Posted on 02/21/2005 11:16:23 PM PST by RatherBiased.com
Bill Burkett, the former Texas national guardsman who provided CBS with the bogus documents it used to allege that President Bush evaded the draft and used family connections to cover up his shoddy military service, spoke out against the network in a 2,600-word letter addressed to the quasi-independent panel which CBS had appointed to investigate the whole Memogate affair.
In the letter, which the panel's legal representative confirmed receiving, Burkett says that CBS blamed him for its own failures in order to minimize the damage to its own reputation. He also continues to stand by his revised explanation of how he obtained the documents, which allegedly came from the personal files of Bush's commanding officer, now deceased. Burkett says he obtained the documents from an anonymous man at a Texas livestock show who was apparently acting on behalf of an unknown woman who identified herself as Lucy Ramirez.
"As I openly stated, backgrounded in excruciating detail to Mapes, Rather and CBS, the documents had to be able to be 'free standing' before I would release them. I had to be satisfied that CBS had the capability and intent to fully authenticate the documents," Burkett wrote in the letter, a copy of which was obtained by the ezine Salon.com. "CBS, through its employees, had to make a critical decision as to whether they were willing to take that risk. There were no expressed or implied warranties about the documents. Yet I believed them to be authentic."
In his message, Burkett implies that he is considering legal recourse for being maligned by CBS, the panel, and Dan Rather's "Evening News."
Is it possible that the much-maligned ex-guardsman really is telling the truth about how he got the documents? Was he used as a patsy by Democratic Party operatives at the state or national level (or someone else) who knew he had some established contacts with CBS? Why would Burkett stake his reputation giving papers to CBS he knew to be third-rate forgeries? Why would Burkett come up with such a ridiculous-sounding scenario of how he got the documents (even if it was his third one) and continue to stick with it?
At this point, we do know that Burkett had been used as a source in other CBS stories prior to the document one. The "CBS Evening News" ran a story on February 12, 2004 which gave prominent play to a letter that he had written to Texas legislators saying that then-governor Bush had directed staffers to "scrub" his military records for incriminating information.
Burkett's speaking out and the actions of the three CBS News executives who are refusing to quit after being asked to resign are ensuring that the story of Memogate remains fully in play. To get the full truth, however, will require subpoena power. So which Texas prosecutor has the guts and the brains to take up the case? When will we get to see the trial of this young century?
El bumpo.
Some people have trouble between the reality they create in their heads and the reality they actually live...this may be interesting...
Let me guess. Maybe because he's a total nut case?
It's the pot calling the pot a pot....a lot.
And there's no cure for that, all you can do is JOIN THE DEMOCRAT PARTY.
Not if you believe the liberal Ed Schultz. On his radio show today he (and others) were claiming that the documents given to Burkett were part of a setup by Bushco, all part of a larger part to control the media.
We'd try to verify the wild, baseless assertions of our sources, but that kinda sh*t takes time we ain't got!
... ping
I have highly reliable sources that tell me it was all Karl Rove's idea.
What reputation? The guy was already known to be a wacko, long before his mysterious livestock show meeting with an anonymous man.
But I guess a livestock show was a good place to covertly pass the documents, since they probably blended in quite well with all the other bullsh*t in the place.
Wow. That is quite possible!
p.s. I love your screen name.
Trusting CBS to fact check is like asking Michael Jackson to baby sit your kid.
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