Posted on 09/20/2004 5:32:23 PM PDT by Dont Mention the War
Posted on Mon, Sep. 20, 2004
NEW YORK - At the behest of CBS, an adviser to John Kerry said he talked to a central figure in the controversy over President Bush's National Guard service shortly before disputed documents were released.
Joe Lockhart denied any connection between the presidential campaign and the papers. Lockhart, the second Kerry ally to confirm contact with retired Texas National Guard officer Bill Burkett, said he made the call at the suggestion of CBS producer Mary Mapes.
"He had some advice on how to deal with the Vietnam issue and the Swift boat" allegations, Lockhart said Monday, referring to GOP-fueled accusations that Kerry exaggerated his Vietnam War record. "He said these guys play tough and we have to put the Vietnam experience into context and have Kerry talk about it more."
Lockhart said he thanked Burkett for his advice after a three to four minute call.
Lockhart said he does not recall talking to Burkett about Bush's Guard records. "It's baseless to say the Kerry campaign had anything to do with this," he said.
CBS News apologized Monday for a "mistake in judgment" in its story questioning Bush's Guard service, claiming it was misled by the source of documents that several experts have dismissed as fakes.
Burkett admitted this weekend to CBS that he lied about obtaining the documents from another former National Guard member, the network said. CBS hasn't been able to conclusively tell how he got them, or even whether they're fakes or not.
Kerry ally Max Cleland, a former Georgia senator, also said he had a brief conversation last month with Burkett, who told him he had information about Bush to counter charges against Kerry's Vietnam War service. Cleland said he gave Burkett's name and phone number to the campaign's research department.
Kerry spokesman David Ginsberg said nobody in the campaign's research department followed up on Burkett's offer of information.
Lockhart said Mapes asked him the weekend before the story broke to call Burkett. "She basically said there's a guy who is being helpful on the story who wants to talk to you," Lockhart said, adding that it was common knowledge that CBS was working on a story raising questions about Bush's Guard service. Mapes told him there were some records "that might move the story forward. She didn't tell me what they said."
Yes, Mol, that he did.
And he was full of p and vinegar today, which is so unlike him. Shep Smith stated that if this happened to Brit Hume and the Kerry campaign, that nobody would have been so forgiving for being "mislead".
Not sure when it was made .. but I believe they started to air it the Tuesday after Dan first aired the documents
That would be great. The next question is:
Does anybody have a hard date for the first time that the Dems ad actually ran?
This is the ad where they use the forged documents. If it was the Thursday or Friday after the initial Wednesday 60 Minutes story then we may be able to make the case that they HAD TO HAVE THE DOCUMENTS IN HAND BEFORE THEY WERE RELEASED BY CBS OR USA TODAY OR THE BOSTON GLOBE OR THE WHITE HOUSE.
"Riiiiight, we believe you. In a pigs eye"
Please don't go into his personal facial feautures. (:>)AAAHHHHAAAA, hhhaaaa, hhhaaaa.
LOL! If I were Kerry I'd change my number.
These people are NOT helping him.
Everyone remember the first one to roll over and squeal like a pig gets less time in the gray bar hotel...
Pardon me for asking, .... but why is Mary Mapes asking Joe Lockhart---Kerry advisor---to contact Bill Burkett??
If a President had to resign over this same sh#*, why not Lockhart? Why not Kerry?
And poking a stick into the snakes' nest every now and then to make sure it stays stirred up. Remember that press release today that Scott McClellan read. I have a feeling there was a veiled threat in there that could have been read by guilty parties as 'Wanta bet on whether we know and can prove what you did?'
Well, he did work for the Clintons if memory serves....
It just keeps getting better and better. What did Ole' Danny Boy say concerning an unimpeachable source in his broadcast? I'm loving every minute of this slow twisting in the wind by C-BS and the Kerry Campaign!!
Something to consider is that Mary Mapes is probably just another media droid who's so totally focused on advancing her career that she's intent on "breaking" the next huge story, to the point where's she's lost any objective journalistic viewpoint (supposing that she had one to begin with) in her pursuit to become the next Bob Woodward or Carl Bernstein.
Not just McClellan, but also the Ed Gillespie statement from the RNC that asked some hard questions -- questions that pointed straight at CBS & Burkett colluding with the Kerry campaign, and then bam just a few hours later you have Lockjaw starting to CYA.
They swapped recipes for trifle
Pardon my french but TOUCHE'!!
Even more beyond belief that she would forward information to the DNC to help them against Bush.
The long knives are out..
Could it be Fat Teddy's revenge on the Clintonista's trying to take over the campaign? Hmmmm.
CBS has trashed their news reputation over a story about somebody blowing off a military physical while in the reserves 35 years ago.
No they aren't
BTW .. who's idea was it to bring them on board?
This is such a telling observation on a level that has gotten lost amid all the fireworks. What does it say about CBS that they have spent five friggin' years and countless manhours chasing this ridiculous non-story round and round the mulberry bush, just because they thought they might somehow use it some day against George Bush?
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