(img src="http://www.campaigncollectables.com/flipflops2.jpg") This is what you will get.
Posted on 09/24/2004 1:46:05 AM PDT by kattracks
The Drudge Report is running a front page item early Friday morning claiming that Bill Burkett is now directly contradicting what Joe Lockhart has been saying the past few days about his contact with Burkett. Remember Lockhart’s story that he called Burkett at the request of CBS News and all they discussed were the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth? No mention of the documents according to Lockhart, just a harmless 3-4 minute conversation about the SwiftVets[snip]
It will be very difficult to tell who is actually telling the truth in this mess, but a simple check of phone records could easily establish how many times Burkett and Lockhart talked on the phone and for how long.
And while Lockhart will likely be reluctant to divulge his, Burkett may want his public to prove his case.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtondispatch.com ...
Let me just make a prediction:
According to a CBS quote yesterday, they said they said the DNC were "pretty satisfied" that other staff had not contacted Burkett.
"Pretty satisfied" doesn't mean much, they would have outright denied it if there had been no other persons contacting Burkett.
Phone records will easily prove their claim...betcha we've got more than one person in the DNC/Kerry group that's had contact with Burkett.
Burkett himself said he talked to staffers and kept getting moved from one to another.
Burkett was NOT Air Guard, he was Army Guard.
I would use pay phones if I were engaged in a conspiracy to influence a national election.
ping
Some subpoenae would work even better.
As one other has pointed out, Burkett was ARMY, not AIR, but that is not why I am posting to you.
I think the "connection" with the Swift Boat Veterans is in the "tit for tat" arena. Kerry's Vietnam fabrications are being attacked by the Swift Boat Veterans, so Kerry has to attack GWB with ... [whatever Burkett has].
Some subpoenae would work even better.
Meanwhile, it's clear that Burkett is, at and on this point, more likely to be telling the truth. He has nothing left to lose. The exposure of Lockhart at the trigger-man (starting Fortunate Son by signalling Burkett to give memos to the media) puts a serious taint on at least the Kerry campaign. Lockhart has a strong motive to lie. Burkett does not.
Wouldn't you know it would come to this. Americans must decide who to believe, a guy who has a vendetta against the President or someone who comes out of the Clinton Administration. Tough decision.
I think it is very telling how hard the SBVT ad hit John Kerry, and how recklessly he responded.
It suggests that the swifties were telling the truth-you don't react to lies the way Kerry has reacted to this.
(img src="http://www.campaigncollectables.com/flipflops2.jpg") This is what you will get.
But, as with Watergate, there needs to be an investigative power that has legal compulsion at its' disposal.
Woodward and Bernstein didn't break open the Watergate story, John Sirica did.
You've done great work on the statutory aspects of this affair.
Are there any prosecutable acts hidden in here, or will this all blow over?
There might be in the election/campaigning laws. There is strong evidence of at least Kerry/Burkett/CBS connection, that could accomplish coordination of some sort. At this point though, I am ignorant of election/campaigning law, other than the buzzword "coordination" as being forbidden between 527's and candidate's campaign organizations.
http://www.fec.gov/finance_law.html <-- FEC - Campaign Finance Law Resources
http://www.fec.gov/law/feca/feca.pdf <-- 2 USC 431 et seq (**MOST USEFUL**)
http://www.fec.gov/pdf/cfr11.pdf <-- 11 CFR, FEC Rules
CBS source denies plotting with Kerry
By Jack Douglas Jr.
Star-Telegram Staff Writer
This article has been corrected from the version published in the newspaper and online Friday morning to reflect that Bill Burkett was referring to conversations with CBS when he said, "They tried to convince me as to why I should give them the documents." The earlier version incorrectly reported that he had discussed the documents with Joe Lockhart of the Kerry campaign.
Who is going to conduct an investigation? And will anything be done/resolved before the election? Officials in Texas have already stated that they believe no one in Texas was harmed, so they will not be investigating. Byron York was on Laura Ingraham this morning & indicated that the Feds might not want to look like they are influencing the election & being vindictive & he hinted they may not investigate. The only "investigation" is of CBS by Thornburgh, but this probably will not cover any aspect other than CBS's handling of the matter.
On another matter, if Lucy Ramirez exists & that part of the story is true, then why did she seek out Bill Burkett? Of all the people to whom these docs could be passed, why Burkett? How did she even know him & that he had any or could obtain any connections to CBS &/or the DNC?
A highly unlikely mistake to have been made by the paper! CBS and Lockhart don't quite sound the same.
I smell threats!!
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