9.15.2004
CBS Memos: Forgeries, But Accurate?
CNN is running a story recounting the latest about CBS's alleged memos of Lt. Col. Jerry Killian regarding George W. Bush. The validity of the documents has been called into question and CBS has admitted that the documents they are in possession of may be forgeries. However, it seems that the contents may be accurate depictions of Killian's thoughts:
...Marian Carr Knox a former Texas Air National Guard secretary, said she did type similar documents for her boss, Lt. Col. Jerry Killian.
"I know that I didn't type them. However, the information in those is correct," Knox told CBS anchor Dan Rather.
Knox, 86, had previously told the same story to the Dallas Morning News in a report that was published Wednesday morning.
The newspaper said Knox "spoke with precise recollection about dates, people and events."
She told the Morning News, "I remember very vividly when Bush was there and all the yak-yak that was going on about it."
Now, here we are, someone with an excellent memory, someone proven to have expert knowledge of the situation we're talking about. Knox didn't just know of Killian and Bush: she was Killians secretary and she recalls precisely when and where Bush was stationed. She had more to say about the memos:
Knox told Rather that Killian was "upset" that Bush did not obey his order to have a physical, and she said the young lieutenant showed disregard for the rules to a degree that irritated other pilots.
Knox said the information about Bush in the memos was familiar and that she had typed documents for Killian with similar complaints. She also said the colonel did keep private "cover your back" files.
But, she said she did not type the memos that were aired by CBS because they were written in a format she didn't use and there was Army terminology not used in the Air National Guard.
So, despite the fact that these may in fact be "recreations" of original memos, as Knox has suggested, the facts therein are currently undisputed. No one, who was alive at the time of their supposed creation, has come forward contesting the ideas within. Killian may be deceased, but Knox is alive and well and seems to recall all of this quite vividly; she was there first hand. The Swift Boat Vets have been proven(and admitted) that they were not there when John Kerry save Jim Rassman's life. That being said, some Republicans, who never questioned the validity of the Swift Boat Vets, have taken action against CBS:
House Majority Whip Roy Blunt, R-Missouri, said he collected signatures from 39 colleagues on a letter sent to the network calling for a retraction and asking CBS News to reveal the source of the documents.
"Clearly, their sources aren't what they need to be, or they're not willing to reveal even the nature of who their sources are," Blunt said. "It's hard for me to believe ... that CBS, an organization with a long and distinguished history in journalism in the past, would be willing to stand by this story when virtually everybody else has questions about it."
Word was that they wanted to start an independent council to investigate the matter further. They alleged these letters CBS had produced were "fraudulent" and that they should pay the price for questioning the record of our esteemed President. Now, if you want to call out someone other than Bush, making statements not based on fact but on pure supposition, fine. Just don't let us catch you calling George W. Bush anything more than an American Patriot!
...Marian Carr Knox a former Texas Air National Guard secretary, said she did type similar documents for her boss, Lt. Col. Jerry Killian.
"I know that I didn't type them. However, the information in those is correct," Knox told CBS anchor Dan Rather.
Knox, 86, had previously told the same story to the Dallas Morning News in a report that was published Wednesday morning.
The newspaper said Knox "spoke with precise recollection about dates, people and events."
She told the Morning News, "I remember very vividly when Bush was there and all the yak-yak that was going on about it."
Now, here we are, someone with an excellent memory, someone proven to have expert knowledge of the situation we're talking about. Knox didn't just know of Killian and Bush: she was Killians secretary and she recalls precisely when and where Bush was stationed. She had more to say about the memos:
Knox told Rather that Killian was "upset" that Bush did not obey his order to have a physical, and she said the young lieutenant showed disregard for the rules to a degree that irritated other pilots.
Knox said the information about Bush in the memos was familiar and that she had typed documents for Killian with similar complaints. She also said the colonel did keep private "cover your back" files.
But, she said she did not type the memos that were aired by CBS because they were written in a format she didn't use and there was Army terminology not used in the Air National Guard.
So, despite the fact that these may in fact be "recreations" of original memos, as Knox has suggested, the facts therein are currently undisputed. No one, who was alive at the time of their supposed creation, has come forward contesting the ideas within. Killian may be deceased, but Knox is alive and well and seems to recall all of this quite vividly; she was there first hand. The Swift Boat Vets have been proven(and admitted) that they were not there when John Kerry save Jim Rassman's life. That being said, some Republicans, who never questioned the validity of the Swift Boat Vets, have taken action against CBS:
House Majority Whip Roy Blunt, R-Missouri, said he collected signatures from 39 colleagues on a letter sent to the network calling for a retraction and asking CBS News to reveal the source of the documents.
"Clearly, their sources aren't what they need to be, or they're not willing to reveal even the nature of who their sources are," Blunt said. "It's hard for me to believe ... that CBS, an organization with a long and distinguished history in journalism in the past, would be willing to stand by this story when virtually everybody else has questions about it."
Word was that they wanted to start an independent council to investigate the matter further. They alleged these letters CBS had produced were "fraudulent" and that they should pay the price for questioning the record of our esteemed President. Now, if you want to call out someone other than Bush, making statements not based on fact but on pure supposition, fine. Just don't let us catch you calling George W. Bush anything more than an American Patriot!
