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."
Check out the date of that post of Lockhart's hire: August 20. Burkett posted on August 21 that he had spoken with Cleland. Cleland is on record saying he referred Burkett to the Kerry campaign.
Absolute power corrupts absolutely.
These people in the DNC and CBS, so pampered by unaccountable collusion for years, have not a clue of the new environment that now envelopes them.
And the rest of the MSM are scared, too.
g
SMOKING GUN!!
This is being let out as "anti-climactic" when they know that a Kerry primary agent in league with CBS and Burkett is the proof necessary to prove coordination.
This is collusion between a party and a network in an effort to damage a candidate!
We have known/suspected for years that the MSM is in cahoots with the DNC...this is probably nothing knew to them, they have been doing it all along, this time they got caught.
Good gollie miss mollie. It doesn't get any better than this. Or does it?
Wouldn't you love to get Liddy's take on all this right now?
Saulter is on Hannity & Colmes NOW
Don't you just love politics...
"Additionally, Mary Mapes, the producer of the report and a well-respected, veteran journalist whose credibility has never been questioned, has been following this story for more than five years..."
And she is calling the Kerry campaign in the midst of getting the story out? I think her credibility is being questioned.
Sorry for all you people who are dieting, but here comes the dessert: Ms. Mary Mapes was the rat who broke the Abu Ghraib story.
Oh, Ms. Mapes, what goes around, comes around!
The more this story unfolds, the more moronic Mapes, Rather, and the entire CBS crew look. They obviously hugely underestimated the power of the blogosphere and got caught doing a very bad, very amateurish hit job. This collusion with the Kerry campaign/DNC angle makes it look even worse for CBS.
Mapes is toast, and Rather should follow her down the pipes.
Rather volunteered that to clumsily attempt to head off the fact that he is taking a knife for the DNC.
Possibly, Burkett's lawyer wouldn't let CBS air the interview unless CBS conceded that they contacted Burkett, and not vice versa.
Geez.....the DNC, and CBS, are putting on some badly-rendered version of an old Keystone Kops movie, it appears.
And Kerry is beginning to sound even more strident, whiny and discordant with every day that passes. No wonder he grates on the nerves.
Ping me to anything you think its important.....I'm going to go watch the Eagles-Vikings.
Aye, I know people who are in ad-buying business.
It may be different for block political ads, but still...
between the scheduling and the people who produced the ad,
we should be able to get an idea of the timeline.
And the players!
The AP reported this? Holy Cow.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.