CBS wants Rather lawsuit dismissed
p2pnet news | TV:- Dan Rather says CBS scapegoated him to please the Whitehouse over a controversial story about George W. Bush’s military record.
And that, said Rather in a lawsuit, cost him his job and damaged his reputation to the extent of $70 million.
However, not so, says CBS, demanding that Rather’s suit, he dismissed.
“This lawsuit is a regrettable attempt by plaintiff Dan Rather to remain in the public eye, and to settle old scores and perceived slights, based on an array of far-fetched allegations,” the network said in a 30-page brief filed in State Supreme Court in Manhattan, says the New York Times.
“Referring specifically to Mr. Rather’s assertion that CBS and its senior executives had sought to do the White House’s bidding in commissioning an incomplete investigation of the National Guard segment, the network said: ‘CBS and its executives are not now, and never have been, out to get Dan Rather’.”
A September 2004 “60 Minutes II” segment relied on “questionable documents” claiming Bush received preferential treatment during his service in the Texas Air National Guard in the early 1970s, says Variety, going on:
“In the wake of the report, three CBS News execs were forced to resign and the producer who worked with Rather on the seg, Mary Mapes, was fired.
“Rather’s suit contends that CBS breached his employment contract by failing to give him sufficient air time and failing to assign him high profile news stories after he ankled the ‘Evening News’ in March 2005 and was assigned to ‘60 Minutes II’ and ‘60 Minutes’.”
Rather currently hosts and produces Dan Rather Reports, an investigative news series on HDNet, adds the story.
“The Killian documents controversy (also called Memogate, Rathergate or Rathergate, involved four of six documents critical of President George W. Bush’s service in the United States National Guard. The four documents were presented as authentic in a 60 Minutes Wednesday broadcast aired by CBS on September 8, 2004, less than two months before the 2004 Presidential Election, but had not been properly authenticated by CBS.,” says the Wikipedia.
“Many media sources have asserted that the memos are forgeries. This has also been suggested by some typewriter and typography experts. As no original documents have been produced, it is difficult to ascertain their validity.
“Copies of the documents were obtained by CBS News producer Mary Mapes from Lt. Col. Bill Burkett, a former officer in the Texas Army National Guard (TexARNG). In the report, Dan Rather asserted the documents ‘were taken from Colonel Killian’s personal files’ and that they had been authenticated by experts retained by CBS. The papers, purportedly made by Bush’s commander, the late Lieutenant Colonel Jerry B. Killian, included criticisms of Bush’s service in the Guard during the 1970s.”
Also See:
CBS scapegoated him – Dan Rather sues CBS for $70M, September 20, 2007
New York Times – CBS Asks Court to Dismiss Suit Filed by Rather, November 16, 2007
Variety – CBS responds to Dan Rather suit, November 15, 2007
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