NEW YORK - At the behest of CBS, an adviser to John Kerry (news - web sites) said he talked to a central figure in the controversy over President Bush (news - web sites)'s National Guard service shortly before disputed documents were released.


Joe Lockhart denied any connection between the presidential campaign and the papers. Lockhart, the second Kerry ally to confirm contact with retired Texas National Guard officer Bill Burkett, said he made the call at the suggestion of CBS producer Mary Mapes.


"He had some advice on how to deal with the Vietnam issue and the Swift boat" allegations, Lockhart said Monday, referring to GOP-fueled accusations that Kerry exaggerated his Vietnam War record. "He said these guys play tough and we have to put the Vietnam experience into context and have Kerry talk about it more."


Lockhart said he thanked Burkett for his advice after a three to four minute call.


Lockhart said he does not recall talking to Burkett about Bush's Guard records. "It's baseless to say the Kerry campaign had anything to do with this," he said.


CBS News apologized Monday for a "mistake in judgment" in its story questioning Bush's Guard service, claiming it was misled by the source of documents that several experts have dismissed as fakes.


Burkett admitted this weekend to CBS that he lied about obtaining the documents from another former National Guard member, the network said. CBS hasn't been able to conclusively tell how he got them, or even whether they're fakes or not.


Kerry ally Max Cleland, a former Georgia senator, also said he had a brief conversation last month with Burkett, who told him he had information about Bush to counter charges against Kerry's Vietnam War service. Cleland said he gave Burkett's name and phone number to the campaign's research department.


Kerry spokesman David Ginsberg said nobody in the campaign's research department followed up on Burkett's offer of information.


Lockhart said Mapes asked him the weekend before the story broke to call Burkett. "She basically said there's a guy who is being helpful on the story who wants to talk to you," Lockhart said, adding that it was common knowledge that CBS was working on a story raising questions about Bush's Guard service. Mapes told him there were some records "that might move the story forward. She didn't tell me what they said."

Would you mind citing your source for this ?

I have some Kerry supporter friends who would be interested in this info,

Heck, read the story on Fox news.  It's on the front page.  I just read it myself.

Good news for freedom.  Down with Kerry!

Anybody but Bush...by any means necessary.  

Quoted: Would you mind citing your source for this ? I have some Kerry supporter friends who would be interested in this info,

news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=694&u=/ap/20040921/ap_on_el_pr/cbs_guard_kerry_1&printer=1

Quoted: Heck, read the story on Fox news.  It's on the front page.  I just read it myself.

Better yet check out Drudge--Bush Officials want CBS Moderator off the Debates!

CBS arranged Burkett to meet with Kerry camp official Lockhart

USA Today

WASHINGTON — CBS arranged for a confidential source to talk with Joe Lockhart, a top aide to Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry, after the source provided the network with the now-disputed documents about President Bush's service in the Texas National Guard. Lockhart, the former press secretary to President Clinton, said a female producer talked to him about the 60 Minutes program a few days before it aired on Sept. 8. She gave Lockhart a telephone number and asked him to call Bill Burkett, a former Texas National Guard officer who gave CBS the documents. Lockhart couldn't recall the producer's name. But CBS said Monday night that it would examine the role of producer Mary Mapes in passing the name to Lockhart. Burkett told USA TODAY that he had agreed to turn over the documents to CBS if the network would help arrange a conversation with the Kerry campaign. The network's effort to place Burkett in contact with a top Democratic official raises ethical questions about CBS' handling of material potentially damaging to the Republican president in the midst of an election. This "poses a real danger to the potential credibility of a news organization," said Aly Colón, a news ethicist at the Poynter Institute for Media Studies.

Quoted: www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=1&f=5&t=276817 I am so disheartened. It's like y'all never read my threads! Eric The(Hurt,HurtDeeply)Hun

Woops..it must be the cobwebs in my head from the hurricane ETH. Sorry I could'nt pass up such a great developement.

Quoted: But since this is a Democrat's attempt at destroying the President the media will give it a pass.

Why do people keep saying this? Were the Swifties allegations buried? Have the wolves dropped the CBS story? Hell no.. it's good stuff, and it's being worked over well.

Why do people keep saying this? Were the Swifties allegations buried? Have the wolves dropped the CBS story? Hell no.. it's good stuff, and it's being worked over well.

The SVT allegations were buried for as long as they could bury them.  They wren't covered by anyone other than Fox News, and talk radio for over a week.  The main stream media was forced to cover them after the whispers were growing louder, and then what did they do?  They covered it the opposite way they covered the Bush NG records, they trashed the SVT without being able to disprove anything they said.  To this day I know people that watch only CNN and MSNBC that tell me the SVT have been proven wrong.

The DNC and CBS involved in this together?  

Well, Duh!

I read your  thread too Hun !!  Do you feel Better Now

Quoted: www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=1&f=5&t=276817 I am so disheartened. It's like y'all never read my threads! Eric The(Hurt,HurtDeeply)Hun

The latest poll says that people have lost such confidence in CBS's credibility that they don't even believe the evidence that CSI is collecting..