CBS won't reveal memos' source - Stand may cause distrust, news chief acknowledges

The Baltimore Sun ^ | September 15, 2004 | David Folkenflik

[Cincinatus' Wife]

CBS News President Andrew Heyward said yesterday that his network will not reveal the source of disputed documents used to report that President Bush received favored treatment in the Texas Air National Guard, even though that decision may mean many Americans would distrust a 60 Minutes report on the subject. "I'm confident the story was appropriately vetted before it went on the air. It is the nature of this kind of investigative reporting that sometimes sources remain confidential," Heyward said in a telephone interview. "We're going to hang tough, even if that leaves some questions unanswered."

The charged political atmosphere surrounding the story has made it more difficult to identify sources publicly, he said.

"This is a political hot potato," Heyward said. "There's a kind of harassment, an attempt to intimidate, that I think gives people pause."

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Document Experts Say CBS Ignored Memo 'Red Flags'***Two document experts retained by CBS News for the disputed "60 Minutes" story on President Bush's National Guard record said yesterday they had warned the program that the memos involved had significant problems but that their concerns were not heeded.

"What I was finding was a lot of red flags," Emily Will told The Washington Post last night. She said she listed five concerns in an e-mail three days before last Wednesday's broadcast and that in a call to a producer the day before the program, "I repeated all my objections as strongly as I could." Will said she told the producer: "If you air the program on Wednesday, on Thursday you're going to have hundreds of document examiners raising the same questions."

In a separate telephone interview, Linda James said that she told CBS the documents "had problems" and that she had questioned "whether they were produced on a computer."

Asked whether CBS took her concerns seriously, James said: "Evidently not."

The concerns of both women were first reported by ABC News correspondent Brian Ross. A third document consultant, Marcel Matley, told The Post on Monday that although he vouched for the signature of Bush's former squadron commander, the late Lt. Col. Jerry B. Killian, there was "no way" he could authenticate Killian's purported memos because they were copies.

CBS continued to strongly defend the authenticity of the memos, which it used as evidence that Bush received favorable treatment while he was in the Texas Air National Guard………***

[shawngf]

Love how they phrase attempts to get at the truth as an attempt to intimidate...everyone at CBS is absoloutely lacking in honesty and integrity. This kind of balls to the wall is only admirable when you have righteousness on your side but when every one else has confirmed and reaffirmed the falsehood of the documents, it just looks moronic.

[DB]

As if publishing fake documents wasn't an "attempt to intimidate"... Burn baby burn...

[xm177e2]

If a source gives you forgeries, burn 'em (the source, not the forgeries). CBS should not be protecting the person(s) responsible for this fraud.

[jporcus]

Must have come from the Kerry camp. There's no other reasonable interpretation of this behavior.

[Fenris6]

We're going to hang tough, even if that leaves some questions unanswered."

Bullocks. There is no journalistic ethic that demands you protect FRAUDELENT sources. Your source forged evidence - give him up or his fate will be visited upon CBS instead.

[Southack]

"CBS News President Andrew Heyward said yesterday that his network will not reveal the source of disputed documents"

So has anyone mentioned that CBS President Heyward has 3 Democratic Party activist children??

Total for this search: $83,000

Contributor	Occupation	Date	Amount	Recipient
HEYWARD, ANDREW BEVERLY HILLS,CA 90210	DIC ENTERTAINMENT	10/12/2000	$1,000	Clinton, Hillary Rodham
HEYWARD, ANDY BURBANK,CA 91505	DIC ENTERTAINMENT/CEO	5/6/2004	$2,000	Emanuel, Rahm
HEYWARD, ANDY BEVERLY HILLS,CA 90210	DIC ENTERTAINMENT/PRESIDENT	5/14/2001	$1,000	Berman, Howard L
HEYWARD, ANDY BURBANK,CA 91505	DIC ENTERTAINMENT	3/31/2002	$1,000	Strickland, Tom
HEYWARD, ANDY BEVERLY HILLS,CA 90210	DIC ENTERTAINMENT	9/19/2000	$20,000	DNC Services Corp
HEYWARD, ANDY BURBANK,CA 91505	DIC ENTERTAINMENT	3/31/2002	$1,000	Strickland, Tom
HEYWARD, ANDY BEVERLY HILLS,CA 90210	DIC ENTERTAINMENT	9/19/2000	$5,000	DNC/Non-Federal Individual
HEYWARD, ANDY MR BURBANK,CA 91505	DIC ENTERTAINMENT/CEO	3/27/2003	$10,000	Democratic Congressional Campaign Cmte
HEYWARD, EVELYN BEVERLY HILLS,CA 90210		6/23/2003	$2,000	Lantos, Tom
HEYWARD, EVELYN BEVERLY HILLS,CA 90210	N/A/HOMEMAKER	3/31/2004	$5,000	Democratic Congressional Campaign Cmte
HEYWARD, EVELYN BEVERLY HILLS,CA 90210	EVELYN HEYWARD/TV PRODUCER	5/14/2001	$1,000	Berman, Howard L
HEYWARD, EVELYN BURBANK,CA 91505	COMMUNITY VOLUNTEER	3/31/2002	$1,000	Strickland, Tom
HEYWARD, EVELYN BEVERLY HILLS,CA 90210	TV PRODUCER	11/18/1999	$1,000	Berman, Howard L
HEYWARD, EVELYN BEVERLY HILLS,CA 90210		6/23/2003	$2,000	Lantos, Tom
HEYWARD, EVELYN BEVERLY HILLS,CA 90210	EVELYN HEYWARD/TV PRODUCER	2/11/2004	$2,000	Berman, Howard L
HEYWARD, EVELYN BURBANK,CA 91505	COMMUNITY VOLUNTEER	3/31/2002	$1,000	Strickland, Tom
HEYWARD, EVELYN BEVERLY HILLS,CA 90210	TV PRODUCER	9/30/2000	$1,000	Clinton, Hillary Rodham
HEYWARD, EVELYN MS BEVERLY HILLS,CA 90210	HOMEMAKER	5/26/2004	$25,000	DNC Services Corp
HEYWARD, PATTI LOS ANGELES,CA 90025		10/11/2000	$1,000	Clinton, Hillary Rodham

The AWB Has Expired - Gun Owners Have Won Again For All Americans!

[governsleastgovernsbest]

Heyward said "There's a kind of harassment, an attempt to intimidate, that I think gives people pause."

True. But we're not going to let your harassment and attempt to intimidate succeed.

"I'm not sure we're going to get a definitive answer on the documents.

You wish.

[12B]

"There's a kind of harassment, an attempt to intimidate, that I think gives people pause."

When all else fails, claim victim status.

[spyone]

You just know they have all hired personal lawyers to determine their own legal liability for prosecution. They are in shutdown mode and won't divulge anything until under oath at congressional hearings. The only hope is they start turning on each other and pointing fingers. Where is USA TODAY on this? The silence is deafening!

[Hillarys Gate Cult]

He shouldn't worry about that. I haven't trusted CBS for decades.

[CWOJackson]

I guess See-BS is admitting that the don't have any integrity to loose over this issue so why worry.

They would be correct.

[watsonfellow]

USA Today is our hope.

[spyone]

Everyone is watching you, USA TODAY. Patriotic Americans?

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Who'dathunkit?

[spyone]

Or Nixonian Rathergates...and total hypocrites!

[FairOpinion]

Sure, they opt for "distrust", rather than reveal their source, which would provide absolute proof of ties to the DNC & the Kerry campaign and proof of knowingly being complicit in perpetrating a fraud on the American people.

Same reason Kerry won't release his records, where revealing them would be absolute proof of what the Swifties are saying.

[NYCVirago]

"We're going to hang tough, even if that leaves some questions unanswered."

I believe that's called stonewalling.

he charged political atmosphere surrounding the story has made it more difficult to identify sources publicly, he said. "This is a political hot potato," Heyward said. "There's a kind of harassment, an attempt to intimidate, that I think gives people pause."

Yeah, those bloggers are really intimidating, aren't they? As for it being a political hot potato, what about CBS' attempt to influence the election by using forged documents!

[Tom_Busch]

This Heyward is an even more delusional, arrogant SOB than Rather. These people must be destroyed.

[counterpunch]

OK, since CBS is stonewalling, it's obviously time now to play hardball.

We must begin outright accusing CBS News and Dan Rather of conspiring with the Kerry campaign and the DNC every chance we get.

In the unlikely event that this statement is actually untrue, it will not matter, since CBS will not reveal the source. We can make the charge with absolute impunity.

The onus is on CBS News now. If they do not disprove this claim (as they have demanded that others disprove theirs), then we can cite this fact as proof that the charge is true.