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Rathergate's dangling threads [Calling All Potential "BUCKHEADS"!]
Powerline ^ | Jan. 18, 2005 | Scott W. Johnson

Posted on 01/18/2005 6:49:32 AM PST by conservativecorner

The editors of the Weekly Standard have issued a call to the blogosphere for help in tying up a few of Rathergate's many dangling threads: "Fishing expedition." Here they are:

(1) Who is Michael Smith? The report identifies him only as a "journalist" in Texas. The panel does not appear to have spoken with Smith and tells us nothing of his previous work. Does he or did he work for a mainstream newspaper? A local television station? Does he write for a website or run a blog? Has he been involved in politics? As the man who led Mary Mapes to Bill Burkett, Smith is someone we need to know more about. How do we reach him?

(2) Who is George Conn? When Burkett first spoke with CBS, he claimed that his friend Chief Warrant Officer George Conn was the source of the documents ostensibly damaging to President Bush, but that Conn would not confirm this if pressed. Only later did Burkett change his story. The panel attempted to contact Conn on two occasions--they left two phone messages for him--but otherwise failed to look into his identity and determine what role, if any, he played.

(3) Who is Lucy Ramirez? The last time he spoke publicly, Bill Burkett claimed that he had been contacted by a woman named Lucy Ramirez, who told him about the Texas Air National Guard memos from 1972 and arranged to get them to Burkett. Is "Lucy Ramirez," like Burkett, an activist or blogger in the Texas area who has made something of a hobby of opposing George W. Bush? Does this woman even exist?

(4) How many copies of the forged documents did CBS have? The documents CBS showed on the original 60 Minutes Wednesday segment appeared to have been crumpled, while those reproduced in the Thornburgh-Boccardi report appear uncrumpled.

(5) Aside from the phone call between Mapes and Joe Lockhart, do we have reason to believe there were any contacts between CBS News employees and the Kerry campaign? The Thornburgh-Boccardi report does not even mention the "Fortunate Son" DNC advertising campaign which was launched the day after the CBS story aired.

(6) Who, or what, prompted Ben Barnes, the former lieutenant governor of Texas who says he recommended special treatment for Bush in the TexANG, to go on camera after all these years? It's been reported that Mary Beth Cahill called Barnes to congratulate him after 60 Minutes Wednesday aired. Do we have reason to believe there were earlier contacts?

If you have any relevant information, email it to webeditor@weeklystandard.com, with the subject header "CBS."

HINDROCKET adds a few thoughts:

1) We're pretty sure that Michael Smith and George Conn exist, but if anyone ever finds "Lucy Ramirez," I'll be extremely surprised.

2) We know from the Thornburgh report that Mapes's famous phone call with Joe Lockhart was not her only contact with the Kerry campaign. The report says that Chad Clanton, another Kerry campaign staffer, told the panel that he had several conversations with Mapes, in which she told him about the story she was working on and asked whether the Kerry campaign could contribute anything to it. We also know that Mapes got Clanton's phone number from her husband, a newspaper reporter in Texas, who interviewed Clanton for a story on...you guessed it...the Swift Boat Vets.

3) It was a Power Line reader who first identified the "Robert Strong" who was cited (ludicrously, it turned out) as having authenticated the 60 Minutes documents. We are hopeful that our readers may be able to help solve the remaining riddles. If you do send info to the Weekly Standard, please copy us at powerlinefeedback@gmail.com.


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Extended News; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: 60minutes; 60minutesii; bias; bush; cbs; cbsfraud; danrather; fraud; mediabias; memogate; rather; ratherbias; rathergate; tang
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1 posted on 01/18/2005 6:49:33 AM PST by conservativecorner
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To: conservativecorner

Just have to love it -- time for the blogs and FR to go after CBS.


2 posted on 01/18/2005 6:57:12 AM PST by CedarDave (This tagline space for rent)
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To: CedarDave
cBS thought they could get away with a whitewash, but it ain't gonna happen. What did you know Dan, and when did you know it? How ironic that Dan and cBS are guilty of the very thing that made Dan famous. WATERGATE! There is a God, and he has a sense of humor.
3 posted on 01/18/2005 7:01:48 AM PST by conservativecorner
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To: conservativecorner

Previous FR thread with the Weekly Standard story here (but more is better in this case):

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1322746/posts


4 posted on 01/18/2005 7:04:20 AM PST by CedarDave (This tagline space for rent)
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To: conservativecorner
(3) Who is Lucy Ramirez? The last time he spoke publicly, Bill Burkett claimed that he had been contacted by a woman named Lucy Ramirez, who told him about the Texas Air National Guard memos from 1972 and arranged to get them to Burkett. Is "Lucy Ramirez," like Burkett, an activist or blogger in the Texas area who has made something of a hobby of opposing George W. Bush? Does this woman even exist?

My prediction:
Lucy Ramirez = Sid Blumenthal


5 posted on 01/18/2005 7:08:47 AM PST by IncPen (Beware the fury of a patient man.)
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To: conservativecorner

The only interesting Michael Smith I found in Texas, was a Charles Michael Smith Convicted of Cyber crime in 2002, sentenced to 120 months fed time.


6 posted on 01/18/2005 7:17:24 AM PST by marty60
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To: IncPen

Chad Clanton again. He's the guy who threatened Sinclair Broadcasting over their Swift Boat tape airing. I believe he's from Texas. He could well be one of the Kerry connections between Robin Rather and the rest of the Democrat stooges.


7 posted on 01/18/2005 7:17:59 AM PST by Eric in the Ozarks
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To: conservativecorner

My two-bits (0.25 $US) is up for hindrocket to claim if he'll take a bet. The bet? That Conn is a genuine human being, and not just a phonied up DoD record. I say not a man born of woman.


8 posted on 01/18/2005 7:21:40 AM PST by bvw
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To: Eric in the Ozarks

The Weekly Standard has no questions about Max Cleland's involvement? I hope we don't find out down the road that even TWS will protect former senators.


9 posted on 01/18/2005 7:22:25 AM PST by YaYa123 (@No Fan Of Max Cleland.com)
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To: conservativecorner
Haha! This is like dropping an ant farm in Dan Rather's pants. This is a story that would traditionally be easily swept away by the media into the dustbin of history. There is obvious malfeasance, and numerous angles to pursue, but especially with Rather leaving in a few months and the election over, the press would rather 'move on'.

The ultimate question, 'was Rather the duper or the dupee' takes a little more digging. Like Scott Peterson and OJ Simpson, Rather's behavior pattern suggests he is the perp, not a victim.

10 posted on 01/18/2005 7:22:31 AM PST by Monti Cello
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To: IncPen

I'm trying to picture him in drag. LOL!!


11 posted on 01/18/2005 7:26:19 AM PST by conservativecorner
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To: conservativecorner

BUMP!!

I'd like to know precisely what role, if any, Robin Rather played in the scandal.


12 posted on 01/18/2005 7:27:07 AM PST by Lancey Howard
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To: conservativecorner

Goggled up the following liberal spew:

http://www.mindspace.org/liberation-news-service/archives/000537.html

It says that Conn is a civilian employee of the U.S. Army in Germany.


13 posted on 01/18/2005 7:33:50 AM PST by pepperdog
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To: CedarDave

The MOST important thing for the bloggers is to recruit an army of experts to examine and declare, once and for all that the memos are FAKES. This is the pathway to a Federal investigation of forgery of government documents. This is the keystone to destroying the biased,lib CBS and all their MSM accomplices.


14 posted on 01/18/2005 7:34:08 AM PST by Uncle George
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To: conservativecorner

We need to find an expert in tracking copies. All copiers leave tracks! For example, if the original were copied at Kinkos, and that copier had dots (dirt specs) on the glass or smudges, that would carry onto the next copy etc. It might be a way to find out where the documents originated. Any Ex-Xeriods(Xerox copier reps) out there?


15 posted on 01/18/2005 7:57:18 AM PST by mdcen (Pondering!)
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To: conservativecorner

Lucy Ramirez is Dan Rather's daughter. We need to do some digging on Ms. Rather's schedule around this time.


16 posted on 01/18/2005 7:59:54 AM PST by dannyboy72 (How long will you hold onto the rope to save the life of a liberal?)
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To: conservativecorner
Rumor is that Dan Rather is going to be let go via a back door firing. He is leaving his anchor chair and staying on at Sixty Minutes Wednesday. But scuttlebutt says that the network will be canceling that show. The original Sixty Minutes, on Sunday nights, will not take Rather back. Hence, the network gets rid of him without having to officially fire him. Sweet.
17 posted on 01/18/2005 8:28:23 AM PST by redheadtoo
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To: dannyboy72
I have always wondered if Burkett was not set up by the Kerry campaign or cBS news.

They know they have a nut case on their hands that will do everything in his power to destroy Bush. They then forge the documents and give them to Burkett and Burkett believes they are real. Burkett then becomes the willing stooge in getting the documents to cBS News. Whoever did the forgery knew it would be discovered but had no idea the speed of discovery. They were hoping to sway the election before it was discovered. (Free Republic at its best!)

The question is who forged the documents.

1. Mappes ????
2. A Kerry staffer ????
3. Burkett himself ????
4. Ben Barnes or an underling of his ???
5. Rather's daughter ???

When and if Burkett is prosecuted follow the money. If he gets high profile expensive lawyers we must find out who is footing the bill and the story will be solved. If he is allowed to go down alone he did it alone.

CBS has failed the Absence of Malice test by a wide margin. They are libel in a suit by President Bust and I hope he goes after them. Burkett, if the perpetrator, has committed multiple felonious criminal acts that violate Texas law and Federal Law including interstate wire fraud. He is in deep kimshee.
18 posted on 01/18/2005 8:30:28 AM PST by cpdiii (Oil Field Trash, Pilot, Pharmacist. (Oil Field Trash was the most fun.))
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To: redheadtoo

The whole place needs a house cleaning.


19 posted on 01/18/2005 8:31:30 AM PST by Eric in the Ozarks
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To: pepperdog

We didn't call him George "The Conn Man" for the fun of it. When he was still in the TX Army National Guard, he tried to use his rank more often than not to get his way.


20 posted on 01/18/2005 8:33:31 AM PST by Arrowhead1952 (Jan. 20, 2005 - - - - The biggest nightmare for the MSM and DU.)
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