Document Controversy
CBS News issued a statement saying it was unable to authenticate key documents about President Bush's National Guard service. Dan Rather spoke with the man who now admits he misled the network.
CBS News' Dan Rather tells WCBS reporter Marcia Kramer that using questionable memos about President Bush's service record was a journalistic mistake.
Bush Maintains Support
Despite kidnappings, mounting casualties, and attacks from John Kerry, the Iraq war does not seem to be hurting President Bush in voter polls, John Roberts reports.
Former Texas Guard official Bill Burkett. (CBS)
Details of President Bush's Guard service and Sen. Kerry's naval career.
(CBS/AP) CBS News said Monday it cannot prove the authenticity of documents used in a 60 Minutes story about President Bush's National Guard service and that airing the story was a "mistake" that CBS regretted.
CBS News Anchor Dan Rather, the reporter of the original story, apologized.
CBS News claimed a source had misled the network on the documents' origins. The network pledged "an independent review of the process by which the report was prepared and broadcast to help determine what actions need to be taken."
In a statement, CBS said former Texas Guard official Bill Burkett "has acknowledged that he provided the now-disputed documents" and "admits that he deliberately misled the CBS News producer working on the report, giving her a false account of the documents' origins to protect a promise of confidentiality to the actual source."
Rather spoke with Burkett about the deception:
Dan Rather: "Why did you mislead us?"
Bill Burkett: "Well, I didn't totally mislead you. I misled you on the one individual. You know your staff pressured me to a point to reveal that source.
Rather: "Well, we were trying to get the chain of possession."
Burkett: "I understand that."
More of Rather questioning Burkett.
The network did not say the memoranda ? purportedly written by one of Mr. Bush's National Guard commanders ? were forgeries. But the network did say it could not authenticate the documents and that it should not have reported them.
"Based on what we now know, CBS News cannot prove that the documents are authentic, which is the only acceptable journalistic standard to justify using them in the report," said the statement by CBS News President Andrew Heyward. "We should not have used them. That was a mistake, which we deeply regret.
"Nothing is more important to us than our credibility and keeping faith with the millions of people who count on us for fair, accurate, reliable, and independent reporting," Heyward continued. "We will continue to work tirelessly to be worthy of that trust."
White House spokesman Scott McClellan said President Bush had seen the CBS statement.
"There are a number of serious questions that remain unanswered and they need to be answered. Bill Burkett, who CBS now says is their source, in fact, is not an unimpeachable source, as was previously claimed," White House spokesman Scott McClellan told reporters Monday.
"Bill Burkett is a source who has been discredited in the past. So this raises a lot of questions. There were media reports about Mr. Burkett speaking with senior -- or having senior-level contacts with the Kerry campaign. That raises questions," McClellan said.
In a separate statement, Rather said that "after extensive additional interviews, I no longer have the confidence in these documents that would allow us to continue vouching for them journalistically.
"I find we have been misled on the key question of how our source for the documents came into possession of these papers," he said.
................................................................
What about this fraud skul ?
I doubt DTB will say anything more , thats his style when he gets boxed into a corner. doogy duh.
Bush got off scot free on this and nothing more was ever found out.
The dirty bastid
Just like my mama used to say when I was drunk and puking in the toilet
Let it go right wing nuts , just let it go.
CBS News issued a statement saying it was unable to authenticate key documents about President Bush's National Guard service. Dan Rather spoke with the man who now admits he misled the network.
CBS News' Dan Rather tells WCBS reporter Marcia Kramer that using questionable memos about President Bush's service record was a journalistic mistake.
Bush Maintains Support
Despite kidnappings, mounting casualties, and attacks from John Kerry, the Iraq war does not seem to be hurting President Bush in voter polls, John Roberts reports.
Former Texas Guard official Bill Burkett. (CBS)
Details of President Bush's Guard service and Sen. Kerry's naval career.
(CBS/AP) CBS News said Monday it cannot prove the authenticity of documents used in a 60 Minutes story about President Bush's National Guard service and that airing the story was a "mistake" that CBS regretted.
CBS News Anchor Dan Rather, the reporter of the original story, apologized.
CBS News claimed a source had misled the network on the documents' origins. The network pledged "an independent review of the process by which the report was prepared and broadcast to help determine what actions need to be taken."
In a statement, CBS said former Texas Guard official Bill Burkett "has acknowledged that he provided the now-disputed documents" and "admits that he deliberately misled the CBS News producer working on the report, giving her a false account of the documents' origins to protect a promise of confidentiality to the actual source."
Rather spoke with Burkett about the deception:
Dan Rather: "Why did you mislead us?"
Bill Burkett: "Well, I didn't totally mislead you. I misled you on the one individual. You know your staff pressured me to a point to reveal that source.
Rather: "Well, we were trying to get the chain of possession."
Burkett: "I understand that."
More of Rather questioning Burkett.
The network did not say the memoranda ? purportedly written by one of Mr. Bush's National Guard commanders ? were forgeries. But the network did say it could not authenticate the documents and that it should not have reported them.
"Based on what we now know, CBS News cannot prove that the documents are authentic, which is the only acceptable journalistic standard to justify using them in the report," said the statement by CBS News President Andrew Heyward. "We should not have used them. That was a mistake, which we deeply regret.
"Nothing is more important to us than our credibility and keeping faith with the millions of people who count on us for fair, accurate, reliable, and independent reporting," Heyward continued. "We will continue to work tirelessly to be worthy of that trust."
White House spokesman Scott McClellan said President Bush had seen the CBS statement.
"There are a number of serious questions that remain unanswered and they need to be answered. Bill Burkett, who CBS now says is their source, in fact, is not an unimpeachable source, as was previously claimed," White House spokesman Scott McClellan told reporters Monday.
"Bill Burkett is a source who has been discredited in the past. So this raises a lot of questions. There were media reports about Mr. Burkett speaking with senior -- or having senior-level contacts with the Kerry campaign. That raises questions," McClellan said.
In a separate statement, Rather said that "after extensive additional interviews, I no longer have the confidence in these documents that would allow us to continue vouching for them journalistically.
"I find we have been misled on the key question of how our source for the documents came into possession of these papers," he said.
................................................................
What about this fraud skul ?
I doubt DTB will say anything more , thats his style when he gets boxed into a corner. doogy duh.
Bush got off scot free on this and nothing more was ever found out.
The dirty bastid
Just like my mama used to say when I was drunk and puking in the toilet
Let it go right wing nuts , just let it go.
Last edited:
