The Killian documents controversy (also referred to as Memogate or Rathergate[1][2]) 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[3] 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.[4][5][6] Several typewriter and typography experts soon concluded that they were forgeries.[7][8] Lieutenant Colonel Bill Burkett provided the documents to CBS, but he claims to have burned the originals after faxing them copies.[9]
CBS News producer Mary Mapes obtained the copied documents from Burkett, a former officer in the Texas Army National Guard, while pursuing a story about the George W. Bush military service controversy. Burkett claimed that Bush's commander, Lieutenant Colonel Jerry B. Killian, wrote them, which included criticisms of Bush's service in the Guard during the 1970s. In the 60 Minutes segment, Rather stated that the documents "were taken from Lieutenant Colonel Killian's personal files",[10] and he falsely asserted that they had been authenticated by experts retained by CBS.[11]
The authenticity of the documents was challenged within hours on Internet forums and blogs, with questions initially focused on anachronisms in the typography, and the scandal quickly spread to the mass media.[12] CBS and Rather defended the authenticity and usage of the documents for two weeks, but other news organizations continued to scrutinize the evidence, and USA Today obtained an independent analysis from outside experts. CBS finally repudiated the use of the documents on September 20, 2004. Rather stated, "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",[13] and CBS News President Andrew Heyward said, "Based on what we now know, CBS News cannot prove that the documents are authentic, which is the only acceptable journalistic standard to justify using them in the report. We should not have used them. That was a mistake, which we deeply regret."[13][14]
Several months later, a CBS-appointed panel led by Dick Thornburgh and Louis Boccardi criticized both the initial CBS news segment and CBS's "strident defense" during the aftermath.[15] CBS fired producer Mapes, requested resignations from several senior news executives, and apologized to viewers by saying that there were "substantial questions regarding the authenticity of the Killian documents".
The story of the controversy was dramatized in the 2015 film Truth starring Robert Redford as Dan Rather and Cate Blanchett as Mary Mapes, directed by James Vanderbilt. It is based on Mapes' memoir Truth and Duty: The Press, the President, and the Privilege of Power. Former CBS President and CEO Les Moonves refused to approve the film, and CBS refused to air advertisements for it. A CBS spokesman stated that it contained "too many distortions, evasions, and baseless conspiracy theories".[16]
- ^ Jenny Attiyeh (February 3, 2005). "Who's got the power?". The Harvard Gazette. Retrieved April 16, 2021.
Assaulted by a string of disasters – with "Rathergate" as the most recent example – the conventional press is on the defensive
- ^ "Rathergate". Frontline (American TV program). Public Broadcasting Service. 2007. Retrieved April 16, 2021.
Of course your most famous bump-up in recognition came during the 2004 election. Can you just lay out the story for us? [...] I called that post "The 61st Minute,"
- ^ Two entitled "Memo to File," one "Memorandum," and one "Memorandum for Record," see here [1] for PDF versions at the Washington Post website.
- ^ Dobbs, Michael; Howard Kurtz (September 14, 2004). "Expert Cited by CBS Says He Didn't Authenticate Papers". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on May 14, 2011. Retrieved March 14, 2008.
- ^ Ross, Brian; Howard Rosenberg (September 14, 2004). "Document Analysts: CBS News Ignored Doubts". ABC News. Retrieved March 14, 2008.
- ^ "CBS ousts 4 over Bush Guard story". Associated Press. January 10, 2005. Retrieved March 14, 2008.
- ^ Including Peter Tytell, Thomas Phinney, and Joseph Newcomer, a man with 35 years of computer font technology experience. See: Last, Jonathan. "It's Worse Than You Thought". Retrieved March 10, 2008. The Weekly Standard, January 11, 2005, and Cohen, Sandee. Making Headlines, Not Setting Them Archived 2007-09-27 at the Wayback Machine, creativepro.com, September 23, 2004.
- ^ Also, Bill Flynn, "one of country's top authorities on document authentication.""Officer's Widow Questions Bush Guard Memos". ABC News. September 10, 2004. Retrieved March 18, 2008. and document expert Sandra Ramsey Lines: "'I'm virtually certain these were computer generated,'" "Bush Guard Memos Questioned". CBS News. September 10, 2004. Retrieved March 12, 2008. CBS News, September 10, 2004.
- ^ Dave Moniz; Kevin Johnson; Jim Drinkard (September 21, 2004). "CBS backs off Guard story". USA Today. Retrieved March 18, 2008.
- ^ Thornburgh–Boccardi report, p. 127.
- ^ Thornburgh–Boccardi report, p. 127: "This statement was without factual support"; "It is without question, however, that Matley did not authenticate any of the documents in question."
- ^ Memmot, Mark (September 21, 2004). "Scoops and skepticism: How the story unfolded". USA Today. Retrieved March 21, 2008.
- ^ a b "Dan Rather Statement On Memos". CBS News. September 20, 2005. Retrieved January 17, 2017.
- ^ "CBS Names Memo Probe Panel". CBS News. September 22, 2004. Retrieved March 20, 2006.
- ^ "Thornburgh-Boccardi report" (PDF). CBS News. Retrieved December 21, 2005.
- ^ "CBS Bans Ads for Dan Rather Movie 'Truth'". The Hollywood Reporter. October 16, 2015. Retrieved September 26, 2016.