Campaign '04: How Did Dan Rather Get in This Fix?

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CBS now has a 12-person team furiously working to sort out the story. Other reporters are now fixated on Bill Burkett, who has become a prime target of speculation as a possible source of the memos. A retired National Guard officer, Burkett has spent years telling the media shifting stories about efforts to purge or embellish Bush's military records. In February, Burkett told TIME, "I don't have the smoking gun, but there was an effort to make [Bush] look better than he was." He has posted angry and sometimes reckless statements on liberal blogs. CBS's Howard denies that Burkett was interviewed for the Sept. 8 show but won't comment further.

Since the story broke, Burkett has not spoken to reporters. His lawyer says Burkett never falsified any memos. Besieged by calls last week from irate viewers, the CBS affiliate in Abilene, Texas, 21 miles from Burkett's home, broadcast a special message disavowing the network's original story. As for Bush's military records, they still contain glaring holes. But that has been largely forgotten in the recent excitement. Says a senior Administration official of the focus on CBS's predicament: "This is the gift that keeps on giving." --Reported by Anna Macias Aguayo/Abilene, John F. Dickerson/Washington, Sean Gregory and Nathan Thornburgh/New York, Hilary Hylton/Austin and Cathy Booth Thomas/Dallas