The New York Times reports: "CBS News concludes it was misled on National Guard memos, network executives say." The Washinton Post reports: "CBS to say it was misled on Bush Guard memos."

The more extensive Times story contains this intriguing item:

Yesterday, Emily J. Will, a document specialist who inspected the records for CBS News and said last week that she had raised concerns about their authenticity with CBS News producers, confirmed a report in Newsweek that a producer had told her that the source of the documents said they had been obtained anonymously and through the mail.

In an interview last night she declined to name the producer who told her this but said the producer was in a position to know. CBS News officials have disputed her contention that she warned the network the night before the initial "60 Minutes'' report that it would face questions from documents experts.

HINDROCKET adds: As we reported, Dan Rather flew to Texas over the weekend, where he interviewed Bill Burkett. As has been widely speculated, Burkett was indeed the source of the documents:

Mr. Rather interviewed Mr. Burkett on camera this weekend, and several people close to the reporting process said his answers to Mr. Rather's questions led officials to conclude that their initial confidence that the memos had come from Mr. Killian's own files was not warranted. These people indicated that Mr. Burkett had previously led the producer of the piece, Mary Mapes, to have the utmost confidence in the material.

It was unclear last night if Mr. Burkett had told Mr. Rather that he had been misled about the documents' provenance or that he had been the one who did the misleading.

So whatever led CBS News to refer repeatedly to Burkett--who on the most sympathetic interpretation is a rabid Democratic partisan, if not a liar and a nut--as an "unimpeachable source"?

And it appears that CBS will stick to the "fake but true" defense, as Josh Howard, the executive producer of 60 Minutes, said over the weekend: "The editorial story line was still intact, and still is, to this day." In fact, the "editorial story line" is false from beginning to end. Lt. Col. Jerry Killian gave Lt. Bush a glowing evaluation as his commanding officer. For the Democrats to assert, more than thirty years later, that Killian and the other officers who praised Bush in official documents didn't mean what they said is an exercise in futility. And the claim that Bush failed to satisfy his National Guard requirements, no matter how often the Left repeats it--see Eleanor Clift's lying, mean-spirited column in the current Newsweek--is simply untrue. Bush did fulfill his requirements, as is demonstrated by the honorable discharge he received.

The Times reports that:

In the coming days CBS News officials plan to focus on how the network moved ahead with the report when there were warning signs that the memorandums were not genuine.

Gee, that's a mystery, isn't it? It will be interesting to see where the CBS investigation leads. Let me offer a helpful hint: Rather and the crew of 60 Minutes "moved ahead with the report when there were warning signs that the memoranda were not genuine" becaue they desperately want John Kerry to win the election, and therefore didn't care that the memos were forgeries.

See, that wasn't so hard, was it?

Posted by Scott at 07:03 AM  |    |  

Trackback Pings

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.powerlineblog.com/mt/mt-diespammers.cgi/7964

Listed below are links to weblogs that reference CBS previews its climbdown:

» Not Long Now from The Truth Laid Bear
The NYT says The End Is Near: After days of expressing confidence about the documents used in a "60 Minutes'' report that raised new questions about President Bush's National Guard service, CBS News officials have grave doubts about the authenticity... [Read More]

Tracked on September 20, 2004 07:08 AM

» Finally! CBS is Waking up and Smelling the Coffee... from Live From Brussels
The New York Times is reporting that 'officials' at CBS at last are willing to admit the truth: Washington > Campaign 2004 > The News Media: CBS News Concludes It Was Misled on National Guard Memos, Network Officials Say" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2... [Read More]

Tracked on September 20, 2004 07:24 AM

» Blogosphere 1, Old Media 0 from Opaque Lucidity
Looks like CBS is going to admit they were "devceived" about the National Guard memos. Of course, I'm sure they're not going to admit that a sixth-grader with Word 97 and an inkjet printer would've known they were fakes. Sorry,... [Read More]

Tracked on September 20, 2004 07:31 AM

» Good Job! from Armies of Liberation
Bloggers turned columnistsPowerline and Captains Quarters! Sick 'em boyz! [Read More]

Tracked on September 20, 2004 07:42 AM

» CBS Close to an Admission (of being misled) from bLogicus
The New York Times is reporting that CBS is close to admitting, publicly, that they were misled about the Bush Guard Memos. CBS officials are already privately suggesting that some type of retraction is imminent. My Summary with Editorial: Unamed... [Read More]

Tracked on September 20, 2004 08:17 AM

» So THAT's why Danny went to Texas... from Irreconcilable Musings
On Saturday during the NARN (Northern Alliance Radio Network) broadcast, Blog Dad Big Trunk reported he got a phone call placing Dan Rather in the First Class cabin of an American Airlines flight from New York to Dallas. He posted [Read More]

Tracked on September 20, 2004 08:22 AM

» Like Pulling Teeth from La Shawn Barber's Corner
According to the New York Times (registration req.), CBS finally admits it was "misled." How gracious of CBS.After days of expressing confidence about the documents used in a "60 Minutes'' report that raised new questions about President Bush's N... [Read More]

Tracked on September 20, 2004 08:50 AM

» Memogate: CBS To Admit Forgeries from HobbsOnline
The New York Times says CBS will announce as early as today that it was duped by forged memos. But Dan Rather may try to cling to the "fake but accurate" claim.fter days of expressing confidence about the documents used... [Read More]

Tracked on September 20, 2004 09:32 AM

» Dan Rather and CBS eat their hats from ianmassey.com
We all knew the day would come. CBS and Dan Rather are ready to admit they were misled regarding the now-infamous fake documents they jumped the gun on (their version of the pre-hat-eating release can be laughed at and trudged... [Read More]

Tracked on September 20, 2004 10:34 AM

» My Prediction from Weekend Pundit
CBS is going to say Burkett was their unimpeachable source. Burkett is going to admit to giving the documents to Mary Mapes (The 60 Minutes... [Read More]

Tracked on September 20, 2004 11:11 AM

» Time to CBS (Cut the BS) from infidel cowboy
CBS is preparing to let us in on a poorly kept secret of theirs - turns out those memos Dan Rather used in his 60 Minutes II hit piece may have been forged! Who knew?!? The question now is how... [Read More]

Tracked on September 20, 2004 11:41 AM

» We Weren't Wrong, Just Mistaken from Josh Ferguson
So trying to not admit that they were wrong to do it, they say that they aren't convinced that the memos are authentic, but it's ok, because they have a "tradition of investigative reporting without fear or favoritism." So it's ok to slander the Pres... [Read More]

Tracked on September 20, 2004 11:56 AM

» Rather Shameful from Pete The Elder
I find it hard to believe that anyone can still think that CBS did an adequate job vetting the documents before they aired them. The documents probably came from an anti-Bush conspiracy theory zealot name Bill Burkett. Either they came... [Read More]

Tracked on September 20, 2004 03:26 PM

» My Prediction from Weekend Pundit
CBS is going to say Burkett was their unimpeachable source. Burkett is going to admit to giving the documents to Mary Mapes (The 60 Minutes... [Read More]

Tracked on September 20, 2004 04:32 PM

» Rather Shameful from Pete The Elder
I find it hard to believe that anyone can still think that CBS did an adequate job vetting the documents before they aired them. The documents probably came from an anti-Bush conspiracy theory zealot name Bill Burkett. Either they came... [Read More]

Tracked on September 20, 2004 05:52 PM

» My Prediction from Weekend Pundit
CBS is going to say Burkett was their unimpeachable source. Burkett is going to admit to giving the documents to Mary Mapes (The 60 Minutes... [Read More]

Tracked on September 20, 2004 06:21 PM

» My Prediction from Weekend Pundit
CBS is going to say Burkett was their unimpeachable source. Burkett is going to admit to giving the documents to Mary Mapes (The 60 Minutes... [Read More]

Tracked on September 20, 2004 10:02 PM

» CBS Admits a from Time is a Factor
I don't think that this does much to restore credibility in CBS. The facts had been available to CBS the entire time, but rather than address them, they tried to brazen their way through. When that didn't work, they took a flier on their second line ... [Read More]

Tracked on September 20, 2004 11:08 PM