The Suicide of Dan Rather, CBS News and Journalism

George C. Landrith

Dan Rather and the folks at CBS News must be completely mad. There is no credible expert who says Dan’s forged documents are authentic. Scores of renowned experts have said they are forgeries. Yet, Dan and CBS stand by their story and now they are demanding that President George W. Bush answer the questions raised in their forged documents. Not satisfied with the lunacy of that demand, Dan Rather goes on to argue that because Bush has not answered to Dan’s satisfaction the questions raised in the forged documents, Bush is essentially admitting the charges are true.

Since Dan believes it is legitimate journalism to require folks to answer questions raised in forged and fraudulent documents and since not answering the questions is evidence of the charge’s truth, I have some questions for Dan Rather.

I have in my possession a number of admittedly false and forged documents. Each of these documents raises serious questions about Dan Rather. I will list them below and demand that Dan Rather respond to them. If he does not fully answer each of the questions to my satisfaction, it is evidence that the charges implied in the questions are true.

I have an internal CBS document that says Dan Rather detests President Bush and on a daily basis Rather sets aside his journalistic standards and ethics and misuses his position in the media to misrepresent facts and twist news to make Bush look bad. The documents further state that Dan Rather is as biased as Saddam was cruel and that he also requires CBS employees to slant the news.

Dan Rather must respond to these charges. He cannot simply state that my documents are forgeries. If he does not respond satisfactorily to the substance of the charges, he is admitting they are true.

Another document in my possession states that Dan Rather uses his position and power within CBS News to squash other employees who don’t agree with him and won’t slant the news. It says disagreeing with Dan Rather is like betraying a mafia don. It also says that Dan uses his power and influence to obtain special treatment and favors.

These are serious issues and Dan Rather must respond. Quibbling about the authenticity of my sources is a diversionary tactic. Refusing to answer the charges is admitting they are true.

I have other documents that suggest Dan Rather was involved in Jimmy Hoffa’s disappearance and that he is a Russian spy. I even have a document that says Dan was involved in Abraham Lincoln’s assassination.

I realize that Dan may be tempted to dismiss the charges by simply questioning my sources and saying the documents are forgeries, but as Dan Rather has said, “Answer the questions.” Refusing to answer only proves the charges true. As Dan said, "The longer we go without a denial of such things—this story is true."

For the record, I am playing the journalism game by Mr. Rather’s rules. But, I am being a great deal more honest, ethical, and fair than Dan Rather because I have openly disclosed my source documents are forgeries. I’ve made no false claims of authenticity. Tomorrow I will not disingenuously “stand by the story.” I will simply ask Dan Rather to “answer the questions” and point out that by Dan’s own mouth failure to answer only proves the “story is true.”

If this sounds like the Salem witch trials, then you have a much stronger sense of basic fairness, honesty, and decency than Dan Rather or CBS News. Dan Rather was once a respected journalist. Today, he is a partisan hack and a bad one at that. CBS was once the most respected news organization in America. Today, it is nothing more than a mediocre entertainment company.

Those who ran the Salem witch trials once had power, prestige and the appearance of respectability. However, once their lies, distortions and perverse standards for “fairness” were revealed, they were loathed and dismissed as pathetic figures in history. Such will be the fate of Dan Rather and CBS News.

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Mr. Landrith is a graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law, where he was Business Editor of the Virginia Journal of Law and Politics. He had a successful law practice in business and litigation. In 1994 and 1996, Mr. Landrith was a candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives from Virginia's Fifth Congressional District. He served on the Albemarle County School Board. Mr. Landrith is an adjunct professor at the George Mason School of Law. He is recognized as an authority on constitutional law and jurisprudence, federalism, global warming, and property rights.

george@ff.org