Posted on 09/15/2004 5:44:51 PM PDT by John Jorsett
While CBS continues to treat the viewing public like idiots, they’ve sent a much more detailed statement to their affiliate stations. An undercover lizardoid operative has forwarded the statement to me:
September 15, 2004
MARION CARR KNOX, SECRETARY OF LT. COL. JERRY KILLIAN, TO APPEAR ON “60 MINUTES” TONIGHT IN FIRST TELEVISION INTERVIEW
CBS NEWS AFFIRMS ITS INTENTION TO CONTINUE TO REPORT ALL ASPECTS OF THE STORY
Marion Carr Knox, the secretary of Lt. Col. Jerry Killian, whose personal memos were part of a report on last Wednesday’s (8) 60 MINUTES broadcast regarding questions about President Bush’s service at the Texas Air National Guard, will appear in a report on 60 MINUTES tonight (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.
In the interview, Ms. Knox states that she does not believe the memos are genuine. However, she confirms that the content of the memos does reflect the feelings of Lt. Col. Killian at the time and accurately portrays events that were taking place in connection with then-Lt. Bush’s Texas Air National Guard service.
“I know that I didn’t type ‘em. However, the information in those is correct,” Ms. Knox told CBS News for tonight’s broadcast.
In light of the questions about that original 60 MINUTES Wednesday report, CBS News states that it will redouble its efforts to continue reporting aggressively on all aspects of the story, in an effort to resolve those questions. Tonight’s 60 MINUTES interview with Ms. Knox is part of that effort.
The CBS News report was based on a preponderance of evidence: many interviews, both on- and off-camera, with individuals with direct and indirect knowledge of the situation, atmosphere and events of the period in question, as well as the procedures, character and thinking of Lt. Col. Killian, Lt. Bush’s squadron commander in the Guard, at the time.
The report also included the first television interview with Ben Barnes, a Democrat and current fundraiser for John Kerry, who said he helped get Mr. Bush into the Texas Air National Guard at the request of a Bush family friend.
Numerous questions have been raised about the authenticity of the documents. CBS News believes it is important for the news media to be accountable and address legitimate questions.
Procurement of The DocumentsThe 60 MINUTES Wednesday broadcast reported that it obtained six documents from the personal files of Lt. Col. Killian, four of which were used in the broadcast. In accordance with longstanding journalistic ethics, CBS News is not prepared to reveal its confidential sources or the method by which 60 MINUTES Wednesday received the documents. CBS News’ reporting determined that the source of the memos had access to the documents he provided and an opportunity to obtain copies of them. Our sources included individuals who had first-hand knowledge of the events in question.
Additionally, Mary Mapes, the producer of the report and a well-respected, veteran journalist whose credibility has never been questioned, has been following this story for more than five years. She has a vast and detailed knowledge of the issues surrounding President Bush’s service in the Guard and of the individuals involved in the story. Before the report was broadcast, it was vetted and screened in accordance with CBS News standards by several veteran 60 MINUTES Wednesday senior producers and CBS News executives.
Authentication of the Documents
Four independent individuals with expertise in the authentication of documents were consulted prior to the broadcast of the story regarding the documents 60 MINUTES Wednesday obtained: document examiners Marcel B. Matley, James J. Pierce, Emily Will and Linda James.
As CBS News has publicly stated, the documents used in the report were photocopies of originals.
Two of the examiners, Mssrs. Matley and Pierce, attested and continue to attest to their belief in the documents’ authenticity. (see attachments 1 and 2) Two others, Ms. Will and Ms. James, appeared on a competing network yesterday, where they misrepresented their conversations and communication with CBS News. In fact, they assessed only one of the four documents used in the report, and while one of them raised a question about one aspect of that one document, they did not raise substantial objections or render definitive judgment on the document. Ultimately, they played a peripheral role in the authentication process and deferred to Mr. Matley, who examined all four of the documents used.
Additionally, two more individuals with specific expertise relative to the documents - Bill Glennon, a technology consultant and long-time IBM typewriter service technician, and Richard Katz, a computer software expert - were asked to examine the documents after the broadcast for a report in the Sept. 13 CBS EVENING NEWS. They, too, found nothing to lead them to believe that the documents did not date back to the early 1970s. They strongly refuted the claim made by some critics that there were no typewriters in existence in the early 1970s that could have produced such documents. (see attachments 3 and 4)
CBS News Experts’ Conclusions About the Documents
- Katz believes the documents were written on a typewriter and not a computer. (attachment 3)
- Glennon confirms that the superscript “th” and proportional spacing of the typeface of the four documents were definitely available on typewriters as early as the late 1960s. (attachment 4)
- Pierce believes that the documents in question are authentic as best as he can determine, given that they are copies and not originals. (attachment 2)
- Matley says the signatures are, indeed, Killian’s. (attachment 1)
Again, the documents used for the 60 MINUTES Wednesday report were copies, and most of the analysis fueling the current controversy is based on scanned, downloaded, faxed or re-copied copies. For now, the disagreements among “dueling experts” have not been resolved.
Other Issues
Maj. Gen. Bobby Hodges, who was group commander of Lt. Bush’s squadron, has stated to The New York Times and Los Angeles Times, among others, that he believes the documents are not real, but also told The New York Times, in an article that appeared on Sept. 12, that the information in the CBS News report “...reflected issues he and Col. Killian had discussed-namely Mr. Bush’s failure to appear for a physical, which military records released previously by the White House show, led to a suspension from flying.” That is consistent with what he told CBS News off-camera as part of the research for this report.
A reference in one memo to Gen. Buck Staudt applying pressure on behalf of Lt. Bush raised questions because Staudt had left his job 18 months before the memo was written. But CBS News’ background reporting determined that Staudt remained a powerful figure in the Guard for years after his retirement, a fact that is confirmed by Ms. Knox in a newspaper interview. More importantly, the same memo referred to unhappiness in Austin, an obvious reference to Staudt’s successor at the Austin, Texas, headquarters of the Texas Air National Guard.
Conclusions
The editorial content of the report was not based solely on the physical documents, but also on numerous credible sources who supported what the documents said.
Through all of the frenzied debate of the past week, the basic content of the 60 MINUTES Wednesday report - that President Bush received preferential treatment to gain entrance to the Texas Air National Guard and that he may not have fulfilled all of the requirements — has not been substantially challenged.
CBS News will make every effort to resolve the contradictions and answer the unanswered questions about the documents and will continue to report on all aspects of the story.
Absolutely amazing. So they’re following the lead of the New York Times, who declared the memos Fake ... But Accurate!
BULL PUCKEY...
Yeah, and the public. Same old same old, only now the public has a way to voice their opinions.
I am calling my affiliate tomorrow and letting them know how I feel about see-BS using forgeries to try and influence the election of the President. This is pathetic.
Dan is truly stuck in the past, where news anchors were the news gatekeepers.
CBS doesn't give a rat's patootie about what this'll do to its affiliates...
"The 60 MINUTES Wednesday broadcast reported that it obtained six documents from the personal files of Lt. Col. Killian"
THEY HAD THE SIX ALL ALONG.
If CBS is unwilling to identify who gave them the documents, they are currently perpetuating a smear by not letting the whole story (the TRUTH) out.
That source must really be someone interesting. CBS will self-destruct rather than give him/her up...
Speaking of Bob Scieffefer, I know National Review Online has editorialized that he should not be the moderator of the debate because of the issue with CBS. Just another thought, I believe his brother, Tom, was a partner of W's in the Texas Rangers baseball team. That might be another reason not to have him moderate. Although Schieffer wouldn't be pro W, I remember some of his newscasts in the 80's during Reagan. Never saw so much venom. As a professional broadcaster myself I was appalled. Couldn't believe the network would let him get away with it. But they did.
That should read "She has a vast and virulent bias against President Bush"
My suggestion- slam the affiliates with emails, let them know we're not buying the trite and they'll turn it back on the home network...most of the city local newsrooms are NOT corrupt and they don't want to be brought down by this...
Sounds like the person who obtained the documents is being accused of stealing them. Read it again.
Faked doc. STOP RIGHT THERE! Hand over your press cards now. The door slamming you in the butt is also "essentially true".
I love the, "Has not been challenged remark" Why would the White House dream of responding when CBiaS is self-destructing on its own quite nicely. However, I will respond on their behalf:
Barnes is a liar, he has given contradictory stories, even his own daughter has acknowledged that Barnes told him that he never tried to get President Bush in the Guard.
Barnes own political career came to a scandelous end and he has had his own brushes with the law.
Barnes is one of the biggest fundraisers for Kerry in the country.
Barnes told his daughter that he is writing a book that will lead with the "Bush incident"
A senior member of the guard at the time has stated there was no waiting list for those eligible for pilot training, so Bush didn't need any assistance.
Even if what Barnes said was true, he has never claimed that anyone from the Bush family approached him, or asked anyone else to do so.
Of course, you would never know one of these facts if you only watched CBias.
Need to make sure the experts cited in here get a copy of this quickly. At least two of them could take legal action against CBS for telling affiliates that they "misrepresented their conversations with CBS".
"I think there is no sense in forming an opinion when there is no evidence
to form it on.
If you build a person without any bones in him he may look fair enough to the eye,
but he will be limber and cannot stand up; and I consider that evidence is the bones of an opinion."
- Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc, Mark Twain
She's said she thinks the memos are fake, and that's the important thing. Her comments regarding what she thought Killian's feelings were are weak "proof" indeed, and anyway contractdicted by the record.
Too true, the a local talk radio host here in Seattle, John Carlson of KVI 570, knew Mapes when they both worked at KIRO, and has reported her to be very, very liberal, and the type that would grind an ax.
Citing Mapes is tantamount to admitting conflict of interest.
Did he really say this?
I thought he said that all these signatures were from the same person.
That's a different statement.
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