I'm with you on the call from Kerry/DNC/Lockhart being the trigger to "go." But what I can't figure is how CBS knew of Burkett in the first place.
At any rate, the details aren't vitally important, in order to reach the conclusion that this was a DNC/CBS project. Neither could pull off the Fortunate Son campaign alone.
IMHO, as a career military person Burkett knew how to work within a command structure. He needed a sign from the Kerry campaign before giving CBS the documents, which Mapes facilitated via the Lockhart phone call. Burkett may have been thinking about an eventual position with the Kerry administration, so he didn't want to do something the campaign wouldn't approve of.
---I'm with you on the call from Kerry/DNC/Lockhart being the trigger to "go." But what I can't figure is how CBS knew of Burkett in the first place.---
Perhaps the same people that saw to it that Burkett got the documents tipped CBS. Burkett was just a blind drop to launder the documents, a patsy in case things went wrong. I've maintained that it was the Kerry campaign that got the memos to Burkett, but it may be more likely that it was the DNC during their spring campaign.
Remember Terrible Terry was going after Bush big time and a lot of the MSM were talking the points. The DNC might have slid the memos to Burkett thinking he would be only too anxious to alert the press. Instead he went paranoid and sat on them until CBS weaseled them out of him.