on CBS can ever be believed again without conclusive evidence if this turns out to be a hoax.
By the way, IBM's proportional-font typewriters were very rare and VERY expensive back in the 1972-1973 time period. I highly doubt the Texas Air National Guard would have access to such expensive machines back then.
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