Die with the Lie
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You have to give old Dan Rather some credit, it looks like he's willing to die with the lie.
The former CBS Anchor is still standing by the report that got him fired, nearly a decade later.
The former anchor’s reputation was tarnished after the accuracy of his 2004 story questioning President George W. Bush’s military service was publicly disputed by the leader’s administration. The entire saga was recently dramatized on the big screen in the box office flop Truth, starring Robert Redford as Rather.
“We reported a true story. We didn’t do it perfectly,” the 84-year-old recently told The Hollywood Reporter. “We made some mistakes of getting to the truth. But that didn’t change the truth of what we reported.”
Rather and his producer Mary Mapesaired a story that alleged that Bush went AWOL during his time in the Texas Air National Guard.
The Bush administration charged that the documents used as the basis for the report were inauthentic, leading to an independent investigation that ultimately concluded that the piece disregarded “fundamental journalistic principles.” The documents were not, however, ever proved to be forgeries.
Rather was subsequently removed from the anchor desk before leaving CBS News for good in 2006 after 44 years. The departure wasn’t without controversy — Rather filed a $70 million lawsuit against the news network, a claim that was eventually dismissed.
Rather still contends that the main aspects of the report were “bedrock facts,” however.
Keep beating the drum Dan.
