Posted on 09/20/2004 5:32:23 PM PDT by Dont Mention the War
Posted on Mon, Sep. 20, 2004
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.
"He had some advice on how to deal with the Vietnam issue and the Swift boat" allegations, Lockhart said Monday, referring to GOP-fueled accusations that Kerry exaggerated his Vietnam War record. "He said these guys play tough and we have to put the Vietnam experience into context and have Kerry talk about it more."
Lockhart said he thanked Burkett for his advice after a three to four minute call.
Lockhart said he does not recall talking to Burkett about Bush's Guard records. "It's baseless to say the Kerry campaign had anything to do with this," he said.
CBS News apologized Monday for a "mistake in judgment" in its story questioning Bush's Guard service, claiming it was misled by the source of documents that several experts have dismissed as fakes.
Burkett admitted this weekend to CBS that he lied about obtaining the documents from another former National Guard member, the network said. CBS hasn't been able to conclusively tell how he got them, or even whether they're fakes or not.
Kerry ally Max Cleland, a former Georgia senator, also said he had a brief conversation last month with Burkett, who told him he had information about Bush to counter charges against Kerry's Vietnam War service. Cleland said he gave Burkett's name and phone number to the campaign's research department.
Kerry spokesman David Ginsberg said nobody in the campaign's research department followed up on Burkett's offer of information.
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."
Must be time for SEE-BS to declare themselves a 527. Oh, nevermind...that would be too honest for them.
The 'Rats are coming clean on this call because they suspect that its existence is going to come out anyway.
This is nothing more than a way of promoting an "innocent explanation" for:
1. A call from Joe Lockhart to Bill Burkett.
2. A call from a CBS producer to Joe Lockhart.
In other words, a "modified limited hangout": they assume the calls are going to become known anyway (probably because they don't trust the unstable Burkett to keep his mouth shut). So, get some misinformation out there on the record.
All we can say for sure is that the calls took place. What was actually said could be anything -- except what has been admitted to.
Another set of dots...
I can't yet find a bylined version of this story anywhere on the web. I tried. Someone with direct AP wire access or LexisNexis access may be able to find out the writer's name.
Don't count on it. That story was probably put together by some sobbing General Desk editor who is watching his candidates hopes fade faster than an old-time AP laserphoto. It probably came in from a combination of stories from different AP member papers.
I sent it to him....:-)
"Why is the producer for the hit piece on the President, calling the Kerry camp and having them talk to the person they say is the source? Something is really wrong with this!"
LOL can someone get the date on when CBS contacted Dan Bartlett (who they tried to blame for not denying them)? They give the Kerry camp (what - a week, 2 weeks, days?) advance notice so they can make videos, already get the issue in the press, smear Bush campaign and coordinate their attack with 'talking points'. That way people would see the dems making these accusations and then.... Lo and behold, something comes out on CBS cooberating what the people just heard on the news from the DNC the night before! Then they think, 'we can trust the Dems, it wasn't just a smear'. What a sham!
OR perhaps the Kerry camp already knew about them much longer in advance...
Joseph Lockhart (Joe) was the former assistant to President William Jefferson Clinton and Press Secretary at the White House. In 2002, Lockhart was President and Founding Partner of the Glover Park Group, "a leading Washington consulting firm specializing in advocacy advertising."[1]
Further info at
http://www.disinfopedia.org/wiki.phtml?title=Joe_Lockhart
Fits the time frame
Don't forget McAwfull and Estrich warning us during the Rep convention that they were about to play dirty.
Lockhart joined in August, but it wasn't announced until September.
"He had some advice on how to deal with the Vietnam issue and the Swift boat" allegations, Lockhart said Monday..."
Right, do not, by any means, address the actual allegations made by the Vets. Just assasinate the character of the President. That will work...well, maybe not.
Burkett's attorney isn't going down.
He's running for Texas Supreme Court.
Yes, consistent with the lies they peddled tonight on the Evening News, CBS is a victim of mean, bad Bill Burkett.
They had 5 years to get this story right and somehow failed to do so. They could have chosen to interview a raft of persons and somehow missed the opportunity. The mistake was all in good faith, a rush to run with the story.
And yet the producer of the hoax managed to find time to contact the press secretary of the President's opponent and refer him to her irreputable source.
CBS: nothing but a bunch of biased, scheming liars.
I want the resignation of Mapes tomorrow morning. For starters.
Count on it
Collusion between CBS and the Kerry campaign. That must be the political operatives old Dan Rather was really referring to when the critics questioned the documents.
or just getting ahead of the story to flush the bad news overnight? just asking.
Oooooops!!!
I agree with you completely. If you had Bush folks working hand in hand and closely coordinating with a major media outlet on a story to bash Kerry, the screaming from the DNC would be deafening! This is clear evidence of a pro-DNC agenda at CBS.
I know that's the worst kept secret on the entire planet, but this is the smoking gun evidence. Shouldn't they be registered as a political arm of the DNC?
I think the call connections went just the other way. From Burkette to Cleland.
Then Cleland told Lockhar so he called Burkette to check on the documents given to Cleland.
Then Lockhart called Mapes. Remember CBS said they had an "unimpeachable source" who they had to protect.
They are trying to spin the phone calls the other way because as bad as collusion with CBS looks--it looks even worse if the Democrats were the ones pushing the documents to CBS. That will truly sink Kerry and possibly the DEMS along with it.
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