Doubts raised on Bush accuser (FR Blast from Past Feb. 2004--Bill Burkett)

FreeRepublic ^ | February 14, 2004 | Michael Rezendes

[litany_of_lies]

Note:

Newsweek is reporting that the source for the CBS allegations against Bush is Bob Burkett, someone with a grudge against the National Guard and Bush.

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/5974040/site/newsweek/

Six months ago, the Boston Globe reported major "issues" with another Burkett story that was posted on FR at the link noted.

Link to original boston.com (Globe) article is here:

http://www.boston.com/news/politics/president/articles/2004/02/13/doubts_raised_on_bush_accuser?mode=PF

First few paras:

++++++++

For at least six years, a retired Texas National Guard officer has maintained that President Bush's record as a member of the Guard was purged of potentially embarrassing material at the behest of high-ranking Bush aides laying the groundwork for Bush's 2000 run for the presidency.

Retired Lieutenant Colonel Bill Burkett, who has been pressing his charges in the national news media this week, says he even heard one high-ranking officer issue a 1997 order to sanitize the Bush file, and later saw another officer poring over the records and discovered that some had been discarded.

But a key witness to some of the events described by Burkett has told the Globe that the central elements of his story are false........

[litany_of_lies]

Jim Moore of the "Bush's Brain" hit book on Karl Rove also appears.

If these two obsessed borderline whack-jobs represent all of what Dan Rather has been relying on....you call this journalism?

[Brilliant]

The documents are forged. What more proof that this guy is a fraud do you need?

[tophat9000]

bump

[litany_of_lies]

From Rather's Friday transcript:

"These questions grew out of new witnesses and new evidence — including documents written by Lieutenant Bush's squadron commander."

I agree on the docs of course.

The bigger point is that Gunga Dan is claiming "new" (never came forward before) "witnesses" (saw actual events).

Jim Moore is not a witness to anything--he's a hack author.

Burkett may or may not be a witness, but he's not new.

I can't even name ONE new witness, let alone TWO. Hodges, who was misled anyway, is not a "witness." He only said "that sounds right." Strong is also not a witness.

Dan has essentially been saying (among many other things) that even if the docs are forged, there's plenty of corroboration. FROM FREAKING WHERE?

[Travis McGee]

Pathetic. Rather is finished, he will "retire" before October.

[Nam Vet]

Glad you re-introduced this thread. It pays to remind some doltist "journalists" who lurk FR of the long history of some of these whack-jobs on the left.

Nam Vet

[syriacus]

Yes. A trip down memory lane.

Burkett told a lot of made-up stories about people cleansing Bush's military records. After folks checked on Burkett's stories, his lies were discreditted. The very people, who he named as witnesses in his stories, denied what he alleged.

There is a lesson there for Dan Rather. Don't publish stories, just because you like them.

[DustyMoment]

Dan has essentially been saying (among many other things) that even if the docs are forged, there's plenty of corroboration. FROM FREAKING WHERE?

Dandy Dan appears to be basing the bulk of his corroboration claims on the statements of Matlin, who only claimed that Killian's signature appeared authentic. Blather has (as we know) steadfastly ignored, stonewalled and demagogued the whole typeface, superscript and kerning questions associated with the docs, the content issues associated with the docs, the refutation by Killian's surviving family of the docs, and the allegation of politicking by Ben Barnes' daughter. So, when you ignore everything else and you have one hack who claims the signatures match, there's your "plenty of corroboration".

[syriacus]

Dan has essentially been saying (among many other things) that even if the docs are forged, there's plenty of corroboration. FROM FREAKING WHERE?

From Dan's overactive imagination.

Here's a nice place for Dan to retire to.

Since Dan has such a creative imagination, he shouldn't be bothered by the fact that the Asylum was torn down in 1999. He can pretend it is there or he can use this picture.

[AmericanVictory]

Well, we could more accurately call it urinalism, or peeing on the truth.

[FormerACLUmember]

Well, we could more accurately call it urinalism, or peeing on the truth.

Also we can call CBS masters of defactation, or placing bowel movements on the truth!

[King Prout]

one can hope.

[King Prout]

Well, we could more accurately call it urinalism, or peeing on the truth.

good one - I like it!

[Wardawg]

The signature on the one Memo Matley spoke to makes no difference at all. You'd expect a cut and paste signature to be precise not merely similar as Matley stated. He did not comment on the topography of any of the docs nor the sigs on the other three. Best I can tell all of Dan's docs and witnesses have bailed and failed. THe only reason one can have any faith in the story is either partisanship, just cause it must be true or faith in Dan which is itself partisan. This is crap and hopefully they'll put ol danny boy on tick tick tonight and point at Kerry.

[GVnana]

Burkett is a whack-job. Ironic, isn't it, that the MSM which knows best for us, would give full faith and credit to a psychotic?

[GVnana]

Beautiful example of Victorian architecture. Dan can just take more psychotropics and stay at home in his PJs.

[mass55th]

Although it's been closed for many years, the Utica, New York Lunatic Asylum is still standing. Plenty of room for Danny Boy:

[litany_of_lies]

Burkett is a whack-job. Ironic, isn't it, that the MSM which knows best for us...

Yeah, but we don't count cuz we're supposedly working in our pajamas.

Link, if you didn't hear about the PJ quote:

HERE

[mattdono]

urinalism

I feel the birth of a brand new word. Let's consider this as an addition to the FREEPER Lexicon.

[bear11]

In a culture where we are trying to eliminate corporate fraud and gain confidence in the stock market, forget about firing Rather. Instead, he and Moonves should be indicted for attempts to influence a Federal Election.

Funny how 527's are getting all the attention for being "dishonest". The MSM needs to be accountable for their actions when fraud is involved.

You want to see them scramble, indict CBS's advertisers as accomplices to the crime.

[litany_of_lies]

Good points.

Markets are affected by their belief or lack of it in the reliability of news. If investors lose faith, the market plummets.

I personally have lost faith in a lot of general business reporting, as the newsroom bias has made its way into the business desk. I first noticed this during the 2000 recounts. The markets went up and down exactly in sync with perceptions as to whether AlGore would or wouldn't be successful in stealing the election (up when he suffered a setback, down when the loonies or the Florida Supremes had the upper hand). BUT NOBODY EXCEPT A FEW TALKERS AND FR POSTERS NOTED THE CORRELATION.

[RGSpincich]

Burkett is a stark raving "stout" Democrat. See how involved he is in the Dem
Party.
Click and scroll.
http://www.geocities.com/stoutdem/chair.html

[nonkultur]

How can an Army National Guardsman be anywhere near the Air National Guards files?

[rocklobster11]

Here's something I posted on another thread:

My little attempt at Buckhead #47 fame:

Bill Burkett is the source of the forged memos. I doubt that he wrote them, and he definitely didn't have them prior to the 2000 election, or he would have released them then. Instead, he has been used to get obvious forgeries accepted by the left wing press.

So, my theory is that someone read his discredited story about people cleansing Bush's National Guard records in 1997, specifically about seeing memos that were negative with respect to George Bush thrown in the trash can. Now, this story was widely reported in 2000 and widely discredited by everyone that Burkett mentioned as beeing involved in his conspiracy theory.

So someone decided to "create" the memos that Burkett had mentioned and pass them on to him, knowing that if he delivered the memos, the lame stream press would consider them real because of his stories from 2000. Especially someone as partisan and ignorant as Dan Rather.

Notice the title of the June 24,1973 and August 1, 1973 memos is "SUBJECT: Bush, George W. 1st Lt". Then check out this story from CNN from February 13,2004:

Guardsman says he saw Bush's Guard records in trash.

Specifically, see this quote from the article:

"I glanced down at the top of those documents. In ink was the word 'Bush, George W., 1 Lt.' This was a performance report. I was right at the trash can. I filtered through the top five or six pages in that, and they were all copies and originals of old performance documents and pay records for 'Bush, George W., 1 Lt.".

So now, CBS comes up with 6 memos supposedly critical of Bush. I say supposedly, because they are not really critical in my opinion, but could be spun that way by the Democratic 527 known as the Main Stream Media.

Some not too clever partisan took this one of these media stories about Burkett and decided to help Burkett produce some documents. Given the credibility hits that Burkett has taken over his discredited story, he was only too happy to believe they were real. Given John Kerry's floundering campaign, serial liar Terry McAuliffe and phony Vietnam Vet Tom Harkin were only too happy to believe these forgeries would hurt Bush. Given Dan Rather's total lack of credibility, he was only too happy to help pass them on to the public.

Unfortunately, Buckhead was rightly skeptical from the start, and the MSM couldn't shut down the discussion on the internet.

So, I expect to see some admission in the coming week that Burkett is the source of these memos. Hopefully, someone in the MSM will ask why he was able to produce these memos now, but not when he made these charges 4 years ago or anytime since.

Also, check out this quote from calpundit:

Jim Moore, a longtime Texas reporter (and, granted, hardly a fan of Bush), has talked with Burkett extensively for a soon to be published book titled Bush's War For Reelection: Iraq, the White House, and the People. Moore emailed me that he finds Burkett "immensely credible."

So, who does Dan Rather have on CBS News to prop him up on the fact that the documents are not forgeries? Jim Moore. Coincidence?

[rocklobster11]

Bill Burkett, aka Deep Note

[litany_of_lies]

I still want to know who Dan's "new" witnesses" are. Everybody I see discussed is either NOT new or WASN'T a real witness.

Dan Rather does not have, as he has claimed, TWO (OR MORE) NEW WITNESSES.

[GVnana]

Ooops. Bad choice. No PJs for Dan. Straightjacket maybe. He could impersonate "The Continental" in a smoking jacket?