Anatomy of a Forgery

The American Spectator ^ | 9-10-4 | Washington Prowler

[hope]

Print Article         Close Window

Anatomy of a Forgery

By The Prowler

Published 9/10/2004 12:09:06 AM

More than six weeks ago, an opposition research staffer for the Democratic National Committee received documents purportedly written by President George W. Bush's Texas Air National Guard squadron commander, the late Col. Jerry Killian. The oppo researcher claimed the source was "a retired military officer." According to a DNC staffer, the documents were seen by both senior staff members at the DNC, as well as the Kerry campaign. "More than a couple people heard about the papers," says the DNC staffer. "I've heard that they ended up with the Kerry campaign, for them to decide to how to proceed, and presumably they were handed over to 60 Minutes, which used them the other night. But I know this much. When there was discussion here, there were doubts raised about their authenticity." The concerns arose from the sourcing. "It wasn't clear that our source for the documents would have had access to them. Our person couldn't confirm from what file, from what original source they came from." The documents that CBS News used were not documents from any of Bush's personnel files from his time in the National Guard. Rather, CBS News stated that they were documents uncovered in the personnel files of Killian. That would explain why the White House or the Pentagon had never before released or even seen them. According to a Kerry campaign source, there was little gossip about the supposedly hot documents inside the office of the campaign on McPherson Square. "Those documents were not something anyone was talking about or trying to generate buzz on," says the staffer. "It wasn't like there were small groups of people talking about this as a bombshell. I think people here weren't sure what to make of it, because provenance of these documents was uncertain." A CBS producer, who initially tipped off The Prowler about the 60 Minutes story, says that despite seeking professional assurances that the documents were legitimate, there was uncertainty even among the group of producers and researchers working on the story. "The problem was we had one set of documents from Bush's file that had Killian calling Bush 'an exceptionally fine young officer and pilot.' And someone who Killian said 'performed in an outstanding manner.' Then you have these new documents and the tone and content are so different." The CBS producer said that some alarms bells went off last week when the signatures and initials of Killian on the documents in hand did not match up with other documents available on the public record, but producers chose to move ahead with the story. "This was too hot not to push. If there were doubts, those people didn't show it," says the producer, who works on a rival CBS News program. Now, the producer says, there is growing concern inside the building on 57th Street that they may have been suckered by the Kerry campaign. "There is a school of thought here that the Kerry people dumped this in our laps, figuring we'd do the heavy lifting on the story. That maybe they had doubts about these documents but hoped we'd get more information," says the producer. "If that's the case, then we're bigger fools than we already appear to be judging by all the chatter about how these documents could be forgeries." ABC News' political unit held a conference call at 7:00 p.m. Thursday evening to discuss the memo and its potential ramifications should the documents turn out to be a forgery. That meeting took place around the time that the deceased Killian's son made public statements questioning the documents' authenticity. According to one ABC News employee, some reporters believe that the Kerry campaign as well as the DNC were parties in duping CBS, but a smaller segment believe that both the DNC and the Kerry campaign were duped by Karl Rove, who would have engineered the flap to embarrass the opposition.

Subscribe

[Dr Snide]

If I was a Colts fan I would be pretty frustrated right now. They gave that game away with turnovers.

[stboz]

...but a smaller segment believe that both the DNC and the Kerry campaign were duped by Karl Rove, who would have engineered the flap to embarrass the opposition.

Oh, God! Its'...it's...

The Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy!!

Pay back is a bitch!

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

See my tagline.

[talosiv]

Pinch me ... CBS blaming Kerry campaign .... OH ... MY .... GOD ... I HAVE DIED AND GONE TO HEAVEN.

[madison46]

Hugh Hewitt wondered how long they would take to blame Rove

[Dr Snide]

The oppo researcher claimed the source was "a retired military officer."
Wesley Clark, perhaps.....


Or John Kerry

[Cboldt]

More than six weeks ago, an opposition research staffer for the Democratic National Committee received documents purportedly written by President George W. Bush's Texas Air National Guard squadron commander, the late Col. Jerry Killian.

The oppo researcher claimed the source was "a retired military officer."

More than 6 weeks ago -- opposition research staffer inside the DNC (not inside Kerry campaign) -- memos from a retired military officer.

Has the makings of a great whodunnit. That opposition research staffer, middleman, is the one I want to know first. Could have made up the story about getting docs from a retired military officer. So many cockroaches, watch 'em scatter.

[t2buckeye]

Oh please!!!! Karl Rove?????? I know what they are going to say. They will say that since the WH didn't question the memos veracity, the WH was the source. The fact is...look at the story. The WH and the Pentagon never had these memos in their possession, they were portrayed by CBS as part of a personal file, so the WH treated it like all the rest of the documents...they put them out there and continued to stay on a message about the future.
I think someone THOUGHT they were helping the Kerry campaign (Michael Moore type) thinking that CBS and the rest would air it without question...
they got pretty far, didn't they?

[John Jorsett]

but a smaller segment believe that both the DNC and the Kerry campaign were duped by Karl Rove, who would have engineered the flap to embarrass the opposition

Karl Rove, the Zelig of political conspiracy.

[Anti-Bubba182]

It will be very bad for Kerry if they trace this back to his campaign and I bet CBS is going to be really angry over this.

I can see them outting whoever gave them the documents, or if they don't, they will see that it leaks out.

[The South Texan]

Coordination between CBS and Kerry folks? Hmmm.. Are we going to hear the screaming from the press like we did about the Swifties and coordination with the Bush White House?

This Rathergate stuff makes Watergate look like a parking violation.

[Boundless]

> ... an opposition research staffer for the Democratic
> National Committee received documents ...

Nice trace-back so far.

> ... oppo researcher claimed the source was
> "a retired military officer."

As if a DNC staffer would know how to be sure.
Anyway, they had to assume that most ex-mil people
had no love for the DNC.
Warning klaxon #1.

> "... they ended up with the Kerry campaign, for
> them to decide to how to proceed, .."

Plenty of faces for all the egg, it would seem.

> "It wasn't clear that our source for the documents
> would have had access to them. Our person couldn't
> confirm from what file, from what original source
> they came from."

Warning klaxon #2.

> "I think people here weren't sure what to make of it,
> because provenance of these documents was uncertain."

I guess nobody actually LOOKED at them.

> A CBS producer ... says that despite seeking
> professional assurances that the documents were
> legitimate ...

What an odd sentence. Did they GET the assurance?
Warning klaxon #3.

> "The problem was we had one set of documents from
> Bush's file that had Killian calling Bush 'an
> exceptionally fine young officer and pilot.' And
> someone who Killian said 'performed in an outstanding
> manner.' Then you have these new documents and the
> tone and content are so different."

Warning klaxon #4.

> ... the signatures and initials of Killian on the
> documents in hand did not match up ...

Warning klaxon #5.

> "This was too hot not to push. ...

Ding. We have a winner.

> ... a smaller segment believe that both the DNC and
> the Kerry campaign were duped by Karl Rove, who would
> have engineered the flap to embarrass the opposition.

B.S. Even Rove would not think so many people could be
so stupid as to ignore the obvious problems with these
documents.

Folks, the DNC and the Kerry campaign are going to push
this phoney baloney "victim of hoax" and "entrapped by
dirty trick" line. Push back. They walked into this
with more than ample warning, eyes wide shut.

[swheats]

Rove must be a freaking genius. /sarcasm

I guess CBS never heard of something being to good to be true.

[Grim]

The CBS producer said that some alarms bells went off last week when the signatures and initials of Killian on the documents in hand did not match up with other documents available on the public record, but producers chose to move ahead with the story.

So the signatures don't match but they went ahead anyway. And they admit it. That makes them guilty of libel. If nothing else, this will be the last we hear of the Bush National Guard nonsense.

[rocky88]

"I didn't realize there were enough hours in the day for Rove to do all of the things he is being accused of."

Yes, especially right now with all that hurricane stuff he whipped up with his evil RNC weather machine.. last I heard he was going to have Hurricane Ivan hit OHIO so all their voting machines are destroyed.

[Shermy]

How reliable is the Prowler?

There could be so many CYA stories coming out it will be hard to track.

[Travis McGee]

CBS, that bastion of the Old Media, just can't adapt to the new realities. In the old days, their use of a forgery would have "passed" for months, until after the election at least. They just can't grasp the real-time fact checking and analysis done by thousands of freepers and bloggers with access to all of the source information.

That's why I call Free Republic the world's first and greatest conservative "virtual think tank."

CBS didn't stand a chance. They were like a placid tree-grazing brontosaurus, staring up at an incoming meteor.

[Howlin]

Very.

[Travis McGee]

It's a national case of "hot potato."

Somebody will have no one left to say, "so and so gave me the memos."

I wouldn't want to be that person. If he's a Kerry staffer, the election is OVER.

[Redcoat LI]

How reliable is the Prowler?

Very, they have an inside man/woman/transgendered in the Kerry camp.