We Weren't Wrong, Just Mistaken

Drudge reports a statement from Dan Rather concerning the forged memos.

EXCLUSIVE // Mon Sep 20 2004 11:58:02 ET
STATEMENT FROM DAN RATHER:

Last week, amid increasing questions about the authenticity of documents used in support of a 60 MINUTES WEDNESDAY story about President Bush's time in the Texas Air National Guard, CBS News vowed to re-examine the documents in question - and their source - vigorously. And we promised that we would let the American public know what this examination turned up, whatever the outcome.

Now, after extensive additional interviews, I no longer have the confidence in these documents that would allow us to continue vouching for them journalistically. I find we have been misled on the key question of how our source for the documents came into possession of these papers. That, combined with some of the questions that have been raised in public and in the press, leads me to a point where - if I knew then what I know now - I would not have gone ahead with the story as it was aired, and I certainly would not have used the documents in question.

But we did use the documents. We made a mistake in judgment, and for that I am sorry. It was an error that was made, however, in good faith and in the spirit of trying to carry on a CBS News tradition of investigative reporting without fear or favoritism.

Please know that nothing is more important to us than people's trust in our ability and our commitment to report fairly and truthfully.

So trying to not admit that they were wrong to do it, they say that they aren't convinced that the memos are authentic, but it's ok, because they have a "tradition of investigative reporting without fear or favoritism." So it's ok to slander the President of the United States as long as you have a tradition of it. Well Dan Rather definitely has a tradition of slandering the Bush family without fear or favoritism. If they were misled, then they need to expose the source. Why are they protecting this source? Makes you wonder....

GOOD LINKS:

Powerline
Captain's Quarters

UPDATE:

Bill Burkett has come forward and claimed that he was the source for CBS News but he doesn't claim to be the original source. Burkett said that he misled CBS Producers in order to protect the source. Here's the kicker, though. Burkett refuses to release his source. So CBS probably hopes that this gets them off the hook to release their source, yet the original source is still safely anonymous. CBS shouldn't have relied on a 2nd or 3rd hand source in the first place. They've lost credibility.