http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2004/9/10/90907.shtml 
Media Assault on Bush Collapses in Credibility Meltdown
In a stunning journalistic fiasco from which the mainstream press may never recover, a full frontal attack by two out of the three major broadcast networks on President Bush's reelection bid has collapsed amidst questions about forged documents and fraudulent testimony.

CBS anchorman Dan Rather's already shaky journalistic reputation was in tatters Friday morning, after documents unearthed during his Wednesday night "60 Minutes II" broadcast purporting to show a cover-up of Bush's National Guard record were called probable forgeries by forensic experts.

Memos uncovered and touted by Rather's team appear to have been written in Microsoft Word, the experts said - a computer program that did not exist at the time Bush was in the Guard.

The same documents, purportedly authored by Bush Guard commander Jerry Killian, were challenged by Killian's widow and son, who told reporters on Thursday that the deceased National Guard commander would have never written such memos.

A second portion of Rather's "60 Minutes II" broadcast, featuring allegations against Bush from former Texas Lieutenant Gov. Ben Barnes, was also discredited, when his daughter Amy told a Texas radio station that her father was a "liar" who had changed his story to sell a book.

NBC News was also mired in a credibility crisis, as a spokeswoman for the network's "Today Show" insisted it was going forward with its planned rollout of Kitty Kelley's Bush bashing book, "The Family: The Real Story of the Bush Dynasty" - even though Kelley's key witness against Bush has recanted her account that Bush used cocaine and has accused Kelley of fabricating her interview.

"I categorically deny that I ever told Kitty Kelley that George W. Bush used cocaine at Camp David or that I ever saw him use cocaine at Camp David," ex-Bush sister-in-law Sharon Bush said in a statement issued Thursday.

Instead, the one-time Bush family insider insisted, "When Kitty Kelley raised drug use at Camp David, I responded by saying something along the lines of, 'Who would say such a thing?'"

Still, "Today Show" spokeswoman Lauren Kapps insisted that NBC producers had no plan to cancel or even scale back Kelley's three day mega promotion on the program, touted by the network as the crown jewel of morning TV.

"This was a very competitive interview that all the morning shows were after and, as we do with all of our interview subjects, we'll review the material beforehand and ask all the appropriate questions," Kapps said in a statement issued Thursday.

"This is astounding," one longtime media observer told NewsMax. "You have a major TV network promoting a book with a major news story that has already been discredited. At least in 1999, when St. Martin's Press found out their 'Bush used cocaine' book was false, they had the decency to withdraw it from bookstores."

http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2004/9/10/130050.shtml 
Caddell: Dan Rather May Have Cost Kerry the Election

Longtime Democratic strategist Pat Caddell said Friday that if documents aired by CBS newsman Dan Rather Wednesday night turn out to be forged as alleged by experts, the presidential race "is over."

"It would be the end of the race," Caddell told Fox News Live. "It would be the end of the race," he repeated.
"[Democratic officials are] so involved in this," the former Carter pollster worried. "They have gotten themselves so involved in this issue, 🇮🇳 the last 24 hours, that somebody's going to, if they're not authentic, they're going to be blamed for it. It's incredible to me that they've gotten in this."

Caddell said he wasn't trying be sensationalize the issue, explaining that instead, "I'm trying to save my party, you know, by telling the truth."

He said that forfeiting the presidential race would be the least of his party's problems if Democrats are tied to any forgery scandal.

"The race is over - and we've got bigger problems than that," he warned.

http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2004/9/9/202100.shtml 
Thursday, Sept. 9, 2004 8:19 p.m. EDT

Ben Barnes' 'Daughter': My Dad Lied About Bush

A woman purporting to be Amy Barnes, daughter of former Texas Lt. Gov. Ben Barnes, said Thursday that her father had fabricated claims that he used his influence to get President Bush into the Texas Air National Guard 36 years ago.

In a phone call to WBAP's Mark Davis radio show in Dallas, Texas, Ms. Barnes told guest host Monica Crowley that her father was an "opportunist" who had lied about Bush's Guard record during a "60 Minutes II" broadcast Tuesday night.

BARNES: I love my father very much, but he's doing this for purely political reasons. He is a big Kerry fund-raiser and he is writing a book also. And [the Bush story] is what he's leading the book off with. ... He denied this to me in 2000 that he did get Bush out [of Vietnam service]. Now he's saying he did.

CROWLEY: Did he tell you, Amy – and I'm glad I have you on the line with me – did your father tell you that he was prepared to do this on behalf of John Kerry – go after President Bush like this?

BARNES: He told me he was going to do it. In fact, I talked to him a couple of months ago. He told me he was writing the book. He told me that he was going to be talking about this. And he knows that I – we have very diverse political opinions. He knows my opinions and we get into this debate every time I see him. But, you know, he said that he was going to be talking about it.

CROWLEY: Now you're saying, Amy, that he has had two separate stories on President Bush's Guard duty during the Vietnam era?

BARNES: Yes, yes. This came out in 2000 and I asked him then, at the time, if he [helped get Bush into the Guard]. He said: "No, absolutely not. I did not do that." - CROWLEY: So, I hate to put you in this position, but I will ask you, do you think your father, Ben Barnes who was on "60 Minutes II" with Dan Rather last night – do you believe that he lied on the air to the American people last night about President Bush?

BARNES; Yes, I do. I absolutely do. And I think he's doing he's doing it for purely political, opportunistic reasons – trying to get John Kerry elected and trying to make Bush look like the bad person. ... Like I said, he's going to be trying to promote his book that he's got coming out. [End of Excerpt]

Crowley's colleague, WABC Radio's Mark Levin, aired a tape of the exchange in New York after confirming that Barnes does indeed have a daughter named Amy.


Hmmmmm...

Hog

What tangled webs are spun.................!

This story on the false documents is great stuff. they even used a font that was not even available in 1960's! Wonder what brainchild came up with this scam?

Charlie

Is there Media Bia here? I am truly shocked

BWAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

And people wonder why FOX NEWS is gaining share!

Now this makes sense... listening to and reading the transcript on Rushs show...

The Real Bush Guard Record
http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_090904/content/truth_detector.guest.html 


Hog

if the above is true, then good for bush. i'll keep waiting for it to all be hashed out and see what the verdict ends up being. (btw, no, i didn't watch the interview).

Herr Rabbit

because they appeal to the lowest of the masses, people without any intellect, and there are so meny of you.

Apparently there's MENY more of you!

Cigarick

oh yeah!

I appear to be getting under Ricky's skin. He is so smart, only he knows whats good for you and what you should know and hear. There really are no other valid viewpoints.

The lowest denominator comment tells you everything you need to know about the arrogance of the Left, the Conceit of the annointed.

As Fox's ratings go up(MENY more people watching), he means those people are too stupid to realize the truth only he and his kind holds.

Hence, many people are going stupid every day, even those who used to think Ricky's way have lost their very cogency and ability to think.

The arrogance is breathtaking and dangerous.

Do remember, you republicans do not represent the majority of Americans......if it were not for the BS electoral college, ol' GW wouldn't even be a thought. And, we thought every vote counts......wtfe.

BTW, Russ, why do put any stock in a know felon (by default) and drug user?!

you......n

man, i'm getting rusty

"BTW, Russ, why do put any stock in a know felon (by default) and drug user?!"

The ONE alleged witness to Bush using Coke, denied ever saying it, and WHAT felony? Bush won the popular vote in FLA by 537, and if the government could ever compare the voting record in Fla, to the absentee votes in NY, the margin would open to several thousand!

rather's expert says they're authentic. another says they're not. still waiting for it all to sort out.

i will say that if the docs are forgeries, shame on rather for doing that story in the first place. i hope he stays true to his word that if they are found to be forgeries that they will report it as such.

I say turn them over to Bo Dietel and his investigation group and I will bet on them being proven to be forgeries, CBS News has been had and is to damn arrogant and proud to admit it!

Charlie

PS Besides who the hell cares anyway....let this mess die along with JfK and his war record and get on with the debates,e tc.

Gee, if those docs are authentic, then how is it 111th is superscripted in one? There wasn't a typewriter in existence in the '70s that could do that. Oh, can anyone guess the odds on the PO Box being 34567?

DId anyone note that if Fox is taking viewership away from ABC,CBS, NBC, then they must be taking some of the intellectuals the Left so pirzes there. Afterall, they don't just materialize from thin air.

Mr maven is suggesting, although he doesn't think very well, that these people must be making a stupendous transformation to idiocy by a quick click on a remote. One can only assume they regain their brilliance by another click on the magic tuner.

So, what the main media has left are Ricky and others like him swooning over "Survivor", "The Swan", "Big Brother". He's in good company with the people there that think just like him.

I wonder if the integriyt of CNN is any question to the left, what with their still employing 2 campaign managers for Kerry as "commentators". CNN, now that's fair and balanced.

Gee, if those docs are authentic, then how is it 111th is superscripted in one? There wasn't a typewriter in existence in the '70s that could do that. Oh, can anyone guess the odds on the PO Box being 34567?

DId anyone note that if Fox is taking viewership away from ABC,CBS, NBC, then they must be taking some of the intellectuals the Left so pirzes there. Afterall, they don't just materialize from thin air.

Mr maven is suggesting, although he doesn't think very well, that these people must be making a stupendous transformation to idiocy by a quick click on a remote. One can only assume they regain their brilliance by another click on the magic tuner.

So, what the main media has left are Ricky and others like him swooning over "Survivor", "The Swan", "Big Brother". He's in good company with the people there that think just like him.

I wonder if the integrity of CNN is in any question to the Left, what with their still employing 2 campaign managers for Kerry as "commentators". CNN, now that's fair and balanced.

Herr

You are so correct on your take, as Mr Maven and his daily "barfings" against Bush, Fox News, O'Reilly, Mom and Apple Pie are getting even more rabid as the election grows near! That should send JfK back to his life of a leisure kept Billionaire (whoops, common person) since he rarely attends important Senate functions!
Fox News should be the standard for all news casts, fair and balanced, as they have commentators from both the right, left and from the middle, not like CNN and their lefty puppets, and one wonders how much longer Joe Scarborough can exist on MSNBC with the ex chief of CNN in charge there!

Charlie

And still coming...

'60 Minutes': Witness Who Contradicted Forged Docs Was Too 'Pro-Bush'

In its controversial report on President Bush's National Guard record, CBS "60 Minutes" anchorman Dan Rather failed to include accounts from witnesses who challenged the content of memos now believed to have been forged because they were deemed too "pro-Bush."

Gary Killian - son of the late Jerry Killian, who commanded Bush in the Guard and who CBS claims had authored the suspicious documents - said Friday that he was interviewed two weeks ago by "60 Minutes" producer Mary Mapes.

In addition to challenging the central premise of the CBS report - that his father felt pressured to cover up Bush's allegedly subpar Guard performance - Gary Killian urged Mapes to interview Dean Roome, who roomed with Bush during his time in the Guard.

Ms. Mapes explained that "60 Minutes" had already conducted the interview but was unlikely to include Roome's account in its report, telling Killian Jr.: "We think he is pretty pro-Bush."

Killian detailed his interview with Mapes to ABC radio host Sean Hannity on Friday, explaining that both he and his stepmother had been contacted by "60 Minutes."

But like Roome, their comments wound up on the cutting room floor.

"She wanted to interview me about my dad and how he felt about George Bush," he told Hannity. "Then she proceeded to ask me about documents."

Killian quoted the "60 Minutes" producer as saying, "We're trying to get our hands on some documents that your dad supposedly wrote that were not very flattering towards then-Lieutenant Bush."

Killian recalled that he immediately questioned whether his father would have written the critical comments, telling Hannity that he knew his father actually admired Bush because "we talked about it."

Killian Jr. even warned "60 Minutes" that any documents purporting otherwise were likely to be of questionable origin.

"I don't know of any such documents. Dad didn't keep any home office or anything like that. ... There were no secret files, there were no off-campus files. Any files that my father would have kept would have been in his office."

"60 Minutes" also contacted his stepmother, Killian said, who told Rather's crew that her late husband had great admiration for Bush.

Mrs. Killian has since challenged the authenticity of the CBS documents, saying her husband didn't even know how to type.

An astonished Hannity asked, "You said this to '60 Minutes' and they didn't include any of this in their report?"

"That's correct," Killian responded.

Ironically, while Gary Killian was on the air with Hannity, CBS issued a statement that claimed interviews conducted by Rather's team "with former Texas National Guard officials and individuals who worked closely back in the early 1970s with Colonel Jerry Killian and were well acquainted with his procedures, his character and his thinking" corroborated their questionable documents.

And Coming...

Saturday, Sept. 11, 2004 1:54 p.m. EDT

Ben Barnes Trying to Silence Daughter?

The press secretary for Kerry presidential campaign official Ben Barnes - who claimed Wednesday that he used influence to secure a place for President Bush in the Texas Air National Guard 36 years ago - has been trying to silence Barnes' daughter Amy, who has called her father's account a lie.

Barnes' press secretary Kane Hinton allegedly tried to kill Amy Barnes' interview on Friday with ABC Radio network host Sean Hannity, after Barnes told a Texas radio station the day before that her father had admitted privately that the story was false.

Ms. Hinton claimed that Amy Barnes had issued a statement retracting her earlier comments, according to Hannity's producer, and would have nothing further to say.

"[Hinton] called our studio saying she was a friend of Amy's," the talk host revealed during Friday's broadcast. "She canceled the interview on your behalf," he told Ms. Barnes, who appeared despite the attempted cancellation.

Hinton allegedly claimed she was authorized to issue the following statement on Amy Barnes' behalf:

"My comments were wrong about my father during a radio interview last night and I feel very badly and I'm very sorry. I did not know enough about the facts to speak out on the National Guard issue. Though we may not agree about certain political issues, I know my father told the truth on '60 Minutes,' and I regret my comments about him."

But Ms. Barnes denied authorizing Hinton to speak for her, saying, "I definitely was not going to let them say that I lied [in the first interview] because I did not lie."

Ms. Hinton allegedly tried to cancel the interview after her boss, Mr. Barnes, complained directly to his daughter during a Thursday night phone call.

"He's not happy with me - to put it mildly," Amy Barnes told Hannity. "He's not happy at all. ... He said this was going to be a very bad thing for him."

Ms. Barnes said that subsequent to her father's call, Ms. Hinton tried to get her to sign the statement saying she was recanting her comments.

"I told her I'm not going to sign it because I spoke the truth about my conversation with my father," Ms. Barnes said.