CHRONOLOGY OF CHARACTER ASSASSINATION
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PRIOR TO THE CBS REPORT: "In e-mail messages to a Yahoo discussion group for Texas Democrats, Burkett laid out a rationale for using what he termed 'down and dirty' tactics against Bush. He said that he had passed his ideas to the Democratic National Committee but that the DNC seemed 'afraid to do what I suggest.'" (Michael Dobbs, "Parallels Drawn Between CBS Memos, Texan's Postings," The Washington Post, 9/18/04)
IN AUGUST, PRIOR TO THE CBS REPORT: "Ultimately, Burkett decided to turn over the documents to one of the most persistent journalists, CBS producer Mary Mapes, sometime in August. He and his wife met Mapes and CBS reporter Mike Smith at a pizza restaurant a few miles from their ranch. At first he gave them only two of the six documents, which Mapes said she planned to have analyzed for authenticity, according to Burkett." (Dave Moniz, Kevin Johnson, And Jim Drinkard, "CBS Backs Off Guard Story," USA Today, 9/21/04)
19 DAYS BEFORE THE CBS REPORT: "Bill Burkett, the former Texas National Guard officer who has been caught up in the mystery of how CBS News acquired memos that seem to question President Bush's Vietnam-era National Guard service, unsuccessfully offered information and advice to help the Kerry campaign attack Mr. Bush, according to a posting Mr. Burkett wrote in an e-mail newsletter. 'I spent some time on the phone with the Kerry campaign seniors yesterday,' Mr. Burkett wrote on Aug. 21 in an e-mail letter circulated to a list of about 600 Texas Democrats. He complained that he had to 'get through seven layers of bureaucratic kids trying to get a job after the election.' (David D. Kirkpatrick And Jim Rutenberg, "Texan Involved In CBS Report Tried To Help Kerry Campaign," The New York Times, 9/18/04)
19 DAYS BEFORE THE CBS REPORT: 'I talked with Max Cleland,' Mr. Burkett continued, referring to the former senator from Georgia who has been supporting Senator John Kerry's Democratic presidential bid. Alluding to advertisements by a veterans group that deprecates Mr. Kerry's Vietnam service, Mr. Burkett continued, 'I asked if they wanted to counterattack or ride this to ground and outlast it, not spending any money. He said counterattack.' 'So I gave them the information to do it with,' Mr. Burkett wrote. 'But none of them have called me back.'" (David D. Kirkpatrick And Jim Rutenberg, "Texan Involved In CBS Report Tried To Help Kerry Campaign," The New York Times, 9/18/04)
6 DAYS BEFORE THE CBS REPORT: "'I will not have my commitment to defend this country questioned by those who refused to serve when they could have and who misled America into Iraq,' Kerry said at a late-night rally in Springfield, Ohio." (Jill Lawrence, "Kerry Strikes Back After 'Anger, Insults,'" USA Today, 9/3/04)
6 DAYS BEFORE THE CBS REPORT: "In the rush to air the documents Burkett provided, CBS producers inadvertently left clues about their confidential source. People asked by CBS to authenticate the documents said the papers bore a header showing they had been faxed from a Kinko's in Abilene, Tex., 21 miles from Burkett's home. Documents examiner Emily Will said the footer indicated the document had been sent at 6:41 p.m. on Sept. 2." (Michael Dobbs, "Questions Surround Man Who Provided Documents," The Washington Post, 9/21/04)
4 DAYS BEFORE THE CBS REPORT: "CBS arranged for a confidential source to talk with Joe Lockhart, a top aide to John Kerry, after the source provided the network with the now-disputed documents about President Bush's service in the Texas National Guard. Lockhart, the former press secretary to President Clinton, said a producer talked to him about the 60 Minutes program a few days before it aired on Sept. 8. She gave Lockhart a telephone number and asked him to call Bill Burkett, a former Texas National Guard officer who gave CBS the documents. Lockhart couldn't recall the producer's name. But CBS said Monday night that it would examine the role of producer Mary Mapes in passing the name to Lockhart." (Kevin Johnson et al., "CBS Arranged For Meeting With Lockhart," USA Today,9/21/04)
4 DAYS BEFORE THE CBS REPORT: CNN's BILL HEMMER: "I know at the outset of your answer there you said this discussion has nothing to do with -- does it really rely so much on a conversation you had on Saturday night? It was the [4]th of September, was it, if memory serves?" KERRY ADVISOR JOE LOCKHART: "It was the Saturday -- that sounds right." (CNN's "American Morning," 9/21/04)
3 DAYS BEFORE THE CBS REPORT: "Burkett said he passed the rest of the documents to Smith [CBS Reporter Mike Smith] around Sept. 5, at a drive-in restaurant near Baird." (Dave Moniz, Kevin Johnson, And Jim Drinkard, "CBS Backs Off Guard Story," USA Today, 9/21/04)
2 DAYS BEFORE THE CBS REPORT: "[H]oward Wolfson, a strategist dispatched to the DNC by Kerry's campaign to go negative on Bush … The DNC has nicknamed its effort 'Operation Fortunate Son' after a Creedence Clearwater Revival anti-war anthem from the 1960s." (Ron Fournier, "Democrats Taking A Chance On 'Fortunate Son' Criticism Of Bush Guard Records," The Associated Press, 9/9/04)
THE DAY BEFORE THE CBS REPORT: "Its time for President Bush to release all his records, come clean and tell the American people why he stopped flying when he was in the Air National Guard." (Democrat National Committee, "Cabrera Statement On Breaking News Regarding Bush's Military Record," Press Release, 9/7/04)
9 1/2 HOURS BEFORE THE CBS REPORT: "Adding to the criticism of Bush, a group called Texans for Truth announced an advertising campaign questioning whether Bush ever trained with the Alabama Air National Guard. The advertisement, set to run in several swing states, quotes a retired lieutenant colonel in the Alabama unit who says he searched for Bush but never met him in 1972 or 1973." (Matt Kelley, "Democrats Accuse Bush Of Lying About His Air National Guard Service," The Associated Press, 9/8/04)
9 HOURS BEFORE THE CBS REPORT: "Democratic Party chairman Terry McAuliffe said, 'George W. Bush's cover story on his National Guard service is rapidly unraveling. ... George W. Bush needs to answer why he regularly misled the American people about his time in the Guard and who applied political pressure on his behalf to have his performance reviews 'sugarcoated.'" (Terence Hunt, "Questions Raised About Bush Guard Service," The Associated Press, 9/9/04)
CBS REPORT AIRS: CBS' DAN RATHER: "George W. Bush had just graduated from Yale and faced the prospect of being drafted himself. This man, Ben Barnes, says he helped keep that from happening. … 60 MINUTES has now obtained a number of documents we are told were taken from Colonel Killian's personal file." (CBS' "60 Minutes II," 9/8/04)
JUST HOURS AFTER CBS REPORT: "The rap on Mary Beth Cahill … Maybe so, but hers was among the first congratulatory calls Ben Barnes received in Austin late [September 8] night. … 'You did a great job,' Cahill told him after it had aired. 'You did a brave thing.' Sen. Ted Kennedy (for whom Cahill once worked) called with the same message." (Howard Fineman and Michael Isikoff, "Slime Time Live," Newsweek, 9/20/04)
THE DAY AFTER CBS REPORT: "'You absolutely are seeing a coordinated attack by John Kerry and his surrogates,' White House spokesman Scott McClellan told reporters. 'The polls show Sen. Kerry falling behind, and it's the same old recycled attacks that we've seen every time the president has been up for election.' Joe Lockhart, a spokesman for the Kerry campaign, said McClellan was 'hurling nonsensical, inaccurate and baseless charges.'" (Judy Keen, "Accusations Exchanged Over Bush's Military Record," USA Today, 9/10/04)
15 1/2 HOURS AFTER CBS REPORT: "Democrats insisted the documents, made public Wednesday, take the matter beyond presidential politics. 'This is about George Bush getting special favors,' said Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa). 'This is about George Bush getting special privileges. This is about George Bush not doing his duty in the National Guard and then lying to the American people about it. Americans deserve to know the truth, and we won't know the whole truth until the president himself meets these facts head-on,' he said. The documents, obtained by the CBS program '60 Minutes II' for a report Wednesday, were written by Lt. Col. Jerry B. Killian, the commander of Bush's squadron in Texas. Killian is deceased." (Ken Herman, "Memo: Bush Disobeyed Guard Order," The New York Times, 9/10/04)
THE DAY AFTER CBS REPORT: "But now we know that Bush dishonored the Oval Office by lying to the American people." (DNC, "Take Action! Help Us Hold President Bush Accountable," E-Mail, 9/9/04)
THE DAY AFTER CBS REPORT: "The colonel [Killian] goes on, the 'officer,' meaning then-Lieutenant Bush, 'has made no attempt to meet his training certification or flight physical.' [CBS '60 Minutes,' 9/9/04] …BUT HE TRIED TO GO OVER HIS COMMANDER'S HEAD TO GET A POSITIVE EVALUATION In August 1972, Bush's superior officer Lt. Col. Jerry Killian notes in a memo that Bush had gone over his head and was 'talking to someone upstairs' to avoid service in Alabama. [CBS '60 Minutes,' 9/9/04]" (Democrat National Committee, "Bush Lies," Press Release, 9/9/04)
