Editing Killian documents controversy (section)

==Background and timeline==
[[Image:GW-Bush-in-uniform.jpg|thumb|1st Lieutenant [[George W. Bush]] in uniform.
Investigations into his military service led to the Killian documents controversy.]]The memos, allegedly written in 1972 and 1973, were obtained by CBS News producer [[Mary Mapes]] and freelance journalist Michael Smith, from Lieutenant Colonel Bill Burkett, a former [[US Army National Guard]] officer.<ref>Burkett, Bill. {{cite web|url=http://onlinejournal.com/bush/031903Burkett/031903burkett.html |title=What do you say? |access-date=2012-05-11 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080609203137/http://onlinejournal.com/bush/031903Burkett/031903burkett.html |archive-date=June 9, 2008 }} archived copy from ''archive.org'' of story originally from ''onlinejournal.com'', March 19, 2003.</ref> Mapes and Dan Rather, among many other journalists, had been investigating for several years the story of Bush's [[George W. Bush military service controversy|alleged failure to fulfill his obligations to the National Guard]].<ref>See {{cite news|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/printout/0,8816,1101040920-695873,00.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130104234427/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/printout/0,8816,1101040920-695873,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 4, 2013|title=The X Files Of Lt. Bush: A flurry of contested memos and memories sheds more heat than light on his record|work=Time Magazine|date=September 13, 2004|access-date=2008-03-25|author=Ripley, Amanda}} and {{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A14627-2004Sep11.html|title=Gaps in Service Continue to Dog Bush|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=September 12, 2004|access-date=2008-03-25|author=Dobbs, Michael}}</ref>

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 [then-]Governor Bush",<ref>Thornburgh-Boccardi report, p. 53.</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/politicselections/nation/president/2004-09-21-burkett-side_x.htm|title=Texan has made allegations for years|author1=Moniz, Dave |author2=Drinkard, Jim |author3=Kevin Johnson |date=September 21, 2004|work=USA Today|access-date=2008-03-13}}</ref> and in February 2004, when he claimed to have knowledge of "scrubbing" of Bush's [[Texas Air National Guard]] records.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://onlinejournal.com/bush/031903Burkett/031903burkett.html |title=What do you say? |author=Bill Burkett |date=March 19, 2003 |work=Online Journal |access-date=2006-03-20 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060210152055/http://onlinejournal.com/bush/031903Burkett/031903burkett.html |archive-date=February 10, 2006 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2004/02/13/doubts_raised_on_bush_accuser?mode=PF|author=Michael Rezendes|title=Doubts raised on Bush accuser|work=Boston Globe online|date=February 13, 2004|access-date=2005-12-20}}</ref> Mapes was "by her own account [aware that] many in the press considered Burkett an 'anti-Bush zealot', his credibility in question".<ref>{{cite news|work=The Boston Globe|date=December 11, 2005|title=Truth and Duty: a distorted lens|author=Robinson, Walter V.|access-date=2008-03-13|url=http://www.boston.com/ae/books/articles/2005/12/11/truth_and_duty_a_distorted_lens/?page=2}}</ref>

Mapes and Smith made contact with Burkett in late August, and on August 24 Burkett offered to meet with them to share the documents he possessed, and later told reporters from ''[[USA Today]]'' "that he had agreed to turn over the documents to CBS if the network would arrange a conversation with the [[John Kerry|Kerry]] campaign",<ref>{{cite news|work=USA Today|date=September 20, 2004|author1=Johnson, Kevin |author2=Moniz, Dave |author3=Jim Drinkard |title=CBS arranged for meeting with Lockhart|url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/politicselections/nation/president/2004-09-20-cbs-documents_x.htm|access-date=2008-03-14}}</ref> a claim substantiated by emails between Smith and Mapes detailing Burkett's additional requests for help with negotiating a book deal, security, and financial compensation.<ref>Thornburgh-Boccardi report, pp. 60–62.</ref> During the last week of August, Mapes asked Josh Howard, her immediate superior at CBS, for permission to facilitate contact between Burkett and the Kerry campaign; Howard and Mapes subsequently disputed whether such permission had been given.<ref>Thornburgh-Boccardi report, pp. 64–65.</ref>

Two documents were provided by Burkett to Mapes on September 2 and four others on September 5, 2004. At that time, Burkett told Mapes that they were copies of originals that had been obtained from Killian's personal files via Chief [[Warrant Officer]] George Conn, another former member of the TexANG.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/politicselections/nation/president/2004-09-21-cover-guard_x.htm|work=USA Today|date=September 21, 2004|access-date=2008-03-14|author1=Dave Moniz |author2=Kevin Johnson |author3=Jim Drinkard |title=CBS backs off Guard story}}</ref>

Mapes informed Rather of the progress of the story, which was being targeted to air on September 8 along with footage of an interview with [[Ben Barnes (Texas politician)|Ben Barnes]], a former [[Lieutenant Governor of Texas]], who would publicly state for the first time his opinion that Bush had received preferential treatment to get into the National Guard.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/new-questions-on-bush-guard-duty-08-09-2004/|title=New Questions on Bush Guard Duty|work=CBS News|date=September 8, 2004|access-date=2008-03-14}}</ref> Mapes had also been in contact with the Kerry campaign several times between late August and September 6, when she spoke with senior Kerry advisor [[Joe Lockhart]] regarding the progressing story. Lockhart subsequently stated he was "wary" of contact with Mapes at this stage, because if the story were true, his involvement might undermine its credibility, and if it were false, "he did not want to be associated with it".<ref>Thornburgh-Boccardi report, pp. 90–91.</ref> Lockhart called Burkett on September 6 at the number provided by Mapes, and both men stated they discussed Burkett's view of Kerry's presidential campaign strategy, not the existence of the documents or the related story.<ref>{{cite news|title=Kerry Aide Talked to Bush Guard Docs Figure|work=FoxNews.com|access-date=2008-03-14|date=September 22, 2004|url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,132996,00.html|author=Carl Cameron|display-authors=etal}}</ref>

===Content of the memos===
The documents claimed that Bush had disobeyed orders while in the Guard, and that undue influence had been exerted on Bush's behalf to improve his record. The documents included the following:

#An order directing Bush to submit to a physical examination.<ref>{{cite news|title=Memorandum, May 4, 1972|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/htdocs/pdf/BushGuardmay4.pdf|access-date=2006-03-17| work=CBS News}}</ref>
#A note that Killian had grounded Bush from flying due to "failure to perform to [[USAF]]&nbsp;/ TexANG standards", and for failure to submit to the physical examination as ordered. Killian also requested that a flight inquiry board be convened, as required by regulations, to examine the reasons for Bush's loss of flight status.<ref>{{cite news|title=Memorandum for Record, August 1, 1972|url= http://www.cbsnews.com/htdocs/pdf/BushGuardaugust1.pdf|access-date=2006-03-17| work=CBS News}}</ref>
#A note of a telephone conversation with Bush in which Bush sought to be excused from "drill". The note records that Bush said he did not have the time to attend to his National Guard duties because he had a campaign to do (the Senate campaign of [[Winton M. Blount]] in Alabama).<ref>{{cite news|title=Memo to File, May 19, 1972|url= http://www.cbsnews.com/htdocs/pdf/BushGuardmay19.pdf|access-date=2006-03-17| work=CBS News}}</ref>
#A note (labeled "CYA" for "[[cover your ass]]") claiming that Killian was being pressured from above to give Bush better marks in his yearly evaluation than he had earned. The note attributed to Killian says that he was being asked to "sugarcoat" Bush's performance. "I'm having trouble running interference [for Bush] and doing my job."<ref>{{cite news|title=Memo to File, August 18, 1973|url= http://www.cbsnews.com/htdocs/pdf/BushGuardaugust18.pdf|access-date=2006-03-17| work=CBS News}}</ref>

''[[USA Today]]'' also received copies of the four documents used by CBS,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/politicselections/nation/president/2004-09-09-bush-guard-memos_x.htm|title=Guard commander's memos criticize Bush.|access-date=2008-03-17|author1=Moniz, Dave |author2=Drinkard, Jim|work=USA Today|date=2004-09-09}}</ref> reporting this and publishing them the morning after the CBS segment, along with two additional memos.<ref>{{cite news|title= Bush documents obtained by USA TODAY|url= https://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2004-09-09bushdocs.pdf |access-date=2006-03-17| work=USA Today}}</ref> Burkett was assured by ''USA Today'' that they would keep the source confidential.<ref name="usatoday_cbsbacksoff">{{cite news| url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/politicselections/nation/president/2004-09-21-cover-guard_x.htm|author1=Dave Moniz |author2=Kevin Johnson |author3=Jim Drinkard |title=CBS backs off Guard story|work=USA TODAY|date= September 21, 2004|access-date=2005-12-20}}</ref>

===CBS investigations prior to airing the segment===
Mapes and her colleagues began interviewing people who might be able to corroborate the information in the documents, while also retaining four [[Questioned document examination|forensic document experts]], Marcel J. Matley, James J. Pierce, Emily Will, and Linda James, to determine the validity of the memos.

On September 5, CBS interviewed Killian's friend Robert Strong, who ran the Texas Air National Guard administrative office. Among other issues covered in his interview with Rather and Mapes, Strong was asked if he thought the documents were genuine. Strong stated, "they are compatible with the way business was done at the time. They are compatible with the man that I remember Jerry Killian being."<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/bush-guard-memos-questioned/ |title=Bush Guard Memos Questioned.|work=CBS News, Associated Press|date=September 10, 2004|access-date=2005-12-20}}</ref> Strong had first seen the documents twenty minutes earlier and also said he had no personal knowledge of their content;<ref>Thornburgh-Boccardi report, p. 88.</ref> he later claimed he had been told to assume the content of the documents was accurate.<ref>Thornburgh-Boccardi report, p. 129.</ref>

On September 6, CBS interviewed General Robert "Bobby" Hodges, a former officer at the Texas Air National Guard and Killian's immediate superior at the time. Hodges declined CBS' request for an on-camera interview, and Mapes read the documents to him over the telephone—or perhaps only portions of the documents; his recollection and Mapes's differed.<ref name="Thornburgh-Boccardi Report, p. 103">Thornburgh-Boccardi Report, p. 103.</ref> According to Mapes, Hodges agreed with CBS's assessment that the documents were real, and CBS reported that Hodges stated that these were "the things that Killian had expressed to me at the time".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A9967-2004Sep9.html |title=Some Question Authenticity of Papers on Bush|author1=Michael Dobbs |author2=Mike Allen |newspaper=Washington Post|date=September 9, 2004 |access-date=2004-12-20}}</ref> However, according to Hodges, when Mapes read portions of the memos to him he simply stated, "well if he wrote them, that's what he felt", and he stated he never confirmed the validity of the content of the documents. General Hodges later asserted to the investigatory panel that he told Mapes that Killian had never, to his knowledge, ordered anyone to take a physical and that he had never been pressured regarding Lieutenant Bush, as the documents alleged.<ref>Thornburgh-Boccardi report, p. 103.</ref> Hodges also claims that when CBS interviewed him, he thought the memos were handwritten, not typed,<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/12/politics/campaign/12guard.html?ex=1135227600&en=70edb1f42aa3edfe&ei=5070 |title=An Ex-Officer Now Believes Guard Memo Isn't Genuine|author1=Ralph Blumenthal |author2=Jim Rutenberg |work=New York Times|date=September 12, 2004 |access-date=2005-12-20}} Registration required.</ref><ref name="Thornburgh-Boccardi Report, p. 103"/> and following the September 8 broadcast, when Hodges had seen the documents and heard of claims of forgery by Killian's wife and son, he was "convinced they were not authentic" and told Rather and Mapes on September 10.<ref>Thornburgh-Boccardi report, p. 12.</ref>

===Response of the document examiners===
Prior to airing, all four of the examiners responded to Mapes' request for document analysis, though only two to Mapes directly:<ref>Thornburgh-Boccardi report, pp. 84–86.</ref>

*Emily Will noted discrepancies in the signatures on the memos, and had questions about the letterhead, the proportional spacing of the font, the [[superscript]]ed "th" and the improper formatting of the date. Will requested other documents to use for comparison.<ref name=rushtoair>{{cite news|title=In Rush to Air, CBS Quashed Memo Worries.|newspaper=The Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A31727-2004Sep18_2.html|access-date=2008-03-17|author1=Howard Kurtz |author2=Michael Dobbs |author3=James V. Grimaldi |date=September 19, 2004}}</ref>
*Linda James was "unable to reach a conclusion about the signature" and noted that the superscripted "th" was not in common use at the time the memos were allegedly written; she later recalled telling CBS, "the two memos she looked at 'had problems.'"<ref name=rushtoair/>
*James Pierce concluded that both of the documents were written by the same person and that the signature matched Killian's from the official Bush records. Only one of the two documents provided to Pierce had a signature. James Pierce wrote, "the balance of the Jerry B. Killian signatures appearing on the photocopied questioned documents are consistent and in basic agreement", and stated that based on what he knew, "the documents in question are authentic".<ref name="cbsnews.com">{{cite news|title=GOP Slams CBS on Bush Memos|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/gop-slams-cbs-on-bush-memos/|access-date=2008-03-17|date=September 15, 2004|work=CBS News|author=CBS/AP}}</ref> However, Pierce also told Mapes he could not be sure if the documents had been altered because he was reviewing copies, not original documents.<ref>Thornburgh-Boccardi report, p. 86.</ref>
*Marcel Matley's review was initially limited to Killian's signature on one of the Burkett documents, which he compared to signatures from the official Bush records. Matley "seemed fairly confident" that the signature was Killian's. On September 6, Matley was interviewed by Rather and Mapes and was provided with the other four documents obtained from CBS (he would prove to be the only reviewer to see these documents prior to the segment). Matley told Rather "he could not authenticate the documents due to the fact that they were poor quality copies".<ref>Thornburgh-Boccardi report, pp. 98–99.</ref> In the interview, Matley told Rather that with respect to the signatures, they were relying on "poor material" and that there were inconsistencies in the signatures, but also replied "Yes", when asked if it would be safe to say the documents were written by the person who signed them.<ref>Thornburgh-Boccardi report, p. 101.</ref>
*Both Emily Will and Linda James suggested to Mapes that CBS contact typewriter expert Peter Tytell (son of [[Martin Tytell]]) review the documents. Associate producer Yvonne Miller left him a voicemail on September 7; he returned the call at 11 am on September 8 but was told they "did not need him anymore".<ref>Thornburgh-Boccardi report, pp. 108–110.</ref>