Killian documents authenticity issues
During the Killian documents controversy in 2004, the authenticity of the documents themselves was challenged by a variety of individuals and groups. Proof of authenticity is likely impossible without original documents, and since CBS used only faxed and photocopied duplicates, authentication to professional standards would be impossible regardless of the provenance of the originals. However, the validity of these photocopied documents was challenged on a number of grounds, ranging from alleged anachronisms in their typography to issues pertaining to their content.
Typography
Several individuals with expertise in typewriters or computer typography regard the documents as forgeries based on typographical analysis. These include Peter Tytell, a document examiner and typewriter expert [1], Thomas Phinney, an Adobe computer font expert [2], and Joseph Newcomer, a computer typography pioneer and Windows typography expert [3]. This conclusion is based in part on analysis of the letterspacing, as follows:
- The typography of the Killian documents can be matched with a modern personal computer and printer using Microsoft Word with the default font (Times New Roman) and other settings. Therefore the equipment with which the Killian documents were actually produced must have been capable of matching the typographical characteristics produced by this modern technology.
- The letterspacing of the Times New Roman font used by Microsoft Word with a modern personal computer and printer employs a system of 18 units relative to the letter height (em), with common characters being 5 to 17 units wide. (The technology allows even finer variability of character widths, but the 18 unit system was chosen for compatibility with the Linotype phototypesetting and earlier hot-metal versions of the font.) In contrast, the variability of character widths available on early 1970s typewriters using proportional letterspacing was more limited, due to the mechanical technology employed. The most sophisticated of these machines, the IBM Selectric Composer, used a system of 9 units relative to the letter height, in which all characters were 3 to 9 units wide. Less complex machines used fewer widths.
- Differences in individual character widths accumulate over the length of a line, so that comparatively small differences become readily apparent. Because of the differing character widths employed, the letterspacing exhibited by the Killian documents (matching that produced by a modern computer and printer) could not have been produced with a mechanical typewriter using proportional letterspacing in the early 1970s. At the time the documents were purportedly created, the matching letterspacing could only have been produced using phototypesetting or hot-metal printing. But it is not a realistic possibility that Killian would have had these documents printed, so it must be concluded that they are modern forgeries.
Typographical questions
Proportional fonts
One of the initial doubts bloggers raised about the memos was the use of proportional fonts. The majority of typewriters available in 1972 used fixed width fonts, and most of the authenticated documents from the TexANG were typed using fixed width fonts commonly associated with typewriters; one document released by the Pentagon on September 24, 2004 used a proportionally-spaced font somewhat similar to the font used in the Killian memos [4]. Some have suggested that because they are photocopies, the actual font of the Killian Documents may be almost impossible to identify. Various proportional fonts were commonly available on military typewriters of that era. This 1969 letter[5] from Gen. Ross Ayers of TexANG also exhibits proportional spacing, as does this letter[6] of resignation in protest from a TexANG secretary, as does John Kerry's 1967 Navy fitness report[7], as does this 1963 White House memorandum[8]. None of these proportional font examples is the same font as that used on the Killian documents.
Several experts interviewed by the media suggested that the proportional fonts in the documents indicated likely forgery. John Collins, vice president and chief technology officer at Bitstream Inc., the parent of MyFonts.com, stated that word processors that could produce proportional-sized fonts cost upwards of $20,000 at the time.[9] Allan Haley, director of words and letters at Agfa Monotype, stated "It was highly out of the ordinary for an organization, even the Air Force, to have proportional-spaced fonts for someone to work with."[10] William Flynn, a forensic document specialist with 35 years of experience in police crime labs and private practice, said the CBS documents raise suspicions because of their use of proportional spacing techniques.[11] The Washington Post also indicated the presence of proportional fonts as suspicious "of more than 100 records made available by the 147th Group and the Texas Air National Guard, none used the proportional spacing techniques characteristic of the CBS documents".[12] However, several documents later obtained from the TexANG, including parts of Bush's service record, display proportional fonts. None of these documents used the same proportional font as the CBS documents.
Bill Glennon, a technology consultant in New York City with typewriter repair experience from 1973 to 1985 said experts making the claim that typewriters were incapable of producing the memos "are full of crap. They just don't know." He said there were IBM machines capable of producing the spacing, and a customized key — the likes of which he said were not unusual — for creating the superscript th.[13] Thomas Phinney, program manager for fonts at Adobe Systems responded to Glennon's statement that the memos could not have been produced with either the IBM Executive or Selectric Composer, which had been suggested as possibilities, due to differences in letter width and spacing. [14] Phinney says that each time a typeface was redeveloped for mechanical technologies with different width factors, the width and designs are altered, which is why even if Press Roman had been intended to look like Times Roman, the result is significantly different.
Typewriters with proportional fonts were first introduced in 1941, mass-produced from 1948 onwards, and were in widespread use by 1972. The most common device available in 1972 with proportional font support and similar (though not an exact match) [15] to the font some claim was used in the memos (11-point Press Roman vs. 12-point Times New Roman) is the IBM Selectric Composer. The IBM Executive was the most common proportional-spacing typewriter of the era, and supported a single serifed proportional font that is very different from the Selectric Composer font that most closely matches the font some believe is used in the memos. The Selectric Composer was a "Selectric" in name only—really a low-end typesetting device rather than a typewriter, and cost $3,600 to $4,400 in 1973 dollars ($16,000 to $22,000 in 2004 dollars). (Regular Selectrics were available second-hand for around $150 [16], but could not have produced the documents in question.)
Desktop magazine in Australia analysed the documents in its November 2004 issue and concluded that the typeface was a post-1985 version of Times Roman, rather than Times New Roman, both of which are different in detail to IBM Press Roman. The article did not dispute that superscripts and proportional fonts were available in the 1970s.
Sophisticated spacing
Several blogs argued that the Killian memos display kerning, a sophisticated character spacing that is ubiquitous with word-processing documents and uncommon in typewriters in 1972. Two of these blogs later retracted the claim of kerning.[17][18] Joseph Newcomer, an expert cited by critics of the memos, asserts that the memos do not display kerning.
Some typewriters that were available at the time, the IBM Executive and the IBM Selectric Composer, were capable of proportional spacing, but not kerning. These typewriters had characters whose spacing varied from one to three units. To backspace over an "M", for example, one pressed the backspace key three times; for an "I", a single backspace. The manual for these typewriters included a table of letters and the number of backspaces required to back up and remove the character with a sheet of correction material.
To produce the effect of kerning with the IBM Executive, the user would have to grasp the carriage and, holding the carriage against its spring tension, strike a letter key with the other hand. On the IBM Selectric Composer, the carriage doesn't move laterally; the type element moves instead. The closest one could come to doing so on the Composer would be to backspace by one of these fixed increments, which would result in the characters overlapping at their edges.
Word wrapping
Because a typewriter does not have the ability to know what the user is going to type next, it is up to the typist to decide when to move the carriage to the next line. Sometimes, a typist will use hyphenation to split a word between two lines on a syllable boundary, while computer word processors like Microsoft Word do not do this by default. The documents are not hyphenated; several official TexANG documents are not hyphenated either.[19]
Superscripted "th"
Some of the memos display a superscripted "th" glyph in a smaller font, raised above the level of the normal text (111th).[20] Such a small font would require a special character on a traditional typewriter. Marian Carr Knox recalled that during her time at the Guard she used a mechanical Olympia typewriter that did have a special 'th' key. (This 'th' character was the same weight as the other characters.) She said it was replaced by an IBM Selectric in the early 1970s. Several documents of unquestioned authenticity in the Bush records have superscripted 'th' characters interspersed throughout; however, they are not raised above the level of the normal text.[21] Like the 'th' key available for the Olympia, they go to the same height as the other lower-case letters. As with any other superscript, such as a footnote mark, the typist would have to manually turn the paper roller slightly to raise the glyph above the baseline. Superscript footnotes were present in official ANG documents released regarding Bush's service.[22] Philip Bouffard, an authority cited by critics on other issues, has stated of the superscript, "You can't just say that this is definitively the mark of a computer."[23]
On some typewriters, superscripts in metal type differed from standard letters by being proportionally wider and heavier, so that when set, they looked the same "weight". Some bloggers have argue that the weight of the superscript appears to be smaller, though the document is heavily distorted from combined faxing and photocopying. Some of the official public records display the reduced "th" glyph at a weight which is not obviously different from the text.[24]
Superscripted and reduced "th" glyphs are generated automatically by Microsoft Word immediately after a number. Other instances of "111 th" on some of the same documents are not superscripted or reduced in size. Similarly, Word automatically superscripts the "st" in 1st. Word does not superscript if a space is present between the number and the glyph; however, on the documents the "th" and "st" glyphs are not superscripted in some cases when there is no intervening space.[25][26]
Centered headers
Bloggers at ChronicallyBiased [27] noted that two of the memos, dated May 4 and August 1, 1972, feature a three-line centered heading which aligns exactly between two memos dated three months apart, and with a comparison document created using the auto-centering feature of Microsoft Word.[28]
Creating centered headers is possible on a typewriter, even if the font is proportional. The typist can left-justify the header and then use the space bar to count the number of spaces from the end of the text to the right margin. In addition, the IBM Executive and Selectric have a kerning key that would give a more accurate measure of the whitespace. Once this number is determined, halving it gives the number of leading spaces for an centered header. The same centering will be achieved on different occasions if the paper is inserted flush to the paper guide, and the same count of spaces is applied. The bloggers assert that the probability of a typewriter user repeatedly centering successive lines of text to both the page itself and to each other is low. For an example of multiple centered lines produced using a proportionally spaced typewriter font, see the third page of the contemporary annual history of Bush's Alabama guard unit.[29]
Word processors, by contrast, center text based on a computer algorithm using a fixed central reference point rather than the left margin on the typewriter as measured from the paper's edge. If the paper in a printer is flush to the left of the paper guide, then a word processor will achieve the same centering throughout a given page and on different pages. In the Killian memos the text matches perfectly when overlaid with a word processor-centered 3 line address block, and between the 3- and 2- line blocks of different memos.
Curved apostrophes
In several places, the documents use apostrophes such as in the words I'm and won't. These are curved somewhat to the left, similar to the shape of a comma. Allegedly, most typewriters of the era featured vertical apostrophes, rather than angled ones. However, for an example of curved apostrophes on documents produced by Bush's unit, see the 1973 "historical record".[30]
Bloggers have frequently asserted the documents use curly, or "smart", quotes – distinct left and right double quotes. This feature is common on modern word processors. In fact, the documents use no quotation marks of any kind, either single or double.
Reproduction of the documents using modern technology
Charles Johnson of Little Green Footballs published an animated GIF comparing what he claims is one of the CBS memos and a version he typed in Microsoft Word on Mac OS X using the software's default settings (overlay)[31]. When using other versions of Microsoft Word or alternative products such as WordPerfect, with their default settings, such an exact match is not usually obtained [32]. The underlying suggestion that the documents produced are identical has also been disputed by liberal sites such as Daily Kos, which pointed out that there were letters and words in the original which were not aligned properly, as well as variations in the boldness of letters, and even in the shapes of certain numbers. [33][34] Daily Kos readers reported the existence of an inconsistent baseline in the original and divergent locations of the 'th' supercript [35].
In response, the creator of the screenshot converted the Word document to a PDF and obtained a much closer match to the superscript [36]. In Microsoft Word, the 'th' superscript is drawn in a different location on the screen than it is when printed. Another experiment showed that faxing, scanning, and copying a Word document creates random baseline irregularities [37]. Some of these observations, even if substantiated, could still be explained as common by-products of fax transmission and/or repeated photocopying (a technique often used by forgers to give the appearance of age). One approach, using a custom computer algorithm to find the best alignment between the scanned memo and the Word version, seems to show an exact overlay, demonstrating how the low fidelity of the CBS documents can give the appearance of differences between individual letters in the two versions due to the random "thickening" introduced during the faxing and/or photocopying process [38]. However, the same low fidelity also aids the appearance of an exact overlay, as the re-sizing of the CBS documents obscures details.
Reproduction using contemporary technology
Thus far, no one has been able to reproduce the exact typography, spacing and layout of the Killian memos using technology available in 1972. The political weblog defeatjohnjohn.com[39] offered a $10,000 reward to "anyone who can find for me a typewriter from 1972 that could have reasonably made those documents". Through a series of contributions and pledges from all over the world, the reward grew to more than $50,000 within weeks, giving the previously-small blog some surprising international publicity. (Despite extensive media coverage of this challenge, to date no one has been publicly able to accomplish the task and claim the money.)
Many analysts have said that they were not concerned with whether or not it was hypothetically possible to duplicate one or even a few of the typographic features with 1973 technology, but whether it was likely that all of them would have matched, at least as closely as the Microsoft Word samples, using a single typewriter that could plausibly have been in use at a remote national guard base in 1973 (and apparently wasn't used to type any other memos from that base). Several people with experience in operating either the IBM Executive or the Selectric Composer have said that they were much more complicated to operate than a regular typewriter and therefore were reserved for important correspondence within the companies where they had worked.
Similarity to contemporary documents
The Washington Post reported that "of more than 100 records made available by the 147th Group and the Texas Air National Guard, none used the proportional spacing techniques characteristic of the CBS documents"[40]. This raises the question of the likelihood of a National Guard office having access to this type of equipment.
However, on September 24, 2004 another PDF packet of Bush's Guard records appeared on a Pentagon site containing the full master list of the officially released records. [41] The PDF packet is labeled "Documents Released on September 24, 2004," and the sixth document, dated February 19, 1971 and titled "Appointment and Federal Recognition," is proportionally spaced. While it appears to be of a different font style than that used in the Killian memos, it is apparently the first officially released document that is in some sort of obviously proportionally spaced font. Several other proportionally space TexANG documents have since surfaced.
According to the Washington Post on September 14, 2004, "The analysis shows that half a dozen Killian memos released earlier by the military were written with a standard typewriter using different formatting techniques from those characteristic of computer-generated documents. CBS's Killian memos bear numerous signs that are more consistent with modern-day word-processing programs, particularly Microsoft Word..."
Ones versus Ells
On September 13, CBS Evening News introduced two new experts to vouch for the authenticity of the memos. One of the individuals, a software designer named Richard Katz, stated that a lower case ell was used in place of the numeral one in the memos. Further, he asserted that this would be difficult to duplicate on a computer today. Mr. Katz did not publicly explain the details of how he made this determination.
Some bloggers have speculated that Mr. Katz was referring to the fact that early typewriters did not have a one or zero key and that typists learned to use ells and the letter "O" in their place. One blogger has asserted that it is exceedingly difficult to discern a one from a lowercase ell even when dealing with a pristine original. Further, he stated that the spacing of a one better matches the documents than that of an ell when attempting to reproduce the documents in Microsoft Word.[42]
Content and Formatting
In addition typography, aspects of the memos such as the content and formatting have been challenged.
Signatures
Of the documents, only the May 4 memo bears a full signature. This signature was confirmed as authentic by Marcel Matley [43], an expert consulted by CBS. Matley examined only the signature and made no attempt to authenticate the documents themselves [44]. A different independent certified forensic document examiner said Killian did not sign the documents [45].
Skepticism from Killian's family and others
Jerry Killian's wife and son argued that their father never used typewriting equipment and would have written these memos by hand. The family also stated that Killian was not known for keeping personal memos and that he had been very pleased with George Bush's performance in his TANG unit.
In contrast, Killian's secretary at the time, Marian Carr Knox, stated, "We did discuss Bush's conduct and it was a problem Killian was concerned about. I think he was writing the memos so there would be some record that he was aware of what was going on and what he had done." She added that Killian had her type the memos and locked them away in his private files. She did not believe the CBS documents were real, due to inconsistencies, but said the content is accurate and was perhaps copied from the originals. Gary Killian, Killian's son, disputed her version of the history. [46]
Earl W. Lively, who at the time was the commanding officer at the Austin TANG facility was quoted in the Washington Times as saying, "They're forged as hell."
Mention of influence by retired officer
Walter Staudt, cited in the memo dated August 18, 1973 as exerting pressure on officers to "sugar coat" their evaluations of Bush, had in fact retired from the service in March of 1972, although it is possible that Staudt could have continued to exert influence after his retirement.
Staudt also denied being pressured to accept George W. Bush into the National Guard, in an exclusive interview with ABC ("Speaking Out," Sept 17th, 2004): "'No one called me about taking George Bush into the Air National Guard,' he said. 'It was my decision. I swore him in. I never heard anything from anybody. And I never pressured anybody about George Bush because I had no reason to,' Staudt told ABC News in his first interview since the documents were made public."[47]
Mention of Flight Inquiry
The memo informing Bush that his flying status was revoked stated in part "I conveyed my verbal orders to my commander ... with request for orders of suspension and convening of a flight review board." An official memo by Gen. Greenlief confirming the order to suspend Bush, and stating the cause, exists. [48] However, no records of this request or the flight inquiry board itself have been found. Regulations required such a review following the grounding of any pilot.
Formatting
- It has been claimed that according to U.S. Air Force practice of the 1970s, the memo dated "04 May 1972" should have had the date formatted as "4 May 72". (Months abbreviated to three characters, leading zeros not used, and only the last two digits of the year until 2000). However, exceptions to these practiced did exist as this 1969 letter[49] from Gen. Ayers regarding Bush demonstrates. Similarly, this 1973[50] official memo from Gen. Straw, regarding an officer involved in the Bush case, is dated "2 February 1973" — writing out both month and year in full. Bush's official flight records are also headed with full year notation.[51]
- It has also been claimed that the terminology "MEMORANDUM FOR" was never used in the 1970s. However, Mary Mapes has offered evidence that this 1968 letter[52] regarding Bush from Gen. Staudt uses that same heading, though the first several letters of the word "MEMORANDUM" are obscured in the photocopy.
- The abbreviations in this letter are incorrectly formatted, in that a period is used after military rank (1st Lt.). According to the Air Force style manual, periods are not used in military rank abbreviations. However in practice, military ranks are often listed with a period in Air Force documents.[53] For an example of periods used in documents released during the controversy, see the signature of the commander on the official history of Bush's Alamaba unit, as well as several instances in that text.[54]
- Killian's abbreviation for Fighter Interceptor Squadron (FIS) includes periods after each capital letter. Allegedly, it would have been unusual to use periods in this acronym. In official documents of the squadron, similar abbreviations are presented with periods, such as E.I. Squadron, which is also often written without periods.[55] In official documents, the phrase is also at times written out in shorthand, such as "Ftr Intcp" rather than with an acronym.[56] The other four acronyms on that same document are used without periods.
- In paragraph 1, the phrase "not later than" is spelled out, followed by (NLT). NLT was, and is, a widely recognized abbreviation for "not later than" throughout all military services. However in practice, military documents quite frequently use both the acronym and the full version of the phrase.[57]
- According to an ex-Guard commander, retired Col. Bobby W. Hodges, the Guard never used the abbreviation "grp" for "group" or "OETR" for an officer evaluation review, as in the CBS documents. The correct terminology, he said, is "gp" and "OER."[58] In a 1994 DOD document, "grp" is specified as a DOD abbreviation for "group".[59] The "grp" abbreviation is also often used in military practice.[60] Usage in the memos varies; "gp" is used at times.[61] A "T" is used at one point in the acronym for "officer evaluation review". It is not clear what the intent of an extra letter would be (OETR); however, T is situated next to the correct letter, R, on a standard US keyboard.
- Lieutenant Colonel Killian's signature element is allegedly incorrect for letters prepared in the 1970s. This letter uses a three-line signature element, which was supposedly normally not used by officers below staff rank. However, in contrast to this claim, see the three-line signature of Major Herber or that of Capt. Currie on separate documents concering Bush's appointment as 2nd Lt.[62] Or, see Heber's signature on Bush's suspension from flying status. [63]
- Finally, the signature element is placed far to the right, instead of being left-justified. The placement of the signature element to the right was allegedly not used or directed by Air Force standards until almost 20 years after the date of this letter. However, as contrary evidence, this 1969 memo[64] and this 1971 memo[65] from Gen. Ayers each include a right signature block.
Paper size
It is possible that a photocopy of the memos onto letter-size paper might have shown thin border lines or other artifacts had they been typed on the smaller official military stock of the time. The central areas of the documents are heavily "speckled" from the faxing and copying process, while the left and right margins are not; no solid lines are apparent.[66] In 1921, two different committees decided on standard paper sizes for the United States. A group called the Permanent Conference on Printing established the 8 by 10½ size as the general U.S. government letterhead standard, while a Committee on the Simplification of Paper Sizes came up with the more familiar 8½ by 11 size now known as US Letter.[67] The U.S. military used the smaller size up until the early 1980s.
Independent experts
The majority of independent document authentication experts contacted by the major news media and bloggers have indicated a strong likelihood that the Killian memos are forgeries constructed with the use of modern word processing software and printer technology, and "aged" using multiple generations of copying to blur the characters. Several are "certain" that the documents are fraudulent.
In contrast, Dr. David Hailey, who holds a doctorate in technical communication and is an associate professor and director of a media lab at Utah State University, stated in October 2004 that "evidence from a forensic examination of the Bush memos indicates that they were typed on a typewriter." [68] Hailey's study has been controversial with critics pointing out that Hailey donated $250 to Kerry's campaign; Hailey has also been the subject of an email campaign demanding his dismissal from the university after bloggers alleged that he fabricated portions of the study and made several claims in it that were perceived to be misleading. [69] Dr. Joseph Newcomer, a document expert who produced an extensive analysis asserting the memos were forgeries, called Hailey's study "deeply flawed" [70]. After reading both Hailey's study and Newcomer's analysis, Thomas Phinney, a typography expert employed by Adobe, concurred with Newcomer.
External links
=== Primary source documents === (links to large PDF documents)
The four CBS News Killian documents:
- Memorandum, May 4, 1972
- Memo to File, May 19, 1972
- Memorandum For Record, August 1, 1972
- Memo to File, August 18, 1973
The six USA Today Killian documents:
News items
- "60 Minutes Documents on Bush Might Be Fake" CNSNews.com – September 09, 2004
- "Questions Arise About Authenticity of Newly Found Memos on Bush's Guard Service" ABC News – September 9, 2004
- "Some Question Authenticity of Papers on Bush" Washington Post – September 10, 2004
- "Guard Memos Fuel Another Vietnam-Era Battle" Los Angeles Times – September 10, 2004
- "False Documentation? Questions Arise About Authenticity of Newly Found Memos on Bush's Guard Service" ABC News – September 10, 2004
- "Anatomy of a Forgery" American Spectator – September 10, 2004
- "FOX Interviews Commander's Son" FOX News – September 10, 2004
- "Rather Defends CBS Over Memos on Bush" Washington Post – September 11, 2004
- "Amid Skepticism, CBS Sticks to Bush Guard Story" Los Angeles Times – September 11, 2004
- "More challenges about whether Bush documents are authentic" The Seattle Times – September 11, 2004
- "Killian Memo Has Wrong Deadline, Cites Wrong Regulation" The American Thinker – September 11, 2004
- "Gaps in Service Continue to Dog Bush" Washington Post – September 12, 2004
- "The X Files Of Lt. Bush: A flurry of contested memos and memories sheds more heat than light on his record" Time – September 13, 2004
- "Expert Cited by CBS Says He Didn't Authenticate Papers" Washington Post – September 14, 2004
- "Document Experts Say CBS Ignored Memo 'Red Flags'" Washington Post – Wednesday, September 15, 2004
- "Ex-Guard Typist Recalls Memos Criticizing Bush" Los Angeles Times – September 15, 2004
- Boston Globe apologizes for taking misquoting two experts about memos
- "Memos on Bush Are Fake but Accurate, Typist Says' NY Times – September 15, 2004
- "CBS Guard Documents Traced to Tex. Kinko's" Washington Post – September 16, 2004
- "Rather Concedes Papers Are Suspect" Washington Post – September 16, 2004
- "'Buckhead', who said CBS memos were forged, is a GOP-linked attorney" Seattle Times – September 17, 2004
- Washington Post: A Pentagon memo next to one of CBS's Killian memo – added here September 18, 2004
- "In Rush to Air, CBS Quashed Memo Worries" Washington Post – September 19, 2004
- Graphic comparison of all the CBS memos with officially released Killian memos Washington Post – September 19, 2004
- "CBS Says It Can't Vouch for Bush Documents" – New York Times – September 20, 2004
- "Scoops and skepticism: How the story unfolded" – timeline from USA Today – September 21, 2004
- "Prof Pursued by Mob of Bloggers" Wired, October 7, 2004
- [71] Savage parody of the Rove conspiracy theory.
Editorials
- "CBS falls for Kerry campaign's fake memo" Mark Steyn Chicago Sun-Times – September 12, 2004
- "Paper War on Bush Record" Los Angeles Times – September 15, 2004
- "The Death Cry of Snob Journalism" by Michelle Malkin
Blog and other links
- Blog-gate Columbia Journalism Review
- Viacom press release with official CBS statement in response
- [72] and [73] The original blog posts which called attention to the integrity of the documents.
- Original overlay created by Charles Johnson of Little Green Footballs, and "print to file" version of the same experiment
- Typography Expert Joseph M. Newcomer's take on the memos
- RatherBiased.com, an anti-Rather site which has been calling the anchorman liberally biased
- Powerline, one of the main blogs charging CBS with fraud – This site is referenced by several news outlets
- National Review Online's The Kerry Spot by Jim Geraghty (which linked to RatherBiased, Powerline, and LGF)
- "A Compendium of the Evidence" lists the various suspicious elements of the memos.
- Democratic National Committee "Action Alert" E-mail
- Samples of Killian's signature from the memos and elsewhere
- Rathergate.com Anti-authenticity site
- Kos blog disputing forgery arguments
- Amygdala blog disputing claims memos could not be from 1970s
- Flash comparing one of the memos to Microsoft duplicate
- The Paper Trail: A Comparison of Documents by The Washington Post print edition.
- So what IS the deal with those darn CBS Memos? A detailed analysis supporting authenticity.
- Truth and Duty: The Press, the President, and the Privilege of Power, by Mary Mapes, November 2005, St. Martin's Press, ISBN 031235195X
- Mary Mapes – website for her book, including a documents section
- Transcript of online Q&A with Mary Mapes, November 11, 2005, by washingtonpost.com
Notes
- ^ "CBS News story from September 20, 2004 on Dan Rather's statement". 2005-12-20.
- ^ Template:News reference
- ^ Template:News reference
- ^ Template:News reference
- ^ "Knox's interview with CBS on September 20, 2004". 2005-12-21.
- ^ "Marion Carr Knox's interview with the Drudge Report on September 14, 2004". 2005-12-20.
- ^ "Crowe, Robert and Mason, Julie; "Ex-staffer: Bush records are fake. Secretary to military officer says she never typed the memos." Houston Chronicle, September 15, 2004". 2005-12-20.
- ^ Jerry B. Killian's May, 1971 performance evaluation of George W. Bush Accessed December 20, 2005.
- ^ "CBS News Story 9/10/04 with Gary Killian interview". 2005-12-20.
- ^ Thornburgh-Boccardi report, p. 53.
- ^ "Burkett, Bill; "What do you say?" Online Journal March 19, 2003". 2005-12-20.
- ^ "Rezendesz, Michael, "Doubts raised about Bush's accuser." Boston Globe online, February 13, 2004". 2005-12-20.
- ^ Thornburgh-Boccardi report, p. 51.
- ^ Thornburgh-Boccardi report, p. 52.
- ^ Thornburgh-Boccardi report, pp. 60-62
- ^ Thornburgh-Boccardi report, pp. 64-65
- ^ Thornburgh-Boccardi report, pp. 90-91
- ^ http://www.defenselink.mil/pubs/foi/bush_records/personnel_pt5.pdf Part 5 of Bush records released under Freedom of Information Act]
- ^ Bush documents obtained by USA TODAY
- ^ "Moniz, Dave; Johnson, Kevin; and Drinkard, Jim; "CBS backs off Guard story," USA TODAY, September 21, 2004". 2005-12-20.
- ^ ""Bush Guard Memos Questioned." CBS News, Associated Press, September 10, 2004". 2005-12-20.
- ^ Thornburgh-Boccardi report, p.88
- ^ "Dobbs, Michael and Allen, Mike. "Some Question Authenticity of Papers on Bush," Washington Post, September 09, 2004". 2004-12-20.
- ^ Panel report, p. 103
- ^ "Blumenthal, Ralph and Rutenberg, Jim. "An Ex-Officer Now Believes Guard Memo Isn't Genuine," New York Times, September 12, 2004". 2005-12-20. Registration required.
- ^ Template:News reference
- ^ "Live Thread: Ben Barnes and CBS Attempt Another Bush Smear (60 Minutes)". 2005-12-21.
- ^ "Documents Suggest Special Treatment for Bush in Guard [post 47]". 2005-12-21.
- ^ Template:News reference
- ^ "Power Line: September 2004 Archives". 2005-12-21.
- ^ "lgf: Bush Guard Documents: Forged". 2005-12-21.
- ^ "lgf: The Smoking Memo". 2005-12-21.
- ^ "DJJ". 2005-12-21.
- ^ Template:News reference
- ^ Template:News reference
- ^ Template:News reference
- ^ "RatherBiased.com : News : Was Rather Duped by Anti-Bush Hoax?". 2005-12-21.
- ^ Template:News reference
- ^ Template:News reference
- ^ Template:News reference
- ^ Template:News reference
- ^ Template:News reference
- ^ "Daily Kos: State of the Nation". 2005-12-21.
- ^ Template:News reference
- ^ Template:News reference
- ^ "INDC Journal:". 2005-12-21.
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- ^ "Just Cut Out Their Tongues". 2005-12-21.
- ^ "WBNG-TV FRONT PAGE". 2005-12-21.
- ^ "National Guarding Bush: Did Karl Rove Plan Leak of Alleged Forged Documents to 60 Minutes? - A BuzzFlash Guest Contribution". 2005-12-21.
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- ^ "Daily Kos: State of the Nation". 2005-12-21.
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- ^ "http://truthandduty.com/documents/doc1.pdf" (PDF). 2005-12-21.
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- ^ "http://truthandduty.com/documents/doc9_1-3.pdf" (PDF). 2005-12-21.
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- ^ "http://news.findlaw.com/hdocs/docs/jkerry/ftnsrpts.pdf" (PDF). 2005-12-21.
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- ^ "Daily Kos :: Comments TANG Typewriter Follies; Wingnuts Wrong". 2005-12-21.
- ^ "INDC Journal: EXACTLY". 2005-12-21.
- ^ "QandO: A compendium of the Evidence". 2005-12-21.
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- ^ "http://truthandduty.com/documents/CBS001192.pdf" (PDF). 2005-12-21.
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- ^ "Chronically Biased - Keeping Tabs On The Houston Chronicle". 2005-12-21.
- ^ "The Shape of Days (See above)". 2005-12-21.
- ^ "http://www.defenselink.mil/pubs/foi/bush_records/1972History187thTacReconGp.pdf (See above)" (PDF). 2005-12-21.
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- ^ "ImageBASIC Display Print Job" (PDF). 2005-12-21.
- ^ "http://homepage.mac.com/cfj/.Pictures/aug1873-pdf-animate.gif". 2005-12-21.
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- ^ "lgf: Yet Another CBS Document Experiment". 2005-12-21.
- ^ "TUMNZ: Fau^Hxed Bush Memos". 2005-12-21.
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- ^ "Questions mount on Guard memos' authenticity - The Washington Times: Nation/Politics - September 11, 2004". 2005-12-21.
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- ^ "http://truthandduty.com/documents/doc8.pdf" (PDF). 2005-12-21.
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- ^ "http://www.defenselink.mil/pubs/foi/bush_records/BushFlightRecords.pdf" (PDF). 2005-12-21.
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- ^ "http://truthandduty.com/documents/doc2_1-5.pdf" (PDF). 2005-12-21.
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- ^ "http://www.google.com/search?num=100&hl=en&lr=&safe=off&c2coff=1&as_qdr=all&q=col+site%3Aaf..mil&btnG=Search". 2005-12-21.
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- ^ "http://www.defenselink.mil/pubs/foi/bush_records/1972History187thTacReconGp.pdf (See above)" (PDF). 2005-12-21.
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- ^ "ImageBASIC Display Print Job (See above)" (PDF). 2005-12-21.
- ^ "ImageBASIC Display Print Job" (PDF). 2005-12-21.
- ^ "http://www.google.com/search?num=100&hl=en&lr=&safe=off&c2coff=1&q=nlt+%22not+later+than%22+site%3A.mil&btnG=Search". 2005-12-21.
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- ^ "ACRONYMS, ABBREVIATIONS, and DEFINITIONS". 2005-12-21.
- ^ "http://www.google.com/search?num=100&hl=en&lr=&safe=off&c2coff=1&q=grp+group+site%3Amil++&btnG=Search". 2005-12-21.
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- ^ "http://truthandduty.com/documents/CBS001192.pdf (See above)" (PDF). 2005-12-21.
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- ^ "ImageBASIC Display Print Job" (PDF). 2005-12-21.
- ^ "ImageBASIC Display Print Job (See above)" (PDF). 2005-12-21.
- ^ "http://truthandduty.com/documents/doc6.pdf" (PDF). 2005-12-21.
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- ^ "http://truthandduty.com/documents/doc10.pdf (See above)" (PDF). 2005-12-21.
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