September 19, 2004, 04:00 PM
Washington Post's hard evidence
Today, the Washington Post released a side-by-side comparison of CBS' faked documents with a few official Killian memos.
The graphic can be seen here.
Laura Stanton's research shows without a doubt that Lt Col Jerry Killian did not write the memos CBS stands behind.
Last week, I brought up the question of who (or what) CBS is protecting with their rigid stance behind their reporting. Maybe we are getting closer to an answer.
Bill Burkett, as Phil wrote in his article, was said to be a source for the report. However, it seems obvious that Bill Burkett alone couldn't have been the only source: he would not have had the leverage to get the documents on air, and if he did, CBS wouldn't have been protected him as much as they're protecting their sources in this scandal.
An AP release shows that Bill Burkett contacted the Kerry campaign. They wrote:
The retired Guard official, Bill Burkett, said in an Aug. 21 e-mail to a list of Texas Democrats that after getting through “seven layers of bureaucratic kids” in the Democrat's campaign, he talked with former Georgia Sen. Max Cleland about information that would counter criticism of Kerry's Vietnam War service. The Associated Press obtained a copy of the e-mail Saturday.
What this “information” was remains unknown. Yet, in the face of hard evidence, CBS continues to stand by their reporting. That suggests they are still actively protecting their sources.
Since these documents are faked, CBS has no reason to protect their sources unless, of course, reveling their sources would hurt the Democrats or even the Kerry Campaign. The press, like the Associated Press, ABC News, the Washington Post, and even the New York Times, should seek the truth for an answer that explains CBS' defensive. Let's hope they do just that.
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