Posted on 09/18/2004 7:13:58 PM PDT by hope
Forged Doc 'Source': I Contacted Kerry Campaign AUSTIN - A retired Texas National Guard official mentioned as a possible source for disputed documents about President Bush's service in the Guard said he passed along information to a former senator working with John Kerry's campaign. In his first public comment on the CBS documents controversy, the president told The Union Leader of Manchester, N.H., "There are a lot of questions about the documents, and they need to be answered." The retired Guard official, Bill Burkett, said in an Aug. 21 e-mail to a list of Texas Democrats that after getting through "seven layers of bureaucratic kids" in the Democrat's campaign, he talked with former Georgia Sen. Max Cleland about information that would counter criticism of Kerry's Vietnam War service. The Associated Press obtained a copy of the e-mail Saturday. "I asked if they wanted to counterattack or ride this to ground and outlast it, not spending any money. (Cleland) said counterattack. So I gave them the information to do it with," Burkett wrote. Burkett, who lives just outside of Abilene, wrote that no one at the Kerry campaign called him back. The e-mail was distributed to a Yahoo list of Texas Democrats. The site, which had about 570 members Saturday, is not affiliated with the state party. Republican National Committee spokesman Jim Dyke suggested collaboration between Burkett and the Kerry campaign. "The trail of connections is becoming increasingly clear," he said. In the telephone interview published Saturday, Bush replied "I don't know" to a question whether the White House had evidence that either the Kerry campaign or the Democratic Party were involved in releasing the disputed papers. "The Kerry campaign had absolutely nothing to do with these documents, no ifs, ands or buts," spokesman David Wade said. "Jim Dyke inhabits the fantasy world of spin where George Bush pretends we haven't lost millions of jobs and everything in Iraq is coming up roses. He'd be better served getting answers from the president, not hurling baseless attacks." Burkett, who identifies himself as a Democrat, did not return several phone messages left by The Associated Press over the past week. There was no answer at his telephone number Saturday. Burkett's lawyer, David Van Os, a Democratic candidate for the Texas Supreme Court, issued a statement this week saying Burkett "no longer trusts any possible outcome of speaking to the press on any issue regarding George W. Bush." Burkett, who retired from the National Guard in 1999, has been cited in media reports as a source for the CBS News "60 Minutes" story about documents allegedly written by one of Bush's former commanders that indicated the future president ignored an order to take a physical. The authenticity of the documents has been called into question by some experts and relatives of the late Lt. Col. Jerry Killian, who supposedly wrote them when he supervised Bush in 1972 and 1973. One of the memos indicated that Killian had been pressured to sugarcoat Bush's performance. CBS has stood by its reporting, but said the network would redouble its efforts to determine the authenticity of the documents. Leading operatives for the Texas Democratic Party did not receive Burkett's August e-mail, said Kelly Fero, one of the state party's strategists. "The Democrats who run the party and are sort of the main strategists in Texas never saw it," Fero said. "We have lots of groups of Democrats who communicate among themselves constantly by e-mail." Burkett, 55, told the AP in a lengthy telephone interview in February that he now is a supporter of Democrats, although at the time he said he didn't necessarily back Kerry. He said he overheard a conversation in 1997 between then-Gov. Bush's chief of staff, Joe Allbaugh, and then-Adjutant Gen. Daniel James of the Texas Air National Guard in which the two men spoke of getting rid of any military records that would "embarrass the governor." Burkett said he saw documents from Bush's file discarded in a trash can a few days later at Camp Mabry in Austin. Burkett described them as performance and pay documents. Allbaugh and James denied the allegations. Burkett retired from the National Guard after more than 28 years of service because of medical reasons. He was involved in a lawsuit against the Guard over his medical benefits, which he lost on appeal. Associated Press writers Scott Lindlaw in Kennebunkport, Maine, and Liz Austin in Dallas contributed to this report.
© 2004 Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Editor's note:
Read more on this subject in related Hot Topics: 2004 Elections
Reprinted from NewsMax.com
Saturday, Sept. 18, 2004 9:10 p.m. EDT
Also Saturday, a White House official said Bush has reviewed disputed documents that purport to show he refused orders to take a physical examination in 1972 and did not recall having seen them previously. The long-running story on Bush's Texas Air National Guard service took an unusual twist when CBS broadcast a report on what it said were the newly discovered records. The authenticity of the documents has come into doubt.
Bush Administration
Dan Rather/CBS
108
Bullcrap!!! Cleland is working for Ketchup Boy, therefore he's a part of his campaign.
Cleland is a disgrace to his country! Shame on you, Cleland.
Wonder if Max Cleland visited his buddies when he made is big visit down to the Bush ranch.
Could that be possible?
Robin is the unimpeachable source (Rathers Daughter)
Says TT while throwing the chicken bones and typing forged documents to bolster his argument.
Burkett forged the documents and gave them to Cleland? Do you think this story has legs?
Great point!
That's an interesting question. Do you recall the date of Cleland's visit?
Just damn, Mad Max strikes again, with another self inflicted wound.
I was thinking the same.
Cleland is a disgrace, 12 Gauge:
It's also common knowlege around DC, that 'Ol' and a leg' has been sucking around hard for a spot on Kerry's Cabinet since the Democratic Primaries.
If his connection does make the Headlines. I don't think his being a PC Cripple is going to keep him from being ground to a pulp.
Jack.
Cleland visited the Bush ranch on Wednesday, August 25. Four days after the Burkett e-mail to Texas Dems.
well, there ya go!
he talked with former Georgia Sen. Max Cleland about information that would counter criticism of Kerry's Vietnam War service. The Associated Press obtained a copy of the e-mail Saturday.
ping
Ha! can't believe I missed that :)
Hope and faith in the same post. What a night!
LOL! Yeh, that sure worked, Burkett! All you did was screw Kerry, CBS, and all the whacko libs. GOOD WORK, CONGRATULATIONS!
The Swifties are honest. They cannot be countered!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.