Another brick in the wall…
NEW YORK – At the behest of CBS, an adviser to John Kerry said he talked to a central figure in the controversy over President Bush’s National Guard service shortly before disputed documents were released.
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.
…Lockhart said Mapes asked him the weekend before the story broke to call Burkett. “She basically said there’s a guy who is being helpful on the story who wants to talk to you,” Lockhart said, adding that it was common knowledge that CBS was working on a story raising questions about Bush’s Guard service. Mapes told him there were some records “that might move the story forward. She didn’t tell me what they said.”We know from earlier today the CBS (Mary Mapes) contacted Burkett inquiring about obtaining the forged memos, not the other way around. As reader Bill Millan asks,
We know that prior to Mapes’ call to Burkett, Burkett had contacted Cleland and told him about them the “new information.” Today it was reported that Cleland received copies of the memos. We also know that Cleland had told Burkett to call the Kerry campaign. We know that call was received but the campaign denies following up on the information.
There are a dearth on non-Kerry related names swirling around the story. It is just about inescapable that someone associated with the Kerry campaign told Mapes about Burkett.
OK, that question has been asked. Another question is, why is the most powerful (based on her recent work) producer at 60 Minutes suggesting that another top member of the Kerry campaign check out the source of her story?
Update: In case you had forgotten Joe Lockhart was brought on (with much fanfare) to the Kerry campaign to sharpen the attacks on President Bush.
Update 2: Rathergate notes that Burkett told USA TODAY that he had agreed to turn over the documents to CBS if the network would help arrange a conversation with the Kerry campaign. They also mention that Tony Coehlo says the DNC had the memos before CBS. Operation Fortunate Son pretty much telegraphed the fact that the DNC was fully informed before the first 60 Minutes II broadcast.
Update 3: White House reaction (Dan Bartlett) – “The fact that CBS News would coordinate with the most senior levels of Senator Kerry’s campaign is a stunning and deeply troubling revelation that raises serious questions. It’s time for the Kerry campaign to come clean about their involvement in this growing scandal and for Senator Kerry to immediately hold accountable anyone in his campaign that was involved.”
Update 4: DNC Chairman Terry McAuliffe is rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic.
Update 5: RatherBiased.com is temporarily offline due to a server fire. They’re doing their updates at Mudville Gazette
– I gotta a better question Kevin …. Why the hell is a wing of the DNC posing as a creditable, nonpartisan, journalistically respected, major News outlet… Van Sauter, Ex Pres. of CBS went on FOX H&C tonight and layed it all out for CBS….What they must do in order to survive this scandal and regain even a modicum of credibility and your question and sevral others closly related to it concerning the role of the Kerry camp in all of this topped his list….. He was very controlled but you could still see he was mightly pissed….
Just checked Boston Globe’s and USA Today’s sites. Unless I’m missing something, they haven’t offered retractions on the memos yet. The blogshere should be putting pressure on them as well to find out who got them their copies and how that fits into the puzzle.
Why isn’t there more of an outcry that a producer from a network is calling one political campaign headquarters and feeding them with “dirt” about their opponent? This is an outrage.
Go to this link. Notice the spacing, notice the raised ths.
http://web.archive.org/web/20020904000607/users.cis.net/coldfeet/doc14.gif
Then follow this link to the page that is hosting it.
http://web.archive.org/web/20040212175613/http://www.tompaine.com/feature.cfm/ID/3671
Whoever typed these typed the Bush Memos used by CBS.
This whole bugaboo is about the “real story on Bush’s Guard Service”. Where did these rumors all start? How long ago? At the start of Bush’s Political Career. Who has hated him the most, the longest – the Democratic Party In Texas. Who is the author of the speak “Truth to Power” phrase that John Kerry used today in his speech. Who is leading the parade? Bill Moyers that is who. Dan’s friend and fellow Texan from the days of GBush 41 and before. The hate marched from way back then to now when Dan and Bill think they own the MSM.
– Katherine – would’nt be supprissed at all if Heldt was “deep paper”. I ran across an account from, I think it was a member of the Texas DNC, that recounted a story of Heldt contacting him and trying to sell him a pack of papers relating to Bush’s service back 4 or 5 years ago. The DNC guy said he looked them over and saw right away they seemed faked and laughed and told him to get lost. Can’t remember where I saw that wading through so much material in the past two weeks…..
– btw Burkette and Heldt know each other and have been known to be in contact over the years in case you were wondering……
Hunter:
If you type in Marty Heldt on yahoo search you’ll get the info on him. Also note at this link below that Bill Burkett says he told Mapes and Rather to authenticate the documents. Also there is something to the fact that Dan used Jim Moore author of Bush’s Brain on the air instead of Bill Burkett in the initial report BUT Jim Moore used Bill Burkett as his primary source FOR Bush’s Brain. Alot of jockeying going on about information sources that interconnect and yet cannot be pinned down and the originals examined. Mary Mapes’s had credibility on Abu Ghraib, Barnes had credibility from the Kerry Camp through Mary Beth Cahill but the sticking point was the memos that neither Burkett or Moore could be pinned down on by Mapes. BUT if Dan and Mary could say they came from a source that in the past TomPaine.com lent its credibility to which is effect Bill and John Moyers credibility. Maybe Bill Moyers was called about Bush’s Guard history and said that memos were reported to be floating around for many years and he had heard that they had finally be found. It was enough to back CBS flaks and lawyers off of Dan and Mary so they could get it on the air and let the chips fall where they may. Both Dan and Mary thought that it would be acccepted like the Abu Ghraib story where the MSM hailed them as heroes (Bill Moyers called it the high water mark of American Journalism in a speech of his in May). Remember Dan keeps saying that memos are fake but the story is accurate and the source is UNIMPEACHABLE. That has to be one of three things – a source that he thinks of as next to God himself, Bill Moyers or Bill Clinton or the publisher of the New York Times. Take your pick – I say Bill Moyers.
http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2004/9/20/221712.shtml
Folks, it is time. After already writing my local affiliates again today before this new bombshell, we MUST demand the firing of Rather, Mapes, and Hayward.
There must be a strong message sent to these charletons that meddling and manipulating in our political process is not to be tolerated. We must boycott CBS, VIACOM, their sponsors, and any affiliated companies.
Frankly, if this had happened to Kerry instead of Bush, I would be equally appalled. No wonder these asshats think there will be no democracy in the middle east; THEY DON’T WANT IT IN THE US!!!
Don’t hold your breath waiting for the elite media to investigate the connection between CBS and the DNC in this story. That would blow their cover as being unbiased and fair. Just think if this had been the Republicans working with Fox News Channel. The hysteria would be high pitched beyond belief.
Rather “apologized” and admitted that CBS had never verified the original source of the documents, such as they are/were…and yet, Rather went on international air and defined the “source” of the “documents” as being “an unimpeachable source.”
The guy is still on the air. As is the network. This, and this alone — much less all the rest of it, as bad as it is — should get the network “news” portions yanked and yanked fast by the FTC and particularly Rather. He was either “reporting” while being knowledgeable of lying (lie as truth as “news”) or he was admitting he knew the source (now he says he doesn’t) and that he was being truthful in saying that source was “unimpeachable.” Now he’s “sorry” — but for what, specifically?
Rather and CBS and producer responsible need to be pinned down as to who, what, when and why…obviously, the Texas DNC has sticky fingers because, otherwise, they’d never have provided the level of freebie legal representation that they have to Burkett and a while ago. Among other things.
I bet — hunch here — that Rather knew and knows the source and that he now thinks a “sorry” will melt it all away. If EVER there was a case of “all hat and no cattle,” IT IS THIS EPISODE BY CBS and Rather. And, it is unforgivable.
Investigate “Fortunate Son” and I bet you’ll find the answers.
At what point do legal proceedings by the Texas Attorney General’s office begin against Burkett
and Rather et al so that witnesses can be subpoenaed
to out the possible DNC source? Forging government
documents is a felony – yes?