Burkett’s story fractures — source undergoes sex change
National Politics Comments (3)
The NY Sun has an interesting story on Bill Burkett suing CBS. Everyone is centering on that, and it seems that no one has noted that Burkett’s unfindable source has magically changed genders.
From the NY Sun story:
Mr. Burkett told the caller, whom Mr. Van Os identified only as “a Texas man with Air National Guard experience,” that he would not go to Houston for that but would be in the city March 4 for the Simmental cattle show, said Mr. Van Os.
At the show, a man approached the booth manned by Mr. Burkett and gave him a manila envelope with the now-controversial documents in it. (emphasis added)
Compare that to today’s USA Today story:
Burkett now maintains that the source of the papers was Lucy Ramirez, who he says phoned him from Houston in March to offer the documents. USA TODAY has been unable to locate Ramirez.
[. . .]
Sitting in a rocking chair in his weathered ranch house south of Baird, Texas, Burkett recounted his continuing efforts — beginning before he was discharged from the Texas Army National Guard in 1998 — to clean up what he saw as Guard corruption and mismanagement. He said that activity led to a telephone call in March from Ramirez and her offer to provide documents damaging to President Bush.
Burkett said Ramirez told him she had seen him the previous month in an appearance on the MSNBC program Hardball, discussing the controversy over whether Bush fulfilled all his obligations for service in the Texas Air Guard during the early 1970s. “There is something I have that I want to make sure gets out,” he quoted her as saying.
He said Ramirez claimed to possess Killian’s “correspondence file,” which would prove Burkett’s allegations that Bush had problems as a Guard fighter pilot.
Burkett said he arranged to get the documents during a trip to Houston for a livestock show in March. But instead of being met at the show by Ramirez, he was approached by a man who asked for Burkett, handed him an envelope and quickly left, Burkett recounted.
MickC @ September 21, 2004