Posted on 09/17/2004 8:58:58 PM PDT by The Bandit
Edited on 09/17/2004 9:05:20 PM PDT by Admin Moderator. [history]
BAIRD, Tex., Sept. 17 - 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."
"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."
Mr. Burkett did not say what information he offered. Earlier this year, he gained attention for saying that in 1998 he saw aides to Gov. George W. Bush of Texas and Guard officials dispose of pieces of Mr. Bush's National Guard record that could prove politically embarrassing. Mr. Bush's aides have denied his account.
"I volunteered to come back out with more," Mr. Burkett wrote.
Mr. Burkett, who was at home on his ranch in Baird, near Abilene, on Friday, declined to comment.
Mr. Cleland said in a telephone interview that Mr. Burkett called him "a couple of weeks ago," as he was out campaigning for Mr. Kerry.
"I couldn't swear to it whether he used the term documents or information," Mr. Cleland said. "It was some kind of stuff, some kind of information he wanted to get to the campaign, or something, regarding Bush's National Guard service. I referred him up to somebody in the campaign."
Mr. Cleland said he received up to 100 calls a week from people with tips and ideas. "He sounded like he had something," Mr. Cleland said. "But of course, in this business, you go around, every friend, everyone around the corner, has some something or other."
Campaign officials said Mr. Cleland had referred Mr. Burkett to someone at the campaign who passed his message on to the research department, where the message was set aside amid the deluge of other calls.
Mr. Burkett has returned to national attention since CBS News and "60 Minutes" reported last week on four memos reportedly from the personal files of Lt. Col. Jerry Killian, Mr. Bush's squadron commander, who died 20 years ago. The memos said that Colonel Killian was under pressure to "sugar coat" the record of the young Lieutenant Bush and that the officer had disobeyed a direct order to take a physical.
Forensic experts, a secretary who said she typed Lieutenant Killian's memos and members of his family have said that they doubt the authenticity of the documents. CBS News has said it is evaluating their legitimacy and has declined to identify its sources. But one person at CBS confirmed an account in Newsweek that Mr. Burkett had helped with the reports. The official was unable to say what role he played.
Mr. Burkett is an avid Democrat and a frequent contributor to the Texas Democratic e-mail list. His name also shows up occasionally as a contributor of criticism of the Bush administration on a Web site, onlinejournal.com. Asked about his contributions to that site, Mr. Burkett on Friday declined to comment. His wife, Nicki, later confirmed that the articles were indeed his.
His many online musings provide a glimpse of his thinking, including his intense desire to remove Mr. Bush from office. They include some inconclusive references to the possibility of more documents appearing about Mr. Bush's Guard service. Aside from the CBS report, the Pentagon on Friday released new documents from Mr. Bush's files.
Addressing Mr. Bush rhetorically in an article on the Web site on Aug. 25, Mr. Burkett wrote, "I know from your files that we have now reassembled, the fact that you did not fulfill your oath, taken when you were commissioned to 'obey the orders of the officers appointed over you.' " On Sept. 4, shortly before CBS News broadcast its report, Mr. Burkett told the Democratic e-mail list he had a hunch that more material might soon emerge to embarrass the president. "No proof, just gut instinct," Mr. Burkett added.
Mr. Burkett's lawyer, David Van Os, said his client had not fabricated any documents. "From my knowledge of Bill's character, I am 100 percent positively, unequivocally certain that Bill Burkett has not created or falsified any documents," Mr. Van Os said.
In another development, ABC News reported on Friday that former Col. Walter B. Staudt - who interviewed Mr. Bush for enrollment to the Texas Air National Guard in 1968 and who was named in a disputed Killian memo as exerting influence on behalf of Mr. Bush - said he "never pressured anybody about George Bush." He also told ABC News that he planned to vote for Mr. Bush.
David D. Kirkpatrick reported from Baird for this article, and Jim Rutenberg from New York. Nathan Levy contributed reporting from Baird.
They are trying to concoct some story to account for fake memo's. I think this stuff has been around since the gore campaigne.
You wonder how Burkett feels?
I wonder how Rather, Mapes and all those closeted liberals at CBS feel about it since they HAD TO KNOW those memos were fakes.
They miscalculated because they never thought anyone would question mighty CBS (Clearly Bull Shix)
that's a good reminder!
Sounds plausible. SOP.
Campaign officials said Mr. Cleland had referred Mr. Burkett to someone at the campaign who passed his message on to the research department, where the message was set aside amid the deluge of other calls.
Yeah...sure...Someone mentions "national guard" and "Texas" and they don't get all tingly? Doubt it...
Remember the American Prowler article that came out quickly once the scandal broke? the one that reports Kerry campaigners had the documents but some had doubts? Maybe there was something to that story...
Ollie North was on Hannity the other day, and flat out called Rather a liar. It was refreshing to hear someone say it.
The date on the article should be "september 18", not 16.
"It was refreshing to hear someone say it."
Yeah, I was getting tired of hearing myself say it so frequently.
Could it be that Burkett hooked up with Cleland and Rassman when they made their special trip to Crawford, Tx. to delivery his letter to President Bush on August 25th?
In the Washington Post story Cleland says they had a cell phone conversation. YaYa123 pointed out that not just anybody has Max Cleland's cell phone number. When he says he gets lots of phone calls are they to his cell phone?
And hang on, going back to read this article, it says he did contact the campaign:
Campaign officials said Mr. Cleland had referred Mr. Burkett to someone at the campaign who passed his message on to the research department, where the message was set aside amid the deluge of other calls.
Hmmm, "who" at the campaign said Mr. Cleland referred Mr. Burkett to "someone"? Who is that "someone"? Who in the "research department" took the message? It says it was "set aside". Was it ever picked up?!
Cleland delivered the letter on August 25th
http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/08/25/cleland.swiftboat/
He Max .. Who did you pass this information on to???
Yes, so dismissive he referred him directly to the Kerry Kampaign.
This is a curious article. On the one hand, they appear to have actually picked up the phone and called Burkett, which is a lot more investigating than the new New York Times usually bothers to do these days.
On the other hand, they refer to the whole affair as a "mystery." The correct term is "forgery."
Has anyone emailed Drudge about this?
I'd be willing to bet that over at DU they are postulating that Burkett and Rove are the same person.
Denial, thy name is democrat.
"Cleland delivered the letter on August 25th"
Oh, yeah. Someone might create a timeline of Kerry's responses to the Swift Vets, the calls to Bush to stop them, the complaint to the FCC, etc.
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