Posted on 09/21/2004 9:54:29 AM PDT by Cableguy
Bush campaign spokesman Steve Schmidt is circulating a list of quotes from the Kerry campaign denying any involvement with the memos, and a quote from Joe Lockhart telling George Stephanopoulos that he had nothing to do with them.
ABC’s George Stephanopoulos reported that Lockhart denied having “Anything to do with these documents.” STEPHANOPOULOS: “I should say, just before we got on the air, Joe Lockhart of the Kerry campaign denies that the Kerry campaign had anything to do with these documents. Another Kerry researcher says they learned about them on television.” (ABC’s “Good Morning America,” 9/10/04) Lockhart Said He Spoke With Burkett About “How To Deal With The Vietnam Issue” But Not About The Memos, Saying There Was No Connection There. “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, 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.’” (“Kerry Aide Talked To Texan At Center Of Disputed Guard Documents,” The Associated Press, 9/20/04)
Lockhart Later Said He Had Not Spoken With Burkett About The Memos And Called Suggestions Of Coordination “Baseless.” “Earlier, Lockhart said he thanked Burkett for his advice after a three- to four-minute call, and that 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. Later, Lockhart said he was sure he had not talked to Burkett about the Guard documents.” (“Kerry Aide Talked To Texan At Center Of Disputed Guard Documents,” The Associated Press, 9/20/04)
Lockhart Called Claims Of “A Coordinated Attack” On The President’s National Guard Service “Nonsensical, Inaccurate, And Baseless.” “‘You absolutely are seeing a coordinated attack by John Kerry and his surrogates,’ White House spokesman Scott McClellan told reporters. ‘The polls show Sen. Kerry falling behind, and it's the same old recycled attacks that we've seen every time the president has been up for election.’ Joe Lockhart, a spokesman for the Kerry campaign, said McClellan was ‘hurling nonsensical, inaccurate and baseless charges.’” (Judy Keen, “Accusations Exchanged Over Bush’s Military Record,” USA Today, 9/10/04)
Lockhart “Mocked Claims That The Case Against The President Had Been Concocted With Forged Documents.” “Senior Kerry advisor Joe Lockhart, meanwhile, mocked claims that the case against the president had been concocted with forged documents.” (James Rainey And Mark Z. Barabak, “Guard Memos Fuel Another Vietnam-Era Battle,” Los Angeles Times, 9/10/04)
The Kerry Campaign On The Memos:
Kerry Campaign Official Admits The Documents “Are Probably Forgeries.” “The campaign official acknowledged that the CBS docs are probably forgeries—a frustrating development, the official said, because it has distracted attention from legitimate questions about Bush's Guard service.” (Mark Hosenball, Michael Isikoff And Anne Belli Gesalman, “CBS News: A Source Of Contention,” Newsweek, 9/27/04)
Kerry Surrogate Max Cleland Says He Does Not Know Anything About Burkett’s Information. “In an interview with The Associated Press, Cleland said Monday that 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. The Georgia Democrat said he gave Burkett's name and phone number to the campaign's research department. ‘People call me with stuff all the time,’ said Cleland, who was campaigning in Ohio for Kerry on Monday. ‘I don't know whether this guy is legit or fraudulent. I have no idea. I just referred him to the campaign.’” (Jeffrey McMurray, “Cleland Says He Didn’t Know If Guard Documents About Bush Are Fake,” The Associated Press, 9/20/04)
Kerry Spokesman David Ginsberg Says No One In The Campaign’s Research Department Followed Up With Burkett. “Kerry spokesman David Ginsberg said nobody in the campaign's research department followed up on Burkett's offer of information, but Ginsberg couldn't confirm whether there was any future contact between Burkett and others in the campaign.” (Jeffrey McMurray, “Cleland Says He Didn’t Know If Guard Documents About Bush Are Fake,” The Associated Press, 9/20/04)
Kerry Spokesman David Wade: “The Kerry Campaign Had Absolutely Nothing To Do With These Documents, No Ifs, Ands Or Buts.” (Kelley Shannon, “Ex-Guardsman Contacted Kerry Campaign,” The Associated Press, 9/19/04)
Terry McAuliffe: “No Democrats, None At The Democratic National Committee Or The John Kerry For President, Had Anything To Do With The Preparations Of The Documents.” (CNN’s “Late Edition,” 9/19/04)
Kerry Campaign Officials, Including Max Cleland, Spoke With Burkett, Email Said. “The retired Guard official, Bill Burkett, said in an Aug. 21 e-mail to a list of Texas Democrats that after getting through ‘seven layers of bureaucratic kids’ in the Democrat's campaign, he talked with former Georgia Sen. Max Cleland about information that would counter criticism of Kerry's Vietnam War service. The Associated Press obtained a copy of the e-mail Saturday. ‘I asked if they wanted to counterattack or ride this to ground and outlast it, not spending any money. (Cleland) said counterattack. So I gave them the information to do it with,’ Burkett wrote. Burkett, who lives just outside of Abilene, wrote that no one at the Kerry campaign called him back. The e-mail was distributed to a Yahoo list of Texas Democrats. The site, which had about 570 members Saturday, is not affiliated with the state party.” (Kelley Shannon, “Ex-Guardsman Contacted Kerry Campaign,” The Associated Press, 9/19/04)
Kerry Campaign Officials Acknowledge That Burkett Was Referred To The Campaign’s Research Department But Say Nothing Came Of It. “Campaign officials said Mr. Cleland had referred Mr. Burkett to someone at the campaign who passed his message on to the research department, where the message was set aside amid the deluge of other calls.” (David D. Kirkpatrick And Jim Rutenberg, “Texan Involved In CBS Report Tried To Help Kerry Campaign,” The New York Times, 9/18/04)
Kerry Spokesman Phil Singer: “It’s Ridiculous. We Didn’t Give CBS Anything.” (David Bauder, “Republican Lawmaker Calls For Congressional Investigation Of CBS For Bush Guard Service Story,” The Associated Press, 9/15/04)
Kerry Spokesman David Wade Says The Kerry Campaign “Certainly” Cannot Verify The Documents. “Officially, both candidates stayed above the fray, seemingly content to let the controversy simmer awhile longer. Kerry spokesman David Wade said that it's up to the White House to ‘come forward and verify their authenticity, certainly we cannot.’” (John Cook And Andrew Zajac, “Debate Rages Over CBS Memos On Bush Service,” Chicago Tribune, 9/14/04)
Kerry Spokesman David Wade Calls On President Bush To Answer The Questions Posed “By Independent News Organizations And Official Military Documents.” “Democrats seized on new questions about the president's service in the Texas Air National Guard on Thursday, while the Bush campaign dismissed the subject as old news….Sen. John Kerry and his aides were careful not to get in the way. In Iowa, the Democratic candidate waved off a question about the Guard flap, and his staff was saying little at least publicly. ‘The questions that have been raised by independent news organizations and official military documents should be answered by President Bush,’ said Kerry spokesman David Wade.” (Pete Slover, “Bush Camp Dismisses Questions About President’s Guard Service,” The Dallas Morning News, 9/10/04)
If JFK is elected president, you can imagine what a Cluster-F??K it will be in the White House.
credit to hispanarepublican. ;)
Here is my straw man for you to pick apart.
(1) Mary Mapes prepares the forged documents – Her own father said that she became a “journalist” because she had an axe to grind.
(2) Mapes either plants the documents for Bill Burkett to find or conspires with him.
(3) Burkett faxes the documents to CBS News (maybe just back to Mapes).
(4) Mapes prepares the story for the liberal talking head Ted Baxter ---- oops, I mean Dan Rather, knowing that he will fall for it.
(5) Mapes calls Lockhart to tell him that Burkett has “dynamite” evidence on Bush.
(6) Lockhart calls Burkett to get the details.
(7) Kerry campaign prepares “Fortunate Son” campaign.
(8) Rather goes on air with the story.
(9) Kerry campaign immediately follows with “Fortunate Son.”
CBS is stonewalling on the original source of the forged documents because they now know it is actually CBS (Mapes).
How very Clintonesque.
The "LONG STALL" of two weeks was "CBS in alliance with the DNC covering their asses". Why else would a world wide news corporation commit suicide when it could have prevented it??????????????
Of course *a* Democrat obviously prepared the dox.
And, McAwful didn't deny post-preparation used of the dox.
Looks like a very reasonable connection of the dots to me (assuming it was instigated by Mapes).
ping......
LOL!
It is amazing watching these LIARS cover for each other. It now appears to represent the entire platform of the liberal Dems --- LYING TO ACHIEVE THEIR AGENDA.
YOu're leaving RObin Rather out of the mix....Dollars to donuts she was involved.
Mary Mapes = Lucy Ramirez?
This just shows how short-sighted we FReepers were wanting Howard Dean to win the Dim nomination. Dean could not possibly have done this much damage to the Dimocrat Party...
That is laughable on its face.
Burkett was on the news a couple of days later and it was ALL about the DOCUMENTS.
Interesting to see joey lockhart out there lying again.
And about that second kerry ally...was Cleland the first? This just gets curiouser and curiouser.
BTW-why all the fuss about Bush's records when Kerry has not even RELEASED all of his records...isn't that the GREATER STORY?
Just let Sandy Berger review the doc's.
I'm sure the whole thing will go away!!
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