http://www.command-post.org/2004/2_archives/015420.html
Kerry Aide admits CBS-DNC Co-ordination
MSM is now reporting straight things that so far only Republican
conspiracy-theorists have been claiming. Due to the controversial
nature of the story, I am quoting the article in full. Note that this
admission does not involve the fake documents CBS aired recently.
From USA Today :
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.
"At Burkett's request, we gave his (telephone) number to the
campaign," said Betsy West, senior CBS News vice president.
CBS would not discuss the propriety of the network serving as a
conduit between its partisan source, Burkett, and the Kerry campaign.
"It was not part of any deal" with Burkett to obtain the documents,
West said, declining to elaborate.
But Burkett said Monday that his contact with Lockhart was indeed part
of an "understanding" with CBS. Burkett said his interest in
contacting the campaign was to offer advice in responding to
Republican criticisms about Kerry's Vietnam service. It had nothing to
do with the documents, he said.
"My interest was to get the attention of the national (campaign) to
defend against the attacks," Burkett said, adding that he also talked
to former Georgia senator Max Cleland and Democratic presidential
candidate Howard Dean during the past 45 days. "Neither the Democratic
Party or the Kerry campaign had anything to do with the documents," he
said.
Lockhart said he phoned Burkett at the number provided by CBS.
Lockhart also said that subject of the documents never came up in his
conversation with Burkett. Lockhart said the conversation lasted just
a few minutes. "It's possible that the producer said they had
documents," before his conversation with Burkett, he said.
At the end of the conversation, Lockhart said he thanked Burkett for
his interest and there was no further contact with him. Asked why he
called Burkett, Lockhart said he talks to "a lot of people."
"I called you, didn't I?"
The White House said CBS' contact with Lockhart was inappropriate.
"The fact that CBS News would coordinate with the most senior levels
of Sen. Kerry's campaign to attack the President is a stunning and
deeply troubling revelation," said Dan Bartlett, White House
communications director.
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