RNC Chairman Ed Gillespie Statement on CBS

RNC ^ | 9/20/2004 | Christine Iverson

[rwilliam]

Washington, DC--Republican National Committee Chairman Ed Gillespie issued the following statement on CBS’s admission today that memos regarding the President’s National Guard service are not real.

“We accept CBS's apology for a breach of the journalistic standards that provide the American people confidence in news organizations, but some disturbing questions remain unanswered.

“CBS has now answered questions about the authenticity of the documents but questions remain surrounding who created the documents, who provided them to CBS and if Senator Kerry's supporters, Party committee, or campaign played any role.

“Did Bill Burkett, Democrat activist and Kerry campaign supporter, who passed information to the DNC, work with Kerry campaign surrogate Max Cleland? Did Bill Burkett's talks with ‘senior’ Kerry campaign officials include discussions of the now discredited documents? Was the launch of the Democrat National Committee's Operation Fortunate Son designed with knowledge of the faked forged memos? Terry McAuliffe said yesterday that no one at the DNC or Kerry campaign, ‘had anything to do with the preparations of the documents,’ but what about the distribution or dissemination?

“In an effort to regain the trust of the American people CBS should not only investigate the process that led to the use of these documents but they should identify immediately those engaged in possible criminal activity who attempted to use a news organization to affect the outcome of a Presidential election in its closing days.”

[Aquinasfan]

Terry McAuliffe said yesterday that no one at the DNC or Kerry campaign, ‘had anything to do with the preparations of the documents,’ but what about the distribution or dissemination?

Way to parse it out, Ed!!

Parse it baby, parse it!

(Thank you Bill Clinton)

[plain talk]

Rather and the dems are not idiots. It finally occurred to them that dragging this out wouldn't work. They want this to come to a head now and be out of the way so they still have time for a mid Oct surprise. Wonder what they'll roll out next? Maybe that Bush and Cheney are closet homo's or some such crap.

[counterpunch]

Max Cleland's schedule on August 25 in Texas needs to be fully examined. Cleland tried to deliver a letter to President Bush around 1pm in Crawford, followed immediately by a short press conference. When did he leave Texas, where did he leave from, and what did he do in the time in between?

Only days prior to Cleland's impromptu visit to Texas, he began discussions with Bill Burkett, who is now known to be CBS's source for the forged documents.

Later the same day of Cleland's Texas trip, Burkett announced in a rant to President Bush on the progressive onlinejournal that, "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'."

What time was this rant posted?
Did Cleland help him write it?
Who is the "we" Burkett is referring to concerned the documents being "reassembled"?

Crawford, Texas, where Cleland was at 1pm on August 25, is only 162 miles from Baird, Bill Burkett's home.

Did Cleland make a visit there that day?

Did someone in the Kerry campaign act as a middleman in passing along the information to CBS that Burkett had these documents?

CBS must answer the question of how they learned that Burkett now had these memos. Did the discovery of these new documents play a part in Ben Barnes decision that he was now ready to talk to 60 Minutes on air, after Mary Mapes had long been urging him to do so? Is there a connection between this sudden change of heart by Barnes just two days before CBS hit "paydirt" with these forged documents.

[Miss Marple]

Jonathan Klein (pajama insult) guy from CBS is on again!!!! John Gibson's show on Fox!!!

[Sea2ShiningSea]

You got that right. Those first four words a direct hit!

[Martin Tell]

Bob Tuke was on the Teddy Bart Show, August 11. I could not find a transcript, but for those Freepers who have time to listen the audio archive is at http://www.thepublicforum.org/tbrt/listen.html#

[BobS]

"CFR has GOT to be overturned... "

I disagree. Let it stand.

We are taking down the MSM with current law. The CFR they wanted so much has been thrown into the trash by experts and professionals on the net that provide checks and balances of our own.

Revenge is a dish best served hot with steamed saffron rice, scallops, crabs, oysters and a side dish of chef's salad and a big Spanish roll with butter. And a carafe of Sangria. And a side dish of calamares.

Feed me. I'm getting hungry:)

[Mister Baredog]

Jonathan Klein (pajama insult) guy from CBS is on again!!!! John Gibson's show on Fox!!!

Thanks, I ran into the other room and caught the last part. He and Gibson agreed that Rather will be fine, LOL LOL LOL.

Rathergate is his epitaph.

[JesseJane]

Well, it would be interesting.. After all, we HAVE learned lessons from the past, that Kerry might be willing to repeat.. It's a valid concern. Kerry's record IS an issue.

Kerry's record with the military is abyssmal. Recruiting under a Kerry admin would look like ________ ?

It's an important national security issue, IMHO...

[freestyle]

1. “Did Bill Burkett, Democrat activist and Kerry campaign supporter, who passed information to the DNC, work with Kerry campaign surrogate Max Cleland?
2. Did Bill Burkett's talks with ‘senior’ Kerry campaign officials include discussions of the now discredited documents?
3. Was the launch of the Democrat National Committee's Operation Fortunate Son designed with knowledge of the faked forged memos?
4. Terry McAuliffe said yesterday that no one at the DNC or Kerry campaign, ‘had anything to do with the preparations of the documents,’ but what about the distribution or dissemination?

[Lurking2Long]

I have watched for over a decade to see if their testicles would EVER descend...it appears they are now hitting puberty!

[TN4Liberty]

I am glad that CBS has finally acknowledged that the documents were false.

Actually, I am not, because as long as they continued to assert their legitimacy, it was clear to everyone that CBS had an agenda. It still bothers me that they only indicated their regret at using the documents. They never indicated any regret at attempting to destroy President Bush's reputation, only at the manner in which they chose to do it.


Apologies are in order. Here is a list of things that, to my knowledge, CBS has not done, but should.

(1) CBS should apologize to the President of the United States for impugning his character with NO EVIDENCE WHATSOEVER.

(2) Since the only substantive evidence of the Bush/AWOL story was these now discredited document, CBS should publicly state that the AWOL story appears by all evidence TO BE WRONG, and that it appears, based on all available evidence, that George W. Bush served his country honorably in the TANG.

(3) CBS should investigate themselves to understand the bias in their reporting that would allow such a fraud to be perpetrated against them. There is a structural problem there that obviously has a strong bias, or this episode would never have happened. They clearly cannot be considered unbiased anymore.

(4) CBS should answer the question that all America should be asking; If you lied about this, what else have to lied about when we didn't catch you?

[JesseJane]

"CFR has GOT to be overturned... "
I disagree. Let it stand.

We are taking down the MSM with current law. The CFR they wanted so much has been thrown into the trash by experts and professionals on the net that provide checks and balances of our own.

Revenge is a dish best served hot with steamed saffron rice, scallops, crabs, oysters and a side dish of chef's salad and a big Spanish roll with butter. And a carafe of Sangria. And a side dish of calamares.

Feed me. I'm getting hungry:)

===

LOL!! Yum..

But, I respectfully disagree as it relates to freedom of political speech. It must not be controlled by the government.. no way, no how. I'm not talking about anarchists of course that preach destruction and violence..

The mere fact that Kerry tried to stop the SwiftVet ads, and the book is enough as far as I'm concerned, to get him thrown out of the Senate for violating the rights provided in the constitution he is sworn to uphold. But that's me.

[Eastbound]

" . . . my pajama top sleeves too long."

Hee hee!

[Senator_Blutarski]

What little time that is spent talking about Kerry will be framed by Bush's upcoming comments about how Kerry is playing up "defeat and retreat" in Iraq. No one wants to talk about the U.S. losing a war, but that's exactly what Kerry is doing. Amazing...

John Kerry helped America lose in Viet Nam. Now he wants to help us lose in Iraq.

Iraq, Viet Nam -- They're interchangeable like medals and ribbons.

[Pebcak]

Something about Baird, Tx has me smelling a patsy. Everything is leading back to blame it on the insane guy who's always hated Bush.

Does anyone really believe that someone with CBS would think that faxing something from Kinko's would be anonymous?

Burkett is a red herring, the exact reason Has-been-Dan is going to interview him.

I'm not buying it.

[hinckley buzzard]

Interesting info on Glenn Smith. Thanks. He sounds like he definitely fits the profile of "unimpeachible" for Rathertypes.

[VadeRetro]

Memorandum To File

20 Sep 2004
Mr. Ed Gillespie, Chairman RNC etc. etc. etc.

Dear Mr. Gillespie:

Love ya, Ed, but stop saying "faked forged memos." The redundancy is glaring and painful.

And try to give my mailbox a rest, will ya?

Vade the Blade

[BobS]

Kerry has a lot of trouble coming his way that he hasn't seen yet. We can abolish the CFR if you want, but it is already outdated. It was a publicity stunt from the get-go. McCain must get kicked out of the Senate or offered a job by Bush that will take him far away from D.C. The 'Peter Principle' is at work here; you get promoted to the highest level of your incompetance in any organization.

BTW, I only have a little bit of saffron left to steam with my rice. I went to Ralph's and Vons and can't find it:( I am a great paella cook and have everything else waiting for me to do something.

Is it Bush's fault?:):)

[Truth Table]

I don't know about the rest of you, but I'd love to see Terry McAuliffe frog walked off to the big house while Kerry campaign crashes and burns.

In any event, this whole CBS scandel (and kitty kelly on with Matt L for three days running, with no rebuttal) should show that campaign finance reform is a bad idea. I hope the first thing Bush does when he is re-elected is send Ted O over to the USSC and re-argue the case based on practical examples we have learned in the last few weeks.