And Now Bill Burkett Threatens to Sue CBSNews

Claims, "I'm just a patsy!" Or words to that effect:

In the letter, which the panel's legal representative confirmed receiving, Burkett says that CBS blamed him for its own failures in order to minimize the damage to its own reputation. He also continues to stand by his revised explanation of how he obtained the documents, which allegedly came from the personal files of Bush's commanding officer, now deceased. Burkett says he obtained the documents from an anonymous man at a Texas livestock show who was apparently acting on behalf of an unknown woman who identified herself as Lucy Ramirez.

"As I openly stated, backgrounded in excruciating detail to Mapes, Rather and CBS, the documents had to be able to be 'free standing' before I would release them. I had to be satisfied that CBS had the capability and intent to fully authenticate the documents," Burkett wrote in the letter, a copy of which was obtained by the ezine Salon.com. "CBS, through its employees, had to make a critical decision as to whether they were willing to take that risk. There were no expressed or implied warranties about the documents. Yet I believed them to be authentic."

The three CBS producers asked to resign will probably just be paid off after making some noise.

But Burkett's a little different. CBSNews can't really be seen paying this guy off to keep quiet.

And he wants money, after all -- he wanted money for his original story, and he seems to have wanted a book deal.

And best of all, he is litigious. And self-righteous.

On the other hand, he's a goofball crank.

Still, I say: Give 'em hell, Bill. Sue. Sue like the wind.

posted by Ace at 02:29 AM

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