[fetts]

"Mr. Rather said that he and his longtime CBS producer, Mary Mapes, had investigated the story for nearly five years, finally convincing a source to give them the National Guard documents. He did not reveal the name of the source, but Mr. Rather said he was a man who had been reluctant to come forth with them because he’d been harassed by political operatives. "Whether one believes it or not, this person believed that he and his family had been harassed and even threatened," he said. "We were not able to confirm that, but his fear was that what had already been threats, intimidation, if he gave up the documents, could get worse—maybe a lot worse."


Presumably, if he held the "story" for 5 years, then released it only when he had "documents", he is admitting the story was no good without more proof. If the "proof/documents" are bogus, then there is no story again.

Also, the source is right. If he gave up the documents, things could get worse, A LOT WORSE.

[jess35]

So...let me get this straight. CBS investigated the story for 5 years and they just now got the documents? The same documents that were also given to CNN, USAToday and the WH, presumably by the source?

Uh-huh.

[Steve_Seattle]

"Whether one believes it or not, this person believed that he and his family had been harassed and even threatened," he said. "We were not able to confirm that, but his fear was that what had already been threats, intimidation, if he gave up the documents, could get worse—maybe a lot worse."

This sounds like an exact description of Burkett, the mentally-unbalanced ex-guardsman with paranoid ideas about Bush.

[eggman]

Presumably, if he held the "story" for 5 years, then released it only when he had "documents", he is admitting the story was no good without more proof. If the "proof/documents" are bogus, then there is no story again.

Also, by continuing to stand behind these documents Dan is admitting that the story will fall apart without them.