Posted on 09/17/2004 8:58:58 PM PDT by The Bandit
Edited on 09/17/2004 9:05:20 PM PDT by Admin Moderator. [history]
BAIRD, Tex., Sept. 17 - Bill Burkett, the former Texas National Guard officer who has been caught up in the mystery of how CBS News acquired memos that seem to question President Bush's Vietnam-era National Guard service, unsuccessfully offered information and advice to help the Kerry campaign attack Mr. Bush, according to a posting Mr. Burkett wrote in an e-mail newsletter.
"I spent some time on the phone with the Kerry campaign seniors yesterday," Mr. Burkett wrote on Aug. 21 in an e-mail letter circulated to a list of about 600 Texas Democrats.
He complained that he had to "get through seven layers of bureaucratic kids trying to get a job after the election."
"I talked with Max Cleland," Mr. Burkett continued, referring to the former senator from Georgia who has been supporting Senator John Kerry's Democratic presidential bid.
Alluding to advertisements by a veterans group that deprecates Mr. Kerry's Vietnam service, Mr. Burkett continued, "I asked if they wanted to counterattack or ride this to ground and outlast it, not spending any money. He said counterattack."
"So I gave them the information to do it with," Mr. Burkett wrote. "But none of them have called me back."
Mr. Burkett did not say what information he offered. Earlier this year, he gained attention for saying that in 1998 he saw aides to Gov. George W. Bush of Texas and Guard officials dispose of pieces of Mr. Bush's National Guard record that could prove politically embarrassing. Mr. Bush's aides have denied his account.
"I volunteered to come back out with more," Mr. Burkett wrote.
Mr. Burkett, who was at home on his ranch in Baird, near Abilene, on Friday, declined to comment.
Mr. Cleland said in a telephone interview that Mr. Burkett called him "a couple of weeks ago," as he was out campaigning for Mr. Kerry.
"I couldn't swear to it whether he used the term documents or information," Mr. Cleland said. "It was some kind of stuff, some kind of information he wanted to get to the campaign, or something, regarding Bush's National Guard service. I referred him up to somebody in the campaign."
Mr. Cleland said he received up to 100 calls a week from people with tips and ideas. "He sounded like he had something," Mr. Cleland said. "But of course, in this business, you go around, every friend, everyone around the corner, has some something or other."
Campaign officials said Mr. Cleland had referred Mr. Burkett to someone at the campaign who passed his message on to the research department, where the message was set aside amid the deluge of other calls.
Mr. Burkett has returned to national attention since CBS News and "60 Minutes" reported last week on four memos reportedly from the personal files of Lt. Col. Jerry Killian, Mr. Bush's squadron commander, who died 20 years ago. The memos said that Colonel Killian was under pressure to "sugar coat" the record of the young Lieutenant Bush and that the officer had disobeyed a direct order to take a physical.
Forensic experts, a secretary who said she typed Lieutenant Killian's memos and members of his family have said that they doubt the authenticity of the documents. CBS News has said it is evaluating their legitimacy and has declined to identify its sources. But one person at CBS confirmed an account in Newsweek that Mr. Burkett had helped with the reports. The official was unable to say what role he played.
Mr. Burkett is an avid Democrat and a frequent contributor to the Texas Democratic e-mail list. His name also shows up occasionally as a contributor of criticism of the Bush administration on a Web site, onlinejournal.com. Asked about his contributions to that site, Mr. Burkett on Friday declined to comment. His wife, Nicki, later confirmed that the articles were indeed his.
His many online musings provide a glimpse of his thinking, including his intense desire to remove Mr. Bush from office. They include some inconclusive references to the possibility of more documents appearing about Mr. Bush's Guard service. Aside from the CBS report, the Pentagon on Friday released new documents from Mr. Bush's files.
Addressing Mr. Bush rhetorically in an article on the Web site on Aug. 25, Mr. Burkett wrote, "I know from your files that we have now reassembled, the fact that you did not fulfill your oath, taken when you were commissioned to 'obey the orders of the officers appointed over you.' " On Sept. 4, shortly before CBS News broadcast its report, Mr. Burkett told the Democratic e-mail list he had a hunch that more material might soon emerge to embarrass the president. "No proof, just gut instinct," Mr. Burkett added.
Mr. Burkett's lawyer, David Van Os, said his client had not fabricated any documents. "From my knowledge of Bill's character, I am 100 percent positively, unequivocally certain that Bill Burkett has not created or falsified any documents," Mr. Van Os said.
In another development, ABC News reported on Friday that former Col. Walter B. Staudt - who interviewed Mr. Bush for enrollment to the Texas Air National Guard in 1968 and who was named in a disputed Killian memo as exerting influence on behalf of Mr. Bush - said he "never pressured anybody about George Bush." He also told ABC News that he planned to vote for Mr. Bush.
David D. Kirkpatrick reported from Baird for this article, and Jim Rutenberg from New York. Nathan Levy contributed reporting from Baird.
There went the Mexican vote!
From the headline, I thought the Texan they meant was Dan Rather.
There went the Mexican vote!
Sorry, had unexpected company last night!
He is tied to Michael Moore from his postings and to James Moore the author who made a point on one of the political shows the other night to say that he did not receive papers from Burkett. (Believe it was no Hissy Matthews).
Curiously it's from the same bunch that tried to manufacture a big stink over the Plame "leak," blaming it on others without any evidence. They are all associated with Kerry's campaign. Stealing classified material is OK with them; damaging the war effort is OK with them; anything is OK with them so long as it advances their internationalist cause.
A microfische of an authentic document wouldn't explain the discrepency between the date of the letter and the fact that the officer who was allegedly "pressuring" his underling to sugarcoat things retired 18 months previously. It also wouldn't explain the army terminology, or the improper address block, for lack of a better description.
Not to mention there is no way a microfische can explain all 60 some odd faults, or make the docs perfectly align with a Microsoft Times New Roman document.
Wouldn't be surprised.
* And Wilson’s Partisan Democrat Affiliation Goes Back Before Gillespie’s Comments And Before 2002. Wilson donated $1,000 to Senator Hillary Clinton’s (D-NY) PAC just before leaving for Niger in February 2002, and in 1999 he and his wife gave $2,000 to Al Gore and he gave $1,000 to Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA). He gave $2,000 to Senator John Kerry’s 2004 presidential campaign in May.- (Center For Responsive Politics, www.opensecrets.org , Accessed 9/29/03; Political Money Line, www.tray.com, Accessed 9/30/03; FOX’s “Fox And Friends,” 9/30/03) via - "SAY IT AIN’T SO JOES? Joe Lieberman & Joe Wilson Make Bold Assertions That Facts Don’t Support, "RNC Research, Republican National Committee, October 5, 2003
SEPTEMBER 30, 2003 : (CLIFFORD MAY KNEW ABOUT PLAME'S CIA CONNECTION THROUGH DEMOCRAT SOURCE) Clifford May writes in National Review Online that Plame's CIA connection "wasn't news to me. I had been told that--but not by anyone working in the White House. Rather, I learned it from someone who formerly worked in the government and he mentioned it in an offhand manner, leading me to infer it was something that insiders were well aware of." - The Corner September 30, 2003 Scroll down for May's comments.
(* Freepnote: May went on to say today that it was a democrat who told him Plame's employer in order to convince him that Wilson isn't as far left as May thought. May said this democrat told him before Novak's column was written. )
BTTT
Hi
Thanks for your interst.
The best approach to help things along at this point is to email the Commissioners to express support for the MEDIA ETHICS PROJECT PETITION FOR DECLARATORY RULING AGAINST CBS. The FCC will take special notice where a filing generates significant public interest.
For your information, MEP will be announcing that it has notified Viacom counsel to preserve all reports, memoranda and communications, phone records, meeting minutes and all other written materials related to Rathergate. MEP will next be filing a request with the FCC to issue a subpoena for the Viacom-CBS records. While CBS would usually be able to cite a First Amendment defense to such requests for documents, such an option will not be available to them where the underlying case is shown to involve forgery of government records, fraud, misrepresentation and related illegal conduct.
The contact coordinates of the FCC Chairman and Commissions are as follows:
Chairman Michael K. Powell: Michael.Powell@fcc.gov ---
Commissioner Kathleen Q. Abernathy: Kathleen.Abernathy@fcc.gov ---
Commissioner Michael J. Copps: Michael.Copps@fcc.gov ---
Commissioner Kevin J. Martin: KJMWEB@fcc.gov ---
Commissioner Jonathan S. Adelstein: Jonathan.Adelstein@fcc.gov
Thanks again.
Sincerely,
MEP
Just throwing this out there since everyone's brainstorming.
USA has also admitted to having the same documents CBS used. How did they get them? We now know Burkett was connected to Cleland AND Moore.
I'd like to hear Susan speak. She knows more than she is saying since she wrote that vicious piece about flinging mud right before this all happened.
I must admit some surprise the TIMES made a link to the Kerry campaign. Why?
Could it be they know this is going to spread beyond Burkett? Could it be that even though they have not given up on defeating Bush, that they may want to have an exit plan to save the DNC, so they'll sacrifice Kerry if no other option becomes available?
Make no mistake the entire DNC highr ups were in on this. The NY Times isn't going to let the party be taken down willingly. I could see them making KERRY the fall guy, though Burkett will be their first choice.
"Could it be that Burkett hooked up with Cleland and Rassman when they made their special trip to Crawford, Tx. to deliver his letter to President Bush on August 25th?"
I wonder who was with Cleland when he went to Crawford. There was some TV coverage and perhaps newspaper photos. hmmm.
Well, Baird, Tx. (Burkett's home) is only 3 hours and 43 minutes from Crawford, Tx. I'm not sure what airport Rassman & Cleland would have landed at to get to Crawford, so I haven't been able to figure the distance between that and Baird.
How do we know Burkett is connected to Moore? I have missed that.
Burkett Boasts He 'Reassembled' Bush Files, Aided Michael Moore
CNSNews.com ^ | September 17, 2004 | Marc Morano
Posted on 09/17/2004 12:04:44 PM PDT by NewMediaFan
The man believed to be the source of the documents used in a CBS News report critical of President Bush, wrote a commentary in August for a left wing online journal in which he bragged that he had "reassembled" President Bush's National Guard files.
At the conclusion of Bill Burkett's commentary, he also boasted that he had served as "one of the sources for information in the Michael Moore's film 'Farenheit 911.'" (sic) Burkett did not elaborate on his relationship with Moore. The left wing filmmaker has publicly called Bush "a deserter" for his service in the National Guard.
"I know from your files that we have now reassembled, the fact that you did not fulfill your oath, taken when you were commissioned to "obey the orders of the officers appointed over you," wrote Burkett to President George Bush in the Aug. 25 commentary for Online Journal. Burkett is a retired Texas National Guard lieutenant colonel.
In the commentary entitled, "Bush lies about his service, smears Kerry's and seeks exoneration for the Abu Ghraib brass," Burkett suggests his possible involvement in the CBS News/Dan Rather controversy weeks before the network's "60 Minutes 2" broadcast featuring allegedly fraudulent documents...
fyi
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