Did you read the very end of my post? This is what I was trying to explain the other day about Barnes having had seen the documents before CBS did. I had remembered reading that these documents surfacing is what convinced Barnes to speak to CBS. I was able to track down the article I read that in.
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Rumors about the memos had circulated in the Democratic Party and media circles for weeks; in fact, CBS had used their existence to help persuade Barnes to talk. He told Democratic friends before the "60 Minutes II" broadcast that if documents the network was hunting for were found—and were authentic—"the election is over."
But now we learn that Barnes decided to talk to CBS just
a few days before CBS received the documents:
During the Republican National Convention in New York, Rather got a call from Ben Barnes, a onetime Texas lieutenant governor and veteran Democrat who has known the anchor, a former Houston TV reporter, for 30 years. Barnes said he was ready to say before the cameras that he had pulled strings to get Bush a coveted slot in the Texas Guard in 1968. Mapes had long been urging Barnes to tell his story.
On Friday, Sept. 3, the day after the convention ended, Mapes hit pay dirt. She told Howard her source had given her the documents.
This would mean that the Kerry campaign -- which Barnes is co-chair of -- got the documents
first, then CBS received them a few days later.