Posted on 09/20/2004 9:34:42 AM PDT by SmithPatterson
CBS Regrets Bush Memos Story
NEW YORK, Sept. 20, 2004
(CBS/AP) CBS News on Monday said it regretted broadcasting a story about President Bush's military service based on documents whose authenticity is in doubt, saying the source of the material had misled the network.
CBS News Anchor Dan Rather, the reporter of the original story, apologized.
In a statement, CBS said former Texas Guard official Bill Burkett "has acknowledged that he provided the now-disputed documents" and "admits that he deliberately misled the CBS News producer working on the report, giving her a false account of the documents' origins to protect a promise of confidentiality to the actual source."
The network did not say the memoranda — purportedly written by one of Mr. Bush's National Guard commanders — were forgeries. But the network did say it could not authenticate the documents and that it should not have reported them.
"Based on what we now know, CBS News cannot prove that the documents are authentic, which is the only acceptable journalistic standard to justify using them in the report," said the statement by CBS News President Andrew Heyward. "We should not have used them. That was a mistake, which we deeply regret."
"Nothing is more important to us than our credibility and keeping faith with the millions of people who count on us for fair, accurate, reliable, and independent reporting," Heyward continued. "We will continue to work tirelessly to be worthy of that trust."
Additional reporting on the documents will air on Monday's CBS Evening News, including the interview of Burkett by Rather. CBS News pledged "an independent review of the process by which the report was prepared and broadcast to help determine what actions need to be taken."
In a separate statement, Rather said that "after extensive additional interviews, I no longer have the confidence in these documents that would allow us to continue vouching for them journalistically."
"I find we have been misled on the key question of how our source for the documents came into possession of these papers," he said.
"We made a mistake in judgment, and for that I am sorry," Rather added.
The authenticity of the documents — four memoranda attributed to Guard commander Lt. Col. Jerry Killian — has been under fire since they were described in a Sept. 8 broadcast of 60 Minutes.
CBS had not previously revealed who provided the documents or how they were obtained.
Burkett has previously alleged that in 1997 he witnessed allies of then-Gov. Bush discussing the destruction of Guard files that might embarrass Mr. Bush, who was considering a run for the presidency. Bush aides have denied the charge.
In the statement, CBS said: "Burkett originally said he obtained the documents from another former Guardsman. Now he says he got them from a different source whose connection to the documents and identity CBS News has been unable to verify to this point."
Questions about the president's National Guard service have lingered for years. Some critics question how Mr. Bush got into the Guard when there were waiting lists of young men hoping to join it to escape the draft and possible service in Vietnam.
In the Sept. 8 60 Minutes report, former Texas Lt. Gov. Ben Barnes — a Democrat — claimed that, at the behest of a friend of the Bush family, he pulled strings to get young George W. Bush into the Guard.
Other questions concern why Mr. Bush missed a physical in 1972, and why there are scant records of any service by Mr. Bush during the latter part of 1972, a period during which he transferred to an Alabama guard unit so he could work on a campaign there.
The CBS documents suggested that Mr. Bush had disobeyed a direct order to attend the physical, and that there were other lapses in his performance. One memo also indicated that powerful allies of the Bush family were pressuring the guard to "sugar coat" any investigation of Lt. Bush's service.
Skeptics immediately seized on the typing in the memos, which included a superscripted "th" not found on all 1970s-era typewriters. As the controversy raged, CBS broadcast interviews with experts who said that some typewriters from that period could have produced the markings in question.
Other critics saw factual errors in the documents, stylistic differences with other writing by Killian and incorrect military lingo.
Some relatives of Col. Killian disputed that the memos were real. His former secretary said the sentiments regarding Mr. Bush's failures as an officer were genuine, but the documents were not.
Some document experts whom CBS consulted for the story told newspapers they had raised doubts before the broadcast and were ignored. CBS disputed their accounts, pointing to the main document expert the network consulted, Marcel Matley.
Matley insisted he had vouched for the authenticity of the signatures on the memos, but had not determined whether the documents themselves were genuine.
Last week, CBS News stood by its reporting while vowing to continue working the story. The network acknowledged there were questions about the documents and pledged to try to answer them.
Mr. Bush maintains that he did not get special treatment in getting into the Guard, and that he fulfilled all duties. He was honorably discharged.
On Saturday, a White House official said Mr. Bush has reviewed the disputed documents that purport to show he refused orders to take a physical examination in 1972, and did not recall having seen them previously.
In his first public comment on the 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 Bush campaign has alleged that their Democratic rivals were somehow involved in the story. John Kerry's campaign denies it. In an email revealed last week, Burkett said he had contacted the Kerry campaign but received no response.
Meanwhile, a federal judge has ordered the Pentagon to find and make public by next week any unreleased files about Mr. Bush's Vietnam-era Air National Guard service to resolve a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed by the Associated Press.
The White House and Defense Department have on several occasions claimed that they had released all the documents only to make additional records available later on.
©MMIV, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
This is without a doubt the most non-confessional "confession" I have ever seen. It's no wonder CBS and Kerry love each other so much - no one does better than these two at going on and on and on with a statement that says absolutely nothing. This is nothing more than an attempt to have it both ways - restore their "credibility" by saying they have finally determined that the documents are forgeries, while at the same time pushing the line that the content of them is still true.
Now watch the MSM try to say "Case closed!" and report that it is time to "move on." Watch them gush endlessly above Rather's "bravery" in finally "fessing up." And watch them lay low for a few weeeks until people's memories start to fade a bit, and then go right back to claiming that "Bush shirked his TANG duties and there are documents to prove it."
From a crazy ANG to a crazy dictator or two. I think Rather enjoys being misled.
I no longer have the confidence in these documents that would allow us to continue vouching for them journalistically."
Is that CBSese for FORGERY?
Now, now; the phony exploding fuel tank demo was perpetrated by NBC, not CBS.
Other questions concern why Mr. Bush missed a physical in 1972, and why there are scant records of any service by Mr. Bush during the latter part of 1972, a period during which he transferred to an Alabama guard unit so he could work on a campaign there.
The CBS documents suggested that Mr. Bush had disobeyed a direct order to attend the physical, and that there were other lapses in his performance. One memo also indicated that powerful allies of the Bush family were pressuring the guard to "sugar coat" any investigation of Lt. Bush's service.
We know what the memos say. They recapped but neglected to mention Colonel Staudt, who reportedly "sugar-coated" Bush's record and encouraged preferential treatment, is alive and kicking. He completely denies the authenticity of the content of the memos.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1219028/posts
CBS failed to report on a merger. CBS is now closed and has become DNC-C BS.
The Administration should demand a retraction and apology from CBS. The Dept of Justice should immediately begin a criminal investigation into who has attempted to influence a Presidential election using forged documents. If this isn't a felony, it should be.
This incident also shows who CBS considers an unimpeachable source. A DemonRat political operative with a long term grudge against the Bushes.
This used to be called treason, now it is called forgery.
Ah, Burkett. Previously known as a venomous loony for his paranoid vendetta against Bush. Where does one go from there? Oh I know - venomous LYING loony!
Unreal. I think that some serious investigation of the original source is highly in order.
The journalistic assumption is that all documents are authentic, until proven otherwise. Didn't you get the memo?
I believe in one interview she admitted she knew nothing of Bush's service..just that there were priviledged sons around .Her story changed.
In the statement, CBS said: "Burkett originally said he obtained the documents from another former Guardsman. Now he says he got them from a different source whose connection to the documents and identity CBS News has been unable to verify to this point."Gee, I wonder who that could be ???? .....
Carl Cameron was just on Fox saying Maxie confirmed there was contact with Burkett. He also said that Kerry was pushing this 60 Minutes piece as a "must see" to his traveling press for several weeks PRIOR to it coming out. Carl Cameron, as we all know, is one of them traveling with Kerry.
Burkett is not the "unimpeachable source". The real one will be found out soon.
And why is he talking when he has a big time, Big Texas, Supreme Court candidate lawyer named Van Os?
Burkett is the fall guy. He'll take the "mental illness" defense. Nobody goes to jail, and the fine is stealthly covered by the DNC.
This needs further pursuit. We need to connect the dots between the DNC and Rather in an unimpeachable manner. Prove media bias beyond a reasonable (heh heh) doubt.
Dan still doesnt admit that the documents are forgeries, just that he cant proof their origin. In his heart of heart, Rather still believes he has it right. What an idiot. Fire the guy. If any of us did that much damage where we work, you damn well know we would have our walking papers virtually on the spot.
What a weasel-worded non-admission...let alone apology.
CBS has admitted nothing. It has apologized to no one. And no one has resigned/been fired. So "We, The People" have just been force-fed more cBS!
Sure, CBS is taking responsibility. </sarcasm>
Let the blogstorm continue!
So Rather and CBS stood by the story until the heat became too intense, not because they had discovered anything that was not already known (and that that was known is of no thanks to them).
He also said that Kerry was pushing this 60 Minutes piece as a "must see" to his traveling press for several weeks PRIOR to it coming out. Carl Cameron, as we all know, is one of them traveling with Kerry.
GOOD GRIEF!
No apology to President Bush from Rather. No peace for SeeeeBS!!!!!
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