Slime Time Live (Possible clue to source of CBS Story)

Newsweek ^ | Sept. 20 issue | Howard Fineman and Michael Isikoff

[Anti-Bubba182]

Sept. 20 issue - The rap on Mary Beth Cahill, ... is the wrong person to guide the fortunes of Sen. John Kerry during this hypernasty political season. Maybe so, but hers was among the first congratulatory calls Ben Barnes received ....

.....Where did the documents come from? CBS won't say. But the trail pieced together by NEWSWEEK shows that in a sulfurous season like this one, the difference between obscurity and power is small, and anyone can get a hearing. A principal source for CBS's story was Bill Burkett, a disgruntled former Guard officer who lives in Baird, Texas, who says he was present at Guard headquarters in Austin in 1997, when a top aide to the then Governor Bush ordered records sanitized to protect the Boss. Other Guard officials disputed Burkett's account, and the Bush aide involved, Joe Allbaugh, called it "absolute garbage." Burkett may have a motive to make trouble for the powers that be. In 1998, he grew gravely ill on a Guard mission to Panama, causing him to be hospitalized, and he suffered two nervous breakdowns. He unsuccessfully sued for medical expenses.

Still, in theory, Burkett may have had access to any Guard records that, in a friend's words, "didn't make it to the shredder." Fellow officers say he wasn't a crank, but rather a stickler for proper procedure—a classic whistle-blower type. Burkett was impressive enough to cause CBS producer Mary Mapes to fly to Texas to interview him. "There are only a couple of guys I would trust to be as perfectly honest and upfront as Bill," says Dennis Adams, a former Guard colleague. The White House, through Communications Director Dan Bartlett, called Burkett a "discredited source." Indeed, Bush strategists are convinced—or have convinced themselves—that the issue will backfire on its purveyors...

[Casloy]

Damn, reading his rants, this guy Burkett has some major emotional problems.

[KingKongCobra]

Burkett, the unimpeachable source. LOL.

It all makes sense now. The clown is still trying to prove his 1997 story ans CBS fell for it. What dupes.

[Mo1]

I can't believe they went with this guy!

Or is it just convinent to dump it on him ??

[Anti-Bubba182]

Yes, apparently including two nervous breakdowns, if we can believe the article.

He is Not the kind of source I would want a lot riding on.

[piasa]

Nice catch...

[DaveMSmith]

On the ground, a hard-core Kerry group is setting up a new "oppo" squad. Tentatively called Sealords II—Kerry's Mekong Delta mission in Vietnam was known as Sealords—the group has a $1 million budget and will be housed at the Democratic National Committee, where, one of its members says, the mission will be "message, debate prep, attack, attack."

And obviously composed on the barking-moonbat wing of the DNC. Amazing.

[conservative in nyc]

I think these all refer to the documents that were around before the last election.

[Mo1]

I just looked at my bookmarks on Burkett and I have google searches for Pacifica Radio, Indymedia and Open Society Institute

But for the life of me I can't remember why I saved them

Wasn't there a thread about Burkett awhile back?

[Cincinatus' Wife]

They're forged documents and easily debunked.

The IBM Selectric Composer (Rather's theory thoroughly debunked)

[patriciamary]

Question for fellow freepers, but sorry, a bit off the subject,Did Kerry get treated for a mental disorder?

[rolling_stone]

Bath was mentioned along with Bush in one of the USA
Today memos that were posted at their site...interesting...

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2004-09-09bushdocs.pdf

[Howlin]

Here's the URL for the Open Society Institute:

http://www.soros.org/

[nonkultur]

Doubts raised on Bush accuser
Key witness disputes charge by Guard retiree that files were purged

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2004/02/13/doubts_raised_on_bush_accuser/

[BykrBayb]

That must be part of the bigger death match between dems everywhere and civilization.

[claudiustg]

They're not going to be able to pawn this off on Burkett. There is a criminal conspiracy here to influence a federal election. Their is a cancer on the Democratic Party!

[FredZarguna]

Or is it just convinent to dump it on him ??

Stooge. Mule. Throwdown. Anyway, the Newspeak article actually gives credence to the Rather hoax. "Oh everybody's throwing mud. The documents 'might' not be real. No bounce for Bush." And blah blah blah.

[BykrBayb]

So, if he was the only source you had, you wouldn't name him either? lol

[Sodbuster]

He could not have been the source of the memos. These were Killian's personal memos and would have been in his personal possession, not filed with official records in the office. But his family says he didn't keep personal files. No matter to CBS and Dan Rather. No matter that it doesn't make any sense for a man to indict himself of unethical behavior in a memo to himself - and keep it for 30+ years. I would love to know where CBS got these. Maybe we'll find out this week.

[rolling_stone]

several roads lead to Rome(Burkett)...retired officer, Bath, Bush , access...I smell smoke .....

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A12809-2004Sep10.html

.....Before airing Wednesday's segment, he said, CBS "vetted" the confidential source who provided the memos and concluded that "he did have the ability to get access to these documents and he was being truthful." Beyond that, Rather said, CBS consulted with military experts about Killian's language and the documents' format and compared them to other Bush service records previously released by the White House. "We decided there was a preponderance of evidence that they are what they purport to be," he said.....

[Howlin]

The fact that Indymedia was created and financed by wealthy individuals such as Soros, Glaser, and Merkle is emblematic of the Vanguardism of Lenin.

http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=11005