Air National Guard Commanding Officer Alleges Bush Military Records Cleansing (Bill Burkett-11/2000)

SUBJ: Military Records of George W. Bush - Clarification
Bill L. Burkett LTC (ret)

Within the morning press reports in the London Sunday Times and other publications, I am stated to have alleged that the staff of George W. Bush doctored [the key term] the military files of George W. Bush in whatever attempt to cover his military record.

No. Not whatsoever. In no way did any member of the Gore Campaign or any election official, Republican or Democrat know my comments. My observations were responses to questions of how the file was developed; disseminated under the Freedom of information Act (FOIA) and what was missing within the files which would resolve the question of satisfactory participation. These were my personal responses to the asked questions that were not sanctioned by anyone, nor shared with anyone. They were made on the basis of my 28 year career, my working experience within the senior staff at the Texas National Guard headquarters and my knowledge of the operational procedures of the US military including the subject of personnel files of retired or discharged soldiers and airmen.

Question 3 will background how this occurred which should be self-explanatory. The context of the DUI story indicated the mishandling or failure to fully disclose a past criminal record of Governor Bush. I believe that the military record and the irregularities that point to a possible extended period of nonperformance and early release may have also indicated a pattern of lack of full disclosure by the Governor and his campaign. This issue of military records had been highly visible on at least two previous occasions within the campaign, however, Senator Kerrey as an honored and decorated SEAL most recently focused on this issue within the last ten days I would guess that within the eleventh hour and following the revelation of the DUI story, the media and voters were waiting for the next shoe to drop. This issue may have been viewed as the next shoe.

In June of 1998 and with the full and personal knowledge of Dan Bartlett and the Governor, I reported problems of force structure, readiness operational efficiency personnel and procedures within the Texas National Guard. At that time, and periodically thereafter, I have been in contact with various [audio, video and print]news writers and publishers. In 1998, I provided sufficient detailed information including documentation of severe irregularities within the Governors own chain of command in an effort to correct those deficiencies which I believe undermined the Texas National Guard and in some cases broke the law.

I contacted a website that outlined the Governor's personal military career irregularities and suggested that there were two official documents that would resolve the issue of satisfactory and honorable service. Suddenly on Friday afternoon, my telephone became barraged with media calls and messages including those who had known of my previous whistleblowing but had failed report it. I explained my background and personal observations to each of them in minute detail, often repeating the entire process for clarity. I was extremely careful not to point an accusing finger, but rather shape a question which could resolve this allegation of integrity that had clouded the Bush campaign since June of 1999 - the issue of his personal military service.

No, instead I stated that the way this had been handled by the Bush staff including knowledgeable military officials at the Texas national guard, that it left the implication that the Bush staff had first incompetently provided an incomplete military file for the Governor which was consistent with his autobiography. I further observed that they probably did not anticipate that the file would be scrutinized to the level that it was. Whenever someone determined holes is service big enough to drive a Mack truck through additional information [all of which was unofficial and some in pencil notations] were then submitted to the press to answer questions. I further observed this "Trust me, I'm the Governor" approach had worked throughout Texas for George W. Bush within his tenure and the media had give the Governor a free pass without the same scrutiny as the Vice President until the eleventh hour revelation of the DUI. But this still left the basic question - Why didn't Governor Bush simply release his military pay files and retirement points accounting records, which are the only OFFICIAL records that will show that he satisfactorily and honorably completed his service commitment?

Yes. In each call, I, in essence scolded media representatives for not doing their homework and reviewing this information before the eleventh hour. When asked if I would go on record, I said, yes, I have nothing to hide even though I knew that the mention of my name with the Bush campaign would immediately strike a personal response because of my whistleblowing in 1998.

Again, was this a Democratic ploy as stated by Karen Hughes of the Bush staff?

Karen Hughes has again skirted the real issue and question. Dan Bartlett and the Governor have also refused to answer the basic question and furnish the OFFICIAL files that will resolve this issue. I am in no way linked to the Democratic Party. I am simply an energized citizen and retired soldier who would like to have the issues of each possible commander-in-chief resolved prior to the election, in order that we can escape holding another American Presidency hostage to actions and allegations by the opposing party in
Congress. We have suffered from this partisanship for the past eight years. George W. Bush says that he is the only candidate who can bridge this impasse. This is his opportunity to start that process. This is what I believe other Americans share with me - a sincere belief that they have the right and capacity to make educated decisions; but that candidates have the responsibility for full and complete disclosure.If you would like to speak with me personally - on the record - I can be reached at [Phone Number Deleted] in Abilene, Texas.

Lest anyone think the Burkett "record cleansing" allegations are new, here's a question and answer section on the subject from the website Talion.com in November 2000. The Burkett allegations were likely the second October/November 2000 surprise (to run with the DUI charge). And there's a lot of sordid history on the Bush AWOL charge in 2000:

Anatomy of a Smear Campaign --- A Draft History of the 2000 Bush AWOL Charges

There's a reason why John Kerry and the Democrats "wish they had a delete button on Lexis-Nexis" and the Internet: because of Algore's Internet, we know the players involved in the late-2000 attempts to smear President Bush with a charge of being drunk, high and AWOL. Not surprisingly, the names are remarkably similar to those we are hearing today.

Martin Heldt and the FOIA Requests

In June 2003, self-described Clinton, Iowa farmer and former railroad brakeman Marty Heldt posted an article "MISSING IN ACTION: George W. Bush's Fishy Service Record; Son of Privilege" to the liberal website, TomPaine.com. On July 13, 2000, Mr. Heldt sent a FOIA request to the Pentagon, requesting President Bush's military records. By the end of July, Mr. Heldt wrote on the website awol.gq.nu:

In the shadows of Valley Forge....

A timely packet arrived at my door just as the GOP convention opened in Philadelphia. It was some of George W. Bush’s records that were obtained under the Freedom of Information Act.

At first, Mr. Heldt offered 20 pages of "Bush's National Guard records" on his website for $7.50. It is not clear whether this offer was made before or after Mr. Heldt actually received the documents from his FOIA request. At some later point (likely September or October), he posted these documents on awol.gq.nu and his personal Internet site, www.cis.net. On the awol.gq.nu site, Mr. Heldt wrote "Nearly two hundred Manila wrapped pages of George Walker Bush's service records came to me like some sort of giant banana flip stuffed into my mailbox."

Robert A. Rogers --- The Early Months

Marty Heldt was not the only person interested in smearing the President Bush's service. In July 2000, Air National Guard veteran and supposed self-employed civilian, and free-lance writer Robert A. Rogers (a.k.a. Rar, dba SUNSHINE Ventures, Inc.) from Virginia drafted a series of documents on the President's Texas Air National Guard service. These documents were largely hidden on the website www.herbnstone.com, which started out as a homepage for a charity, the Sycamores of Pasadena, and has subsequently hosted an eclectic mix of anti-war and anti-Bush files.

Unlike Mr. Heldt's website and operations, Mr. Rogers' materials were fairly sophisticated. He drafted a July 28, 2000 press release "A Fangless George Walker Bush", calling the President "A Privileged One Who Received Fast-Track Entry and Repeated Special Treatment, Two Years of Relief from Active-duty Alert Pilot Duties, Appears To Have Dodged DoD-required Substance Abuse Tests Twice AND Received a Ten Month Early-Out Honorable Discharge". Mr. Rogers attached an extremely detailed and footnoted expose with detailed information on alleged facts about the Texas National Guard and President Bush's military record (longer version here, comparing the President's service with Mr. Rogers' --- date unclear, but modified on or before October 23, 2000).

On August 27, 2000, Mr. Rogers drafted an even more detailed press release, claiming that President Bush was "trying to create a 'war hero' image" and casting the "decisive issue still remaining on the table" not as "the alleged drug use one, but the integrity one -- not having to abide by the rules that every other member of the U.S. military is expected to adhere to -- and the men like Bush (who pretended to do their duty) all the while using family influence and favoritism to save their skins." The Internet version of this "press release" had very interesting attachments, including a description of the "EVOLUTION of Print Media Coverage", a "Condensed Attendance/Service TIMELINE", a description of the "Air Force Code of Values", and a "Summary Scorecard" that looks suspiciously like talking points.

By October 4, 2000, Mr. Rogers expanded his effort to the website of liberal Internet "consultants", Bob Fertik and David Lytel, democrats.com. In his more slickly composed article, The Smoking Jet: Bush Military Record Reveals Grounding and Absence for Two Full Years, Mr. Rogers once again claimed President Bush was "Avoiding Vietnam through Preferential Treatment" and may have given up flying due to substance abuse.

The Bush Cleansed the Records "October/November Surprise" -- Bill Burkett Arrives on the Scene with Heldt and Rogers

On November 2, 2000, the so-called "Red Dog Publicists" at Talion.com issued a press release on the Bush is AWOL story, asking the press to "interview former Air National Guard pilot Robert A. Rogers and researcher Marty Heldt" for a remarkable story "as they lead you through the 160 pages of documents uncovered in their Freedom of Information inquiries into bush's official military records." This was around the same time the Bush DUI bombshell was dropped. And on the same day, Senators Bob Kerrey and Inouye held a press conference on the AWOL charges. This press release is on the same website as the Burkett question and answer session. Both talion.com and herbnstone.com included transcripts of the remarks given at the press conference. But these transcripts were not identical --- the herbnstone (Rogers) transcript also included remarks of Max Cleland.
In addition to the Burkett question and answer session that appeared on the talion.com website, there is also what appears to be a statement of someone who is likely Bill Burkett on herbnstone.com (the Rogers website), although the date on which it was posted is unclear. A Google search shows an e-mail with a similar statement dated November 6, 2000. As far as I know, articles based on the Burkett issue were first printed in the London Sunday-Times on Saturday, November 4 (U.S. Time). Among others, liberal muckrakers Linda L. Starr and Bev Conover covered the story on the liberal site, Online Journal, as did Bob Fertik of Democrats.com.

A Talion.com Endnote

One of the principals in the seemingly now-defunct Talion.com was Bev Harris. Bev Harris is the author of "Black Box Voting", a book about the DNC's scare Floridian voters tactic of the month -- how electronic voting machines are hackable.

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Burkett is the forger.