Posted on 06/20/2005 7:55:48 AM PDT by Tumbleweed_Connection
The so called Downing Street Memo - which was presumed to be authentic when Bush administration critics began touting it last month as evidence the president committed impeachable crimes - is actually a manually recreated copy - with the source of the memo now admitting he retyped the document before destroying the originals.
British reporter Michael Smith, who broke the memo story in the London Times on May 1, revealed to the Associated Press over the weekend that he "he protected the identity of the source he had obtained the documents from by typing copies of them on plain paper and destroying the originals."
Smith's admission means there's now no independent way to determine the accuracy of the Downing Street Memo, i.e., whether he made any typos or transcription errors that could have changed the memo's meaning.
The revelation has conjured up memories of the CBS News forged document scandal last year, where anchorman Dan Rather argued that damaging records he obtained from President Bush's National Guard file were essentially accurate, even though they had been faked by his source.
While British officials hadn't disputed the authenticity of the Downing Street Memo, a senior member of the Blair government who reviewed the Downing Street Memo in light of reporter Smith's admission could say only that its contents "appeared authentic."
That official, however, requested anonymity, refusing to make an on-the-record endorsement of the memo's accuracy.
New questions about the authenticity Downing Street Memo come at a particularly awkward time for Democrats in America. Only last week, House Democrats staged a mock impeachment hearing based on the re-created document.
Former presidential candidate John Kerry announced on June 2 that he intended to confront Congress with the Downing Street Memo, believing at the time that the document's authenticity was beyond reproach.
"I think it's a stunning, unbelievably simple and understandable statement of the truth and a profoundly important document that raises stunning issues here at home," he told a reporter.
Last week, a Kerry aide said his boss was sending a letter to President Bush demanding that he answer questions about the fake memo.
Reminds me of a kid who drops a fart in a crowded room... and slinks out the door.
Only last week, House Democrats staged a mock impeachment hearing based on the re-created document.
Do these people actually work? Tax payers money being wasted is what I think. What a bunch of loosers...
That's about as convenient as an unobserves autopsy followed by a quick cremation
This would actually be funny if it wasn't such a serious issue. Conyers and his crew have invoked the Dan Rather standard...NONE! And this is supposedly from 2002? Bull cookies!
"How conveeeenient."
I have the authentic original axe that George Washington used to cut down the cherry tree. Of course, I did have to replace the handle....and the head. But it does occupy the same space.
Pray for W and Our Troops
Can we put some fake bullets into the heads of these fake government document peddling fake journalists?
Really, it's getting quite taxing to have to put up with all these fabricated documents run by news agencies as 'truth'.
After 911 the Administration decided that the world had become too dangerous to allow Saddam Hussein to continue in power. He was a lightening rod for anti-Western and anti-American attitudes, containment was failing (in the view of the Administration), and a new approach was needed towards Muslims and Arabs.
The only way to get rid of Saddam was by military action...so the Administration prepared - militarily, legally, politcally.
That's all there is to it...except that the media have "very selectively" quoted from the memos to try to make it look as if the Administration had done something very different from previous administrations in their preparations.
More like...
"It wasn't my fault. Honest! I ran out of gas. I had a flat tire. I didn't have enough money for cab fare. My tux didn't come back from the cleaners. An old friend came in from out of town. Someone stole my car! There was an earthquake! A terrible flood! Locusts! It wasn't my fault, I swear to God!"
I'm sure that we will see a 60 Minutes expose on this within the next week or two.
Couldn't he have blacked out the guys name on it instead of destroying the documents?
It's much better for the kid to look at the girl sitting next to him and say, in a stage whisper, "Don't worry, I'll take the blame."
The climb out of the hole becomes even more difficult.
Looks like they're using the word "cautious" in lieu of flip-flop. Bwahahahahaha
Bet there's some law over there he could be prosecuted under.
Bet it won't happen.
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