A CBS reconheceu finalmente que não deveria ter usado documentos aparentemente forjados com o intuito de denegrir o passado militar de George W. Bush.
Face à crescente pressão da opinião pública, e depois de várias declarações firmes em sentido oposto, Dan Rather acabou por se ver forçado a pedir publicamente desculpas por se ter equivocado.
Falta agora apurar claramente qual foi a origem dos documentos, bem como o processo pelo qual os mesmos foram utilizados pela CBS sem tomar precauções minimamente razoáveis quanto à verificação da sua autenticidade.
CBS Can't Vouch for Bush Guard Documents
CBS admitted Monday that it cannot vouch for the authenticity of documents used to support a "60 Minutes" story that questioned President Bush's Vietnam War-era National Guard service, after several experts denounced them as fakes.
Chief anchor Dan Rather apologized for "a mistake in judgment."
The network said it was wrong to go on the air with a story that it could not substantiate.
"We should not have used them, CBS News President Andrew Heyward said. "That was a mistake, which we deeply regret."
CBS also said it was commissioning an independent review of the incident, and will announce the names of the people conducting the review will be announced shortly.
The announcement was a major blow to the credibility of CBS News and Rather, who reported the story and also apologized Monday.
Em que ficamos, caro Rui?
