September 12, 2004
EVEN THE TIMES HAS TO NOTICE:
An Ex-Officer Now Believes Guard Memo Isn't Genuine (RALPH BLUMENTHAL and JIM RUTENBERG, 9/12/04, NY Times)
A former National Guard commander who CBS News said had helped convince it of the authenticity of documents raising new questions about President Bush's military service said on Saturday that he did not believe they were genuine.Posted by Orrin Judd at September 12, 2004 1:15 PMThe commander, Bobby Hodges, said in a telephone interview that network producers had never showed him the documents but had only read them to him over the phone days before they were featured Wednesday in a "60 Minutes" broadcast. After seeing the documents on Friday, Mr. Hodges said, he concluded that they were falsified.
Mr. Hodges, a former general who spoke to several news organizations this weekend, was just the latest person to challenge the authenticity of the documents, which CBS reported came from the personal files of Mr. Bush's former squadron commander at the Texas Air National Guard, Lt. Col. Jerry B. Killian, who died 20 years ago.
The big question is will the Times have the nerve to run another Page 1 story about a Kitty Kelley book on Monday or Tuesday to try and change the subject from Dan's document dilemma.
Posted by: John at September 12, 2004 1:34 PMNobody ever said the Times lacked chutzpah. Of course they will.
Posted by: Joe at September 12, 2004 2:48 PMI read on one of reputable blogs following this that Hodges said that CBS told him the memo was *handwritten*, then read him an excerpt. I feel sure that swayed his response.
Posted by: Kay at September 12, 2004 3:45 PMHow does one get memos from personal files without the family knowing of it? Ben Barnes may know.
Posted by: genecis at September 12, 2004 10:06 PM