Dan Rather's Complaint Shows CBS Collaborated With Bushco In Abu Ghraib Torture Scandal

[kpete]

CBS Collaborates in Torture

CBS imposed the unusual restrictions that the story would be aired only once, that it would not be preceded by on-air promotion, and that it would not be reference on the CBS Evening News.

by emptywheel

The most interesting thing about the Dan Rather complaint, IMO, is the description it gave of CBS and Administration attempts to spike the Abu Ghraib story.

In late April 2004, Mr. Rather, as Correspondant, and Mary Mapes, a veteran producer, broke a news story of national importance on 60 Minutes II--the abuse by American military personnel of Iraqi prisoners in the Abu Ghraib prison. The story, which included photographs of the abusive treatment of prisoners, consumer American news media for many months.

Despite the story's importance, and because of the obvious negative impact the story would have on the Bush administration with which Viacom and CBS wished to curry favor, CBS management attempted to bury it. As a general rule, senior executives of CBS News do not take a hands-on role in the editing and vetting of a story. However, CBS News President Andrew Heyward and Senior Vice President Betsy West were involved intimately in the editing and vetting process of the Abu Ghraib story. However, for weeks, they refused to grant permission to air the story, continuously insisting that it lacked sufficient substantiation. As Mr. Rather and Ms. Mapes provided each requested verification, Mr. Heyward and Ms. West continued to "raise the goalposts," insisting on additional substantiation.

Even after obtaining nearly a dozen, now notorious, photographs, which made it impossible to deny the accuracy of the story, Mr. Heyward and Ms. West continued to delay the story for an additional three weeks. This delay was, in part, occasioned by acceding to pressures brought to bear by government officials urging CBS to drop the story or at least delay it. As a part of that pressure, Mr. Rather received a personal telephone call from General Richard B. Myers, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, urging him to delay the story.

more at:
http://thenexthurrah.typepad.com/the_next_hurrah/2007/09/cbs-collaborate.html#more

[Pawel K]

1. K&R

[malaise]

2. MSM CEOs should be getting nervous about now

The beans are about to be spilled. Expect some very loud and stink farts.

[Virginia Dare]

7. I expect this will be settled out of court..

they definitely don't want this going to trial.

[live love laugh]

24. Is Rather interested in money, or vindication? I don't think he'll settle. n/t

[Virginia Dare]

25. He has said he would donate the money to journalistic causes..

he's probably interested in both, but the legal fees will skyrocket. He'll probably take the money in the end, and if CBS gives it to him, they're pretty much admitting he has a potential case against them.

[flyarm]

27. never..he will never settle..he isn't doing this for the money! eom

[stlsaxman]

53. Certainly Rather doesn't need $70 million- he set that number so CBS wouldn't settle.

:bounce:

[JDPriestly]

51. You are probably right, but it won't be settled until Rather has completed a lot of discovery.

It's during discovery that you get to see the documents and get to hear the testimony of witnesses. Remember Clinton's deposition in the Paula Jones matter? These guys that are named in the complaint are going to be deposed. I hope Rather has some really meticulous lawyers, the kind who learn every detail of their cases, the kind who don't leave the document production and review just to paralegals. This is going to be such a fascinating case that Rather will probably be able to get lawyers who will work for the fun of it. This case is going to be just fascinating to a good litigator. By that I mean a litigator who likes to work puzzles and find the truth.

[JTFrog]

3. k&r n/t

[no_hypocrisy]

4. IMO, getting the facts correct on record is more important than the money.

Although the money symbolically is good too.

[babylonsister]

5. CBS-good luck burying this. Ain't gonna happen. This story has

all the elements you so love to air ad nauseum. Deal with it.

[KittyWampus]

8. You think other networks will pounce on this?

[babylonsister]

9. They already have. I've seen CNN and NBC/MSNBC discussing

the lawsuit. Whether they will keep up any heat is another story, but they do so love to slam sister networks, and there's a 'personality' involved.

[The Vinyl Ripper]

10. Not in a million years...

They are all doing the exact same thing..

[annabanana]

11. Brian Williams mentioned it. .

He went over the bones of the suit (did NOT mention the treatment of the Abu Ghraib story) and followed it with the CBS official response.. that it was "old news and without merit".

[babylonsister]

16. MSNBC just talked about the 'bombshell lawsuit' again.

I imagine it will go away eventually, but it's just too salacious for the corp. media to ignore.

[The Vinyl Ripper]

18. Did they mention the Abu Ghraib portion of the story?

I doubt it..

[SpiralHawk]

6. I heard CBS report on the Rather suit last night

Republicon Propaganda Pixie KATIE COURIC said the suit was because Rather wanted more air time, and that CBS was pooh poohing his whole case

Sheesh: What a pack of Republicon homelander spew -- CBS is totally on THE DARK SIDE now, totally opposed to objective truth, and in massive republicon spin cycle

No
Cred

No
Honor

[peekaloo]

14. NBC followed a similar path. Rather lost his '60 Minutes' gig and he aired

an unsubstantiated story against Boo$h.

He bad man. Want money for tarnished reputation.

[Tunkamerica]

29. CBS called Rather's allegations "old news" n/t

[LibDemAlways]

12. I hope Rather refuses to settle out of court. This case

is too important to quietly go away. Exposing the role the networks have played in covering for and propping up the Bush crime family could lead to long-needed changes - restoration of the Fairness Doctrine for starters. Go Dan.

[malaise]

15. 100% correct n/t

[helderheid]

13. thanks AGAIN kpete!

[Cha]

17. I hope cbs is sweating in their huge

air conditioned, katie couric, promoting offices.

[Annces]

20. Me too

About time somebody acted aggressively with these goons.

[Nothing Without Hope]

19. Some backstory - two earlier DU threads on the Rather suit against CBS:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2997471
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x1852037

K & R

[Bitwit1234]

21. I think democrats all over America

although they might be friolous should start to file law suits against any negative or slanderous articles the media says or prints. We are not commies, we are not unpatriotic, we don't support terrorist and we should sue the hell out of them. Maybe they would cut those comments out the way they did Sally Fields anti war comments.

[Stephanie]

22. Awesome!

Does anyone know who his attorney is?

[yellerpup]

23. Dan is still getting the NEWS out

even after he was driven out by CBS. It is amazing that the story of Bush's service was not false, just tossed out on a technicality. Bush Pere had a grudge against Dan because Dan called him on BS during an interview. Chimpy is all about taking revenge on people who snap back. I'm not surprised that CBS is a toady for the new administration, but I am extremely disappointed. That's why I will not watch their evening news any more.

[me b zola]

26. Expose the corporate media

Good on ya, Dan. Please don't settle, that will only embolden those assholes to further attack you.

[Rex]

28. The M$N has never, i repeat NEVER been on the side of The People.

All we are here for is to make them money. Period. We might as well be cows getting processed for meat or milk.

[defendandprotect]

30. How much shallower could CBS executives be than to bury Abu Ghraib to kiss Bush's ass???

The nation isn't important -- not democracy nor freedom of the press --
just sucking up to Bushco to increase their power and wealth!!

[earth mom]

31. Go Dan!

:thumbsup:

[Iwillnevergiveup]

32. Knowing how savvy and eloquent Dan is

this is a huge, giant can of worms. Let 'em out!

:yourock:

[Catherine Vincent]

33. Liberal media? My ass!

It needed to be said.

[Sam Ervin jret]

34. Don't Let Companies get Immunity (from civil) actions because of this!!

This is a perfect example of why we should NOT let the big communications companies(AT&T)get away with the type of legislature that they want to pass that would retroactively get them off the "hook" for spying on people on behalf of the BUSH "gang." It is often through civil actions that criminal information comes out. It is also possible that in the case of AT&T as is shown on "Front line, Spying on the Home front", At&T executives many need to be persuaded to testify against members in the administration. If they have legislation which gives their company immunity from any legal action they will have no incentive to work with the prosecution to get the truth out in the cases involving intrusive spying on the part of this administration. Companies, their executives and the powers at the head of this government are in need of a serious value check. If the checkbook is the only check on them, so be it.

[MasonJar]

35. Thank you, Dan! All along in this charade it was so obvious that

you were the only anchor who was hesitant to push the Bush agenda. I lost all respect for Peter Jennings when he came out with the absurd statement that Bush had won the debate against Gore. The citizens that ABC had watching,of course,gave the nod to Gore big time. Tom Brokaw has always been a shill for the GOPers. I doubt that Dan will settle...he is giving the money away. Why would he?

[KaptBunnyPants]

36. Katie Couric is God's revenge for choosing the easy path of collaboration.

God screws those who screw themselves.

[Senator]

37. Yes, This Is Arguably War Criminality

This collaboration may have exposed Viacom to ruinous legal liablilty -- outside of the safe confines of the neofascist-rigged US Court System.

But beyond that, "consumer bad will" could devastate them far more quickly -- and permanently.

"He that lies down with dogs, shall rise up with fleas." -- Benjamin Franklin

---

[MetaTrope]

38. Similar delay from the DOJ

The trial of Stephen Dale Green, whom one might remember as the prime instigator of the rape and murder of a 14-year-old girl and her family in Iraq, has already been delayed for over a year and still isn't expected to go to court until late next year...don't be surprised if it's well past the next presidential election before justice is served.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

39. Take 'em all the way down, Dan.

Report the truth. Even if that truth is about CBS.

[creeksneakers2]

40. CBS let the White House get away with fraud

The White House knew the documents Rather had were forged and the details of the story weren't true. The White House could have denied the story but instead they let Rather swallow the hook, so they could get even with Rather and get rid of him and scare off other potential investigative reporters to boot.

The White House even tried the same scam later on Michael Isakoff at Newsweek. Isakoff had a charge that Gitmo guards flushed a prisoner's Koran down the toilet. Isakoff checked with the Pentagon first before he went with the story. The Pentagon gave Isakoff the all clear. Then, when the story breaks, Bush and the right wing tried to destroy Isakoff for publishing a bad story. This time the press stuck together and Bush and the right wing were foiled.

If Rather can get White House officials under oath, I'd like his lawyers to ask what the White House knew and when. The truth about what really happened is far worse than many realize.

[McCamy Taylor]

41. Bush FCC has been blackmailing Viacom/CBS since day 1, Viacom

is out of compliance with federal media ownership rules, it owns too much TV and does not want to divest, so Redstone kisses administration you know what.

[lurky]

43. Could that be interpreted as bribery?

More stations = more money. If FCC agrees not to enforce the law in exchange for positive coverage, aren't they essentially trading profits for propaganda? Seems like an effective way to manage profit-driven corporate media.

[Iwillnevergiveup]

42. Larry King venue....not so much

Watching Dan Rather on Larry King deeply frustrated me. Between the many commercials and King's agenda (interrupt much??), could hardly hang in there with it. I also thought Dan was a bit tentative - maybe King threw him off balance so he lost his focus. But Dan did get his main point out that investigative journalism is dying a long, painful death in this country,

[goclark]

44. IMO Rather came across as sincere and truthful

When it started out, Larry was trying to get the "company line" in but slowly the quality and sincerity of Rather's eloquent remarks won the day.

:bounce:

[lurky]

46. Making the case for quality journalism on the Larry King show

may have been a little too ironic for Mr. Rather.
It's kind of like going on the 700 Club and promoting rational thought.

[Rockholm]

45. Attack the Messenger, Never the Message.

Same with the current moveon.org mess. The right wing always attacks the messenger, leaving the message to wilt.

[ooglymoogly]

47. kr

[CoffeeCat]

48. What else have these bastards buried?

This is really astonishing.

They're willing to cover up that our nation tortured people--to curry favor with
the very criminals who committed the crimes?

God, these people hate the United States and all it stands for! They should not
even be in this country! They are destroying all that we have ever stood for!

They want to hide the fact that we tortured people---which would only lead us
to torturing more people?

These people work in tandem with BushCo. He couldn't have pulled off his crimes
if there were journalists left out there in the MSM. Because of their cowardice
and lack of integrity and bottomless greed--our country goes to hell.

Makes you wonder what other bombshell stories they've hidden from the American people?

What did the MSM decide that Americans didn't need to know? If they would hide torture,
they would hide anything.

Revolting. Are there any heroes out there anymore?

[Garbo 2004]

49. CBS spiked 60 Minutes report on the bogus Niger yellowcake claims prior to the 2004

election. They had bumped the Niger story in favor of the Bush TANG story. At first CBS said it was merely postponed. Then CBS later said it would be "inappropriate" to run their Niger yellowcake piece so close to the election. http://mediamatters.org/columns/200611200004

[malaise]

54. Rather was on Larry King last night

He said the only way objective journalism can survive is for the truth re the pressure from big corporations and big government to be exposed.
I can't wait for this.

[redqueen]

56. My God... dare I hope... have we reached a turning point

in public tolerance for the corporate whore media?

[orleans]

50. i am SO looking forward to this trial! n/t

[deacon]

52. Can you imagine how much Fox has collaborated?

[McCamy Taylor]

55. FOX was out of compliance with federal media ownership rules, too

...until the Bush administration changed them for FOX. And CNN was blackmailed by the FCC which stalled for 18 months right before the 2006 elections, deciding whether or not it would allow AOL-Time Warner to get its Adelphia acquisitions. The FCC blackmailed Disney-ABC into doing "The Path to 9/11" by threatening to recommend the McCain-Stevens A La Carte Cable Bill. They held The Tribune Co.'s federal media ownership rules violation (TV station and newspaper in LA) over their head, resulting in biased journalism before the 2006 election.

[L. Coyote]

57. Someone, quick, sell CBS $200 million in Army recruiting ads. To pay Dan!