The 60 Minutes memo story has spread like wildfire on the internet. At last count, there were 193 trackbacks to the post on Powerline. After I read the post this morning, I sent a tip to Drudge via his website. I'm certain that I'm not the only one who did that today. By mid-afternoon, he had the story linked on his site. On the Fox News Channel, the story was featured on Special Report with Brit Hume (it was actually the last story discussed by the panel at the end of the show).
Now ABC News has picked up on the story. They are reporting that the son the the late Jerry Killian, the officer who wrote the memos, doubts their authenticity.
Gary Killian, who served in the Guard with his father and retired as a captain in 1991, said one of the memos, signed by his father, appeared legitimate. But he doubted his father would have written another, unsigned memo which said there was pressure to "sugar coat" Bush's performance review.
"It just wouldn't happen," he said. "The only thing that can happen when you keep secret files like that are bad things. ... No officer in his right mind would write a memo like that."
CBS is sticking by their story that the documents are legitimate. Not that that is a surprise. Credibility is essential for any news organization to stay in business (and it IS a business). If it turns out that the documents are forgeries (some experts have already weighed in saying that there is a good chance they are forgeries), CBS will find itself on the receiving end of the type of savaging that they are used to dishing out. Look for the other broadcast networks to pile on as well. In the fierce competition for a dwindling number of viewers, ABC and NBC will not pass up this opportunity to grab some of CBS' business. It's sure to make for an interesting show.
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