CBS Close to an Admission (of being misled)

My Summary with Editorial:

1. Unamed CBS officials express doubts and said the the network would likely make an announcement early today (Monday) that it was "deceived". Is there any responsibility the network will take?


2. CBS is mounting an "intensive news investigation" of where the memos came from and may begin a "formal internal inquiry". One wonders what this investigation is all about. At this point it is doubtful that CBS can effectively investigate itself seeing that the organization had a five-year agenda to nail President Bush on this matter - the memos were "paydirt".


3. Rather maintains the story is accurate (without the memos). This despite the fact that the key component of the CBS story was the forged memos. Previously, Rather rebuffed critics with great arrogance by claiming the story stands without the memos, yet it has now been revealed that the fake documents made the story. The documents are fake, therefore the story must be . . .


4. "The seemingly unflappable confidence of Mr. Rather and top news division officials in the documents allayed fears within the network and created doubt among some in the news media at large that those specialists were correct." (This does not appear to bode well for Rather who CBS officials seem to be trusting less and less. More at CaptainsQuarters).


5. "But officials decided yesterday that they would most likely have to declare that they were misled about the records' origin after Mr. Rather and a top network executive, Betsy West, met in Texas with a man who was said to have helped the news division obtain the memos, a former Guard officer named Bill Burkett.... Mr. Burkett had previously led the producer of the piece, Mary Mapes, to have the utmost confidence in the material" (I read about Burkett's role last week - is it possible Rather and team were misled by him or that he could be considered unimpeachable?)


6. Rather has interviewed people and documented how Burkett previously led the producer of the piece, Mary Mapes, to have the "utmost confidence" in the material. (Looks like CBS/Rather has invested the time to show it was an honest mistake and that they were victimized by an impeachable source)


7. A document specialist states the reports were obtained anonomously through the mail. (The unimpeachable source that was trusted by Rather? This was suggested by Newsweek on the possible source of the forged Killian memos, and what may turn out to be suspected source Bill Burkett's "defense" to suggestions that he himself may have forged them. Hat tip: BeldarBlog)


8. In examining where the network went wrong, officials at CBS News were turning their attention to Ms. Mapes. (The buck stops here)


9. Management "had no sense that the producing team wasn't completely comfortable with the results of the document analysis." (Well, the part about "no sense" is probably true. The network executives trusted Mapes and believed what was consistent with their agenda)


10. ". . . the White House did not dispute the veracity of the documents." (The White House is to blame).

In summary, CBS now (probably) admits that the memos, which are the key to their story, are fake and that they were misled, literally victimized, by an anonymous unimpeachable source (or Bill Burkett). The White House is to blame, too. However, the story is accurate and Dan Rather is confident.

Update: Here is more from the LA Times.

Here is the article:

Comments by others - Updated:

AllahPundit: Duh.

INDC Journal: PS - I also doubt that Dan Rather is going to resign, especially because of his upcoming interview with Burkett, so assign your own value to that rumor. [snip] I shudder to think of how they'll spin this interview ... fake but true? Burkett just passed along anonymously received documents but did not create them? The proper course of action is to out the source of false information and be done with it, not give him a free pass to take a swipe at Bush in front of a national television audience.

Washington Dispatch - It’s difficult to see how this can end in a good way for Dan Rather and CBS, no matter what Burkett coughs up. He’s been discredited thoroughly with his own writings as any kind of "source." Burkett's comments in an August 25th published rant included, "[Mr. Bush] 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."

Powerline Blog: And it appears that CBS will stick to the "fake but true" defense, as Josh Howard, the executive producer of 60 Minutes, said over the weekend: "The editorial story line was still intact, and still is, to this day."

INDC Journal: Finally

Wizbangblog: Rather is still in there swinging. Clearly the facts of the case are meaningless. Getting George Bush is all that matters. The kicker is, Dan Rather is sitting on a major scoop. Someone tried to steal the election and he knows who.

Polliblogger: Better Late Than Never: CBS Poised to Admit the Obvious

Instapundit: Hey, you know, those fake-looking memos might actually be fake! Send them some pajamas!