for the VRWC
Posted on 09/20/2007 7:27:53 AM PDT by jdm
Dan Rather has had three years to mull over his options after his disastrous participation in Memogate, and he has reached the conclusion that the most wronged person in the debacle was ... Dan Rather. After spending the last three years insisting that the obviously fraudulent memos he broadcast as senior editor of CBS Nightly News have not been proven fakes, he now will sue CBS for $70 million for not participating in his fantasies:
Dan Rather, whose career at CBS News ground to an inglorious end 15 months ago over his role in an unsubstantiated report questioning President Bush’s Vietnam-era National Guard service, filed a lawsuit this afternoon against the network, its corporate parent and three of his former superiors.
Mr. Rather, 75, asserts that the network violated his contract by giving him insufficient airtime on “60 Minutes” after forcing him to step down as anchor of the “CBS Evening News” in March 2005. He also contends that the network committed fraud by commissioning a “biased” and incomplete investigation of the flawed Guard broadcast and, in the process, “seriously damaged his reputation.”
The suit, which seeks $70 million in damages, names as defendants CBS and its chief executive, Leslie Moonves; Viacom and its executive chairman, Sumner Redstone; and Andrew Heyward, the former president of CBS News.
In the suit, filed this afternoon in State Supreme Court in Manhattan, Mr. Rather charges that CBS and its executives made him “a scapegoat” in an attempt “to pacify the White House,” though the formal complaint presents virtually no direct evidence to that effect. To buttress this claim, Mr. Rather quotes the executive who oversaw his regular segment on CBS Radio, telling Mr. Rather in November 2004 that he was losing that slot, effective immediately, because of “pressure from ‘the right wing.’ ”
The filing itself approached the status of art in its hilarity. Rather insists that he did nothing more than read scripts in his role as senior editor, especially in this particular instance. The man who insisted that he remained a journalist in his role as CBS anchor suddenly became a modern version of Ted Baxter. How likely would that be for a story as explosive as the National Guard story two months before the presidential election? Are we to believe that on the biggest story CBS News would air that year, Dan Rather voluntarily gave up all of his journalistic cred to just read the TelePrompter?
That's not the only concession Rather makes about his integrity. Not only did he purportedly allow CBS to use his outsize reputation on a badly-sourced hit piece, but Rather also argues that he didn't want to apologize for the Guard story after it collapsed. Rather specifically and personally apologized in a written statement released on 9/20/04, and later emphasized his personal regrets on that night's broadcast. If he didn't mean it, why did he say it? Has he always been in the habit of reading text on air in which he doesn't believe, and then emphasizing his personal endorsement of it?
Now, just as the statute of limitations is running out for a lawsuit, Rather now argues that CBS damaged his reputation. He wants $20 million in real damages and $50 million in punitive damages. In reading Rather's submission to the court, his own admissions paint him as a hack of the first order who had little reputation left to damage.
Can you imagine what discovery will uncover in this case? One might expect that neither party really wants this dispute get to the point where discovery will take place. The internal memos that CBS never released, the efforts to find Mary Mapes' sourcing, and Dan Rather's role in all of the pre- and post-broadcast machinations that put this on the air and later defended it will finally all see the light of day. I can't wait to start reading through all of that data.
Don't expect to see CBS settle this case, although one might expect them to avoid the embarrassment. Many people in and out of the network have hard feelings about their dealings with Dan Rather -- read Bernard Goldberg's Bias to understand why -- and this is their chance to stomp on what little is left of Rather's reputation.
Interesting. Beginning to look like this was Rather's strategy all along.
Rather is reviving this story to damage the President again.
This is his only reason.
What’s the frequency Kenneth?
Is Dan worth 70 million?
I doubt it. He just wants lots and lots of $$$$$$.
And Dan will probably boast next November that he finally kept Dubya from getting re-elected.
Move over Alice, the March Hare and Mad Hatter need to set another place. Have a very Merry Un-Birthday Dan.
***After spending the last three years insisting that the obviously fraudulent memos he broadcast as senior editor of CBS Nightly News have not been proven fakes...***
They were, of course, proven fakes since they were written with fonts available ONLY on computers, and the memos predated computerized typewriters. (For newbies) One of our own Freepers made the original discovery.
Who do you think already has enough lawyers on board, and the deep pockets to pay them to whup your tail like a Tennessee banjo, and if necessary, stall until you are deader than a possum on the side of a country road?
Les Moonves
CBS Chairman
He wants to argue about what "experts" did or didn't say, but he doesn't understand that some things are just too obvious to fool people. He might as well have presented a "photograph" of Abe Lincoln driving a Mustang GT.
At the time I found it, I had hurriedly printed off one copy (which I gave to an associate}, and filed the form on my computer for future reference.
Shortly after that, I moved to another state and had to have a computer tech look at my system. When my computer came back -- said document was missing. This was during a time when the president really wasn't being pressed on the issue.
Finally, when the whole story broke then fell apart I disagreed with the experts they consulted who said the documents were fake because the equipment used was not available at that time. I had used some of that equipment, observed the evolution in the technology, and believed they were wrong. They never really did prove their point. That was the red flag to me . . . then, there was the document missing from my computer.
What I think might have happened -- the administration knew some of the evidence was out there somewhere so Bush had his Brain cook up enough documents, based partly on real information and had someone leak them to CBS. Could be the CBS management complicit.
I haven't always agreed with Rather but believe he was one of the most independent and objective people out there. Guess that's why they took him down.
Courage, Dan.
Ted Baxter actually looks smart compared with Dandy Danny boy.
Are you joking?
I have a memo that says Dan Rather is a liar and will do anything to bring attention to himself.
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.