REPORT OF THE INDEPENDENT REVIEW PANEL DICK THORNBURGH AND LOUIS D. BOCCARDI ON THE SEPTEMBER 8, 2004 60 MINUTES WEDNESDAY SEGMENT “FOR THE RECORD” CONCERNING PRESIDENT BUSH’S TEXAS AIR NATIONAL GUARD SERVICE JANUARY 5, 2005 KIRKPATRICK & LOCKHART NICHOLSON GRAHAM LLP Michael J. Missal, Esq. Lawrence Coe Lanpher, Esq. 1800 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20036 (202) 778-9000 Counsel to the Independent Review Panel TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION..............................................................................................................1 II. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ...............................................................................................4 A. 60 Minutes Wednesday Background..............................................................................6 B. The Pursuit of a Story on President Bush’s TexANG Service ......................................7 C. Obtaining Documents ....................................................................................................8 D. The Production of the September 8 Segment ................................................................8 1. Efforts To Authenticate Documents ........................................................................9 2. Efforts to Verify the Content of the Documents....................................................11 3. Barnes Interview....................................................................................................12 4. White House Reaction ...........................................................................................13 E. The Vetting Process.....................................................................................................13 F. Authenticity of the Killian Documents........................................................................18 G. The Aftermath..............................................................................................................19 1. The Initial Response ..............................................................................................20 2. The ABC News Report ..........................................................................................23 3. The Statements of Marian Carr Knox....................................................................24 4. The Change in Source............................................................................................25 5. The Apology..........................................................................................................25 6. The Contact With the Kerry Campaign .................................................................26 H. Political Agenda...........................................................................................................28 I. Recommendations........................................................................................................28 III. PROCESS OF INVESTIGATION.................................................................................31 IV. BACKGROUND ..............................................................................................................34 A. 60 Minutes – The Sunday Show ..................................................................................34 B. 60 Minutes Wednesday ................................................................................................34 V. ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE OF 60 MINUTES WEDNESDAY..................36 A. Introduction..................................................................................................................36 B. Description of the Organization...................................................................................36 1. Correspondents, Producers and Associate Producers ............................................36 2. Executive Producer and The Senior Broadcast Producer ......................................38 3. Additional Layers of Review.................................................................................38 4. CBS’ Communications Group ...............................................................................39 C. The Unique Characteristics of the Production Process for the September 8 Segment........................................................................................................................39 i VI. BACKGROUND ON CBS NEWS STANDARDS, THE TEXAS AIR NATIONAL GUARD AND DOCUMENT AUTHENTICATION..............................41 A. CBS News Standards ...................................................................................................41 B. Texas Air National Guard Background .......................................................................41 C. Background on Document Authentication...................................................................42 VII. THE PRODUCTION OF THE SEPTEMBER 8 REPORT ........................................44 A. The Initial Pursuit of the Story in 1999 .......................................................................45 B. The Continuing Investigation in 2000 .........................................................................49 C. Lieutenant Colonel Burkett’s National Media Appearances in February 2004...........51 1. Lieutenant Colonel Burkett’s Allegations .............................................................52 2. Lieutenant Colonel Burkett’s Retractions..............................................................53 3. Additional Questions Raised Regarding Lieutenant Colonel Burkett’s Allegations .............................................................................................................53 4. Doubts at CBS News .............................................................................................55 5. Mapes’ Awareness of the Lieutenant Colonel Burkett News Coverage................56 D. The Continued Pursuit of a TexANG Story in the Summer of 2004...........................56 1. Following the Leads...............................................................................................57 2. Mounting Pressure To Get a Story.........................................................................58 E. The Potential for Documents Between Monday, August 23, 2004 – Thursday, September 1, 2004 .......................................................................................................59 1. Courting Lieutenant Colonel Burkett.....................................................................59 2. Background Research on Lieutenant Colonel Burkett...........................................62 3. Mapes’ Communications with 60 Minutes Wednesday Management Regarding the Shifting Focus of the Story and Lieutenant Colonel Burkett’s Requests .................................................................................................63 4. Mapes’ Initial Contact with the Kerry Campaign..................................................64 5. The Involvement of Dan Rather ............................................................................66 6. Ben Barnes’ Speech at a Kerry Campaign Rally...................................................66 7. Other News Media Coverage of TexANG Issues Between August 23, 2004 and September 1, 2004..................................................................................67 F. Thursday, September 2, 2004 – Monday September 6, 2004......................................68 1. Thursday, September 2: The First Two Documents Were Obtained.....................68 a. Meeting with Lieutenant Colonel Burkett .............................................................68 b. Preliminary Review of the Documents..................................................................70 c. Contact with Rather ...............................................................................................71 2. Friday, September 3, 2004: Additional Reporting and The Search for Document Examiners.............................................................................................72 a. Additional Reporting.............................................................................................72 b. Retention of the Document Examiners..................................................................73 (i) Qualifications of the Handwriting and Document Examiners.........................76 ii (ii) The Panel’s Findings Regarding the Examiner Selection Process ..................77 c. Communications with Lieutenant Colonel Burkett’s Lawyer ...............................77 d. Mapes’ Communications with 60 Minutes Wednesday Management Regarding Additional Burkett Demands................................................................79 3. Saturday, September 4, 2004: The Authentication Process Continued and Other Issues............................................................................................................80 a. Contacts with the Document Examiners................................................................80 b. Other Background Reporting.................................................................................80 c. Rather’s Involvement.............................................................................................81 d. Mapes’ Communications with Murphy .................................................................82 4. Sunday, September 5, 2004: Document Authentication Issues, Interviewing and Contact with Lockhart ...............................................................82 a. Additional Documents from Lieutenant Colonel Burkett......................................82 b. Further