Bill Burkett

Last updated

Bill Burkett was the CBS source in the Killian documents affair of 2004. He is retired as a Lieutenant Colonel from the Texas Army National Guard.

He claimed that in 1997, while outside the governor's office in Austin, he overheard a conversation about "wanting to bury George W. Bush's Vietnam service record". This has been disputed. [1]

Burkett had received publicity in 2000, after making and then retracting a claim that he had been transferred to Panama for refusing "to falsify personnel records of Governor Bush", [2] and in February 2004, when he claimed to have knowledge of "scrubbing" of Bush's TexANG records. [3] [4] According to the review panel, investigations by major news outlets at the time, including CBS, "revealed inconsistencies... which led to questions regarding his credibility and whether his claims could be proven". [5]

Burkett's claims about the origins of the documents have since changed several times. He admitted to lying to CBS about the origin of the memos when he said he got them from fellow guardsman George Conn, [6] then claiming that he received the Killian documents from a woman calling herself "Lucy Ramirez" who has never been identified. The documents, purported to have been typed in the early 1970s, were likely produced many years later with a computer using Microsoft Word on default settings. [7] Burkett said he burned the originals after faxing copies of the documents to CBS. [8]

When asked about Burkett's role in the controversy, David Van Os, Burkett's lawyer, responded with the hypothesis that someone may have reconstructed documents that they believed existed in 1972 or 1973. [9]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dan Rather</span> American broadcast journalist (born 1931)

Daniel Irvin Rather Jr. is an American journalist, commentator, and former national evening news anchor. He began his career in Texas, becoming a national name after his reporting saved thousands of lives during Hurricane Carla in September 1961. In his first national broadcast, he helped initiate the successful evacuation of 350,000 people. He reported on some of the most significant events of the modern age, such as the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Gulf War, 9/11, the Iraq War, and the war on terror.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joe Lockhart</span> American spokesperson and consultant

Joseph Patrick Lockhart is a spokesman and communications consultant, best known for being the 21st White House Press Secretary during the administration of U.S. President Bill Clinton. Previously, he had worked as press secretary for several Democratic politicians, including Walter Mondale, Paul Simon, and Michael Dukakis. Following his work as press secretary in the Clinton administration, he was an advisor to John Kerry during his 2004 presidential campaign. He subsequently founded and became managing director of the communications consulting firm The Glover Park Group, worked for Facebook from 2011 to 2012, and was executive vice president of communications and public affairs for the NFL from 2016 to 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George W. Bush 2004 presidential campaign</span> American political campaign

The 2004 presidential campaign of George W. Bush, the 43rd president of the United States, announced his candidacy for re-election as president on May 16, 2003. On September 2, 2004, he again became the nominee of the Republican Party for the 2004 presidential election. Along with his running mate, Vice President Dick Cheney, President George W. Bush was opposed in the general election by U.S. Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts, minor candidates from other parties. The election took place on Tuesday, November 2, 2004.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George W. Bush military service controversy</span> Controversy surrounding George W. Bush during his 2004 campaign

Controversy over George W. Bush's military service in the Air National Guard was an issue that first gained widespread public attention during the 2004 presidential campaign. The controversy centered on Bush's service in the Texas Air National Guard, why he lost his flight status, and whether he fulfilled the requirements of his military service contract.

This is a timeline of events during the 2004 U.S. presidential election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dick Thornburgh</span> 76th United States Attorney General

Richard Lewis Thornburgh was an American lawyer, author, and politician who served as the 76th United States attorney general from 1988 to 1991 under presidents Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush. A Republican, he previously served as the 41st governor of Pennsylvania and as the U.S. attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Killian documents controversy</span> Six documents containing unsubstantiated critical allegations about President George W. Bush

The Killian documents controversy involved six documents containing allegations about President George W. Bush's service in the Texas Air National Guard in 1972–73, allegedly typed in 1973. Dan Rather presented four of these documents as authentic in a 60 Minutes II broadcast aired by CBS on September 8, 2004, less than two months before the 2004 presidential election, but it was later found that CBS had failed to authenticate them. Several typewriter and typography experts soon concluded that they were forgeries. Lieutenant Colonel Bill Burkett provided the documents to CBS, but he claims to have burned the originals after faxing them copies.

Charles Foster Johnson is an American blogger, software developer, and former jazz guitarist. He has played on 30 albums, sometimes credited as Icarus Johnson. He started the political blog Little Green Footballs in 2001.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Niger uranium forgeries</span> Forged documents in the Iraq disarmament crisis

The Niger uranium forgeries were forged documents initially released in 2001 by SISMI, which seem to depict an attempt made by Saddam Hussein in Iraq to purchase yellowcake uranium powder from Niger during the Iraq disarmament crisis. On the basis of these documents and other indicators, the governments of the United States and the United Kingdom asserted that Iraq violated United Nations sanctions against Iraq by attempting to procure nuclear material for the purpose of creating weapons of mass destruction.

Mary Alice Mapes is an American journalist, former television news producer, and author. She was a principal producer for CBS News, primarily the CBS Evening News and primetime television program 60 Minutes Wednesday. She is known for the story of the Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse scandal, which won a Peabody Award, and the story of Senator Strom Thurmond's unacknowledged biracial daughter, Essie Mae Washington. In 2005, she was fired from CBS for her part in the Killian documents controversy.

Power Line is an American conservative or right-leaning political blog, founded in May 2002. Its posts were originally written by three lawyers who attended Dartmouth College together, namely John H. Hinderaker, Scott W. Johnson, and Paul Mirengoff. Contributors initially wrote under pen names; John Hinderaker, for example, wrote as "Hindrocket." The site is published by Joseph Malchow, also a Dartmouth graduate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alberto Gonzales</span> American lawyer (born 1955)

Alberto R. Gonzales is an American lawyer who served as the 80th United States Attorney General from 2005 to 2007 and is the highest-ranking Hispanic American in executive government to date. He previously served as Secretary of State of Texas, as a Texas Supreme Court Justice, and as White House Counsel, becoming the first Hispanic to hold that office.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2004 United States presidential election</span> 55th quadrennial U.S. presidential election

The 2004 United States presidential election was the 55th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 2, 2004. The Republican ticket of incumbent President George W. Bush and his running mate incumbent Vice President Dick Cheney was re-elected to a second term. They narrowly defeated the Democratic ticket of John Kerry, a United States senator from Massachusetts and his running mate John Edwards, a United States senator from North Carolina.

The Downing Street memo, sometimes described by critics of the Iraq War as the smoking gun memo, is the note of a 23 July 2002 secret meeting of senior British government, defence and intelligence figures discussing the build-up to the war, which included direct reference to classified United States policy of the time. The name refers to 10 Downing Street, the residence of the British prime minister.

60 Minutes II was an American weekly primetime news magazine television program that was intended to replicate the "signature style, journalistic quality and integrity" of the original 60 Minutes series.

During the Killian documents controversy in 2004, the authenticity of the documents themselves was disputed by a variety of individuals and groups. Proof of authenticity is not possible without original documents, and since CBS used only faxed and photocopied duplicates, authentication to professional standards would be impossible regardless of the provenance of the originals. However, proving documents inauthentic does not depend on the availability of originals, and the validity of these photocopied documents has been challenged on a number of grounds, ranging from anachronisms in their typography to issues pertaining to their content.

The 9/11 Commission, which investigated the terrorist September 11 attacks on the United States, was subject to a variety of criticisms by politicians, government officers, and private groups and citizens. The commission was created on November 27, 2002 by a bill passed by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President George W. Bush.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Free Republic</span> Internet forum for conservatives

Free Republic is a moderated Internet forum and chat site for self-described conservatives, primarily within the United States. It presents articles and comments posted pseudonymously by registered members, known as "Freepers", using screen names. The site is supported entirely by donations, with pledge drives known as "Freepathons" held each quarter.

Throughout the years, numerous conservative activists have accused CBS News of perpetuating a liberal bias in its news coverage.

<i>Truth</i> (2015 film) 2015 film by James Vanderbilt

Truth is a 2015 American biographical political drama film written and directed by James Vanderbilt in his directorial debut. It is based on American television news producer Mary Mapes's memoir Truth and Duty: The Press, the President and the Privilege of Power. The film focuses on the Killian documents controversy and the resulting last days of news anchor Dan Rather and producer Mary Mapes at CBS News. It stars Cate Blanchett as Mapes and Robert Redford as Rather.

References

  1. ↑ "CBS Guard Documents Traced to Tex. Kinko's" by Michael Dobbs, Washington Post, September 16, 2004.
  2. ↑ Thornburgh-Boccardi report, p. 53.
  3. ↑ Bill Burkett (2003-03-19). "What do you say?". Online Journal. Archived from the original on 10 February 2006. Retrieved 2006-03-20.
  4. ↑ Michael Rezendesz (2004-02-13). "Doubts raised about Bush's accuser". Boston Globe online. Retrieved 2005-12-20.
  5. ↑ Thornburgh-Boccardi report, p. 51.
  6. ↑ CBS Evening News, September 20, 2004
  7. ↑ "CBS Says It Can't Vouch for Bush Documents" The New York Times September 20, 2004
  8. ↑ "CBS backs off Guard story", USA Today, September 21, 2004
  9. ↑ Blumenthal, Ralph; Rutenberg, Jim (2004-09-12). "THE 2004 CAMPAIGN: MILITARY SERVICE; An Ex-Officer Now Believes Guard Memo Isn't Genuine". The New York Times.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.