A web of connections (Rather, CBS, Mapes, Cleland, Barnes, Burkett, Van Os, Kerry, McAuliffe)

Ratherbiased.com ^ | 9/18/04

[jimbo123]

Sumner Redstone, Chairman of Viacom needs to be added to the chart:

REDSTONE, SUMMER M
DEDHAM,MA 02026
VIACOM INC/CHAIR MAN OF THE BOARD
5/3/2004
$1,000
Kerry, John

REDSTONE, SUMNER
DEDHAM,MA 02026
2/3/2004
$1,000
Kerry, John

REDSTONE, SUMNER
NEW YORK,NY 10036
VIACOM INC
9/26/2003
$1,000
Daschle, Tom

REDSTONE, SUMNER
NEWTON,MA 02459
VIACOM
5/13/2004
$1,000
Kennedy, Edward M

REDSTONE, SUMNER M
DEDHAM,MA 02027
NATIONAL AMUSEMENTS INC. & VAAEM I/
12/5/2003
$1,000
Kerry, John

REDSTONE, SUMNER M
NEW YORK,NY 10036
VIACOM
3/28/2003
$1,000
Leahy, Patrick

REDSTONE, SUMNER M
NEW YORK,NY 10036
VIACOM
3/28/2003
$1,000
Leahy, Patrick

[skeet shooter]

What a tangled web we weave...SUPER JOB!

[CyberAnt]

This is a great point .. because I think it should be noted that NOT ONE DEMOCRAT was involved in OUTING THIS INFORMATION that the documents were forgeries; even though I'm confident there were several who also suspected the docs were forgeries.

The MSM seems to keep implying that only repubs are exposing this so it must be a repub conspiracy, and high level repubs to boot.

[CyberAnt]

IIRC some source inside CBS said Mapes had been working on the story for 4-5 years, and they had people all over TX asking questions about Bush. Then, "like magic, this packet of documents showed up which answered all the questions".

If people don't see a fraud in that .. they are totally blind and have rocks for brains.

[Socratic]

Check this link and notice the box on the right side, where their January meeting will be held. This isn't conclusive because it seems they hold their meetings at other spots (maybe depending on availablity) but it is just one more piece. If you do a search under "Title" and use "Kinkos" as the key word, check out the discussion with about 600 responses on it. That was an exciting thread.

http://216.239.41.104/search?q=cache:SOHH4l_h-uYJ:www.1tex.net/demo/bcdw.htm++taylor+county+texas+democratic+women+President+-+Pat+Wallace&hl=en

[Grampa Dave]

The October Surprise turn around on CBS in September probably has most of the elite libs in the MSM and Komrade Kerry's Kerrorist Kamp a state of mental trauma.

They have to be dreading the next shoe/disclosure to fall on their house of cards.

[MeekOneGOP]

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for the ping!

[F14 Pilot]

#26

[rwfromkansas]

[PhilDragoo]

[okie01]

USA Today is in there somewhere too, with a big question being where they obtained their copies of the Killian forgeries.

USA Today's description of their source left little doubt that it was Burkett.

[okie01]

Personally, I would dispute labelling Bill Burkett as the "unimpeachable source". "Suspected source" would be sufficient.

Burkett's psychiatric history and vicious partisanship was well known. A classic "man on a soap box" type. USA TODAY appears to have been leery of the story from the outset, due to Burkett's lack of bona fides. Hell, even the Boston Globe has called him a "nut".

Plus, Burkett's way too small a fish for Dan Rather to risk his career upon.

In addition, you need to fit Robert Strong in here somewhere. Somebody put CBS on to utilizing him to support the Killian documents from the very outset. Somebody thought he could add important texture to the story.

I'm guessing that Somebody may be our "unimpeachable source" who vouched for Burkett and the documents to Rather.

[Travis McGee]

Awesome compilation!

[JulieRNR21]

I didn't want to start a new thread.....and would appreciate your thoughts on this:


The following are excerpts from three different news reports. They conflict.

---

First Dan Rather's September 20 report on document errors:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/09/20/eveningnews/main644664.shtml

Rather On The Document Errors

"The documents were provided to CBS News by a former commander in the Texas Air Guard, Bill Burkett. He did not come to CBS News, a CBS team went to him and asked him for the documents. "

Question: How did CBS learn that Bill Burkett had documents relating to GW Bush's National Guard service? Who told CBS?

Note CBS's Dan Rather also said they can "no longer vouch for their validity", never admitting they are fraudulent documents.

---

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/09/06/politics/main641481.shtml
CBS announced appointing the two investigators and said:

"A top Kerry campaign official now says Mary Mapes, the producer of the story, put him in touch with Bill Burkett, the former Texas Air National Guard officer who provided the documents to CBS news.

"She said he was interested in talking to me and she gave me his number," said Joe Lockhart, a Clinton White House spokesman who recently joined the Kerry campaign. "I called him. He gave me some advice on how to respond to the Swift Boat smears against John Kerry. We talked about three to four minutes, the guard document issue never came up. And that was the end of it."

Question: Was there a "document issue" until after Dan Rather's September 8 report? The Lockhart-Burkett call was apparently before Sept 8. Lockhart and Burkett could have discussed documents but not that "document issue" which only developed AFTER the Sept 8 report.

---

The third report says
RNC Demands Answers From CBS, Democrats About Forged Documents
By Jeff Gannon
Talon News
September 22, 2004

WASHINGTON (Talon News) -- Republicans stayed on the offensive Tuesday in the battle over President Bush's service record. The focus of the controversy has moved away from questions about whether Bush fulfilled his obligation to the Texas Air National Guard and now rests on the conduct of his accusers.

Joe Lockhart, an advisor to Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry, admitted that he spoke with Bush antagonist Bill Burkett at the request of CBS producer Mary Mapes. Burkett claimed that he refused to turn over documents to CBS that "proved" Bush received preferential treatment and skipped a required physical until he was able to speak to someone at the Kerry campaign."

Question: Refused to turn them over to who?

---

Question: Since CBS (who employed Mary Mapes) did not go to Burkett, who was the middle man/woman carrying messages apparently telling a) CBS there were documents available from Burkett, plus b) telling Joe Lockhart at the Kerry campaign to phone Burkett?

The DNC?, Mary Mapes?, Joe Lockhart?, Max Cleland? Dan Rather, or are other people involved who are still hidden, or hiding? Who are they?

Too many unanswered questions.

[Smartass]

This may be some help of what you're looking for:
"Gillespie Implicates Kerry's Campaign in Document 'Crime'":

Gillespi, Newsmax.com

[Cableguy]

The current reporting is that Burkett gave the docs to Mapes who faxed them to Dan Rather from Abilene. Then Mapes set up a call between Burkett and Lockhart. CBS does its report. Then Dems launch Operation Favorite Son and Texans for Truth launching also.

Key questions are:

What roles did Cleland/Lockhart play?
Who forged the documents?
Was Mapes involved in a conspiracy/coordination with DNC?

[potlatch]

I hope the guys answered your questions Julie. I got on late and am inundated with letters and replies, LOL.

[JulieRNR21]

Question: How did CBS learn that Bill Burkett had documents relating to GW Bush's National Guard service? Who told CBS?

I suspect that if we can answer the above question we might learn the real source of the forgeries......and my gut says someone in the Kerry Kamp alerted CBS that Burkett had the goods.

Could Burkett asking Mapes to put him in contact with a Kerry staffer be a 'smoke & mirrors' device to create 'an alibi' for Kerry Kamp to claim that they didn't initiate the memo story?

[NotJustAnotherPrettyFace]

Bump and a bookmark!