Mikey: I can't wait for the Dan Rather lawsuit to end
CAN'T WAIT ! On Dec 30, 8:50�am, "mike [never forget] 532" <[email protected]> wrote: > Dan Rather's $70 Million Lawsuit Likely to Deal Bush Legacy a New > Blowhttp://www.truthout.org/122908M > As George W Bush prepares to leave the White House, at least one > unpleasant episode from his unpopular presidency is threatening to > follow him into retirement. > > � � A $70m lawsuit filed by Dan Rather, the veteran former newsreader > for CBS Evening News, against his old network is reopening the debate > over alleged favourable treatment that Bush received when he served > in > the Texas Air National Guard during the Vietnam war. Bush had hoped > that this controversy had been dealt with once and for all during the > 2004 election. > > � � Eight weeks before the 2004 presidential poll, Rather broadcast a > story based on newly discovered documents which appeared to show that > Bush, whose service in the Texas Air National Guard ensured that he > did not have to fight in Vietnam, had barely turned up even for basic > duty. After an outcry from the White House and conservative bloggers > who claimed that the report had been based on falsified documents, > CBS > retracted the story, saying that the documents' authenticity could > not > be verified. Rather, who had been with CBS for decades and was one of > the most familiar faces in American journalism, was fired by the > network the day after the 2004 election. > > � � He claims breach of contract against CBS. He has already spent > $2m > on his case, which is likely to go to court early next year. Rather > contends not only that his report was true - "What the documents > stated has never been denied, by the president or anyone around him," > he says - but that CBS succumbed to political pressure from > conservatives to get the report discredited and to have him fired. He > also claims that a panel set up by CBS to investigate the story was > packed with conservatives in an effort to placate the White House. > Part of the reason for that, he suggests, was that Viacom, a sister > company of CBS, knew that it would have important broadcasting > regulatory issues to deal with during Bush's second term. > > � � Among those CBS considered for the panel to investigate Rather's > report were far-right broadcasters Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter. > > � � "CBS broke with long-standing tradition at CBS News and elsewhere > of standing up to political pressure," says Rather. "And, there's no > joy in saying it, they caved ... in an effort to placate their > regulators in Washington." > > � � Rather's lawsuit makes other serious allegations about CBS > succumbing to political pressure in an attempt to suppress important > news stories. In particular, he says that his bosses at CBS tried to > stop him reporting evidence of torture at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. > According to Rather's lawsuit, "for weeks they refused to grant > permission to air the story" and "continued to raise the goalposts, > insisting on additional substantiation." Rather also claims that > General Richard Meyers, then head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the > top military official in the US, called him at home and asked him not > to broadcast the story, saying that it would "endanger national > security." > > � � Rather says that CBS only agreed to allow him to broadcast the > story when it found out that Seymour Hersh would be writing about it > in the New Yorker magazine. Even then, Rather claims, CBS tried to > bury it. "CBS imposed the unusual restrictions that the story would > be > aired only once, that it would not be preceded by on-air promotion, > and that it would not be referenced on the CBS Evening News," he > says. > > � � The charges outlined in Rather's lawsuit will cast a further > shadow over the Bush legacy. He recently expressed regret for the > "failed intelligence" which led to the invasion of Iraq and has > received heavy criticism over the scale and depth of the economic > downturn in the United States. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more. -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
