Experts say they objected to Bush’s Guard letters

WASHINGTON – A document expert retained by CBS News for the disputed “60 Minutes” story on President Bush’s National Guard record said Tuesday that she warned that the memos involved “had problems” and that she questioned “whether they were produced on a computer.”

Asked whether CBS had taken her concerns seriously, Linda James, a forensic document examiner in Texas, told The Washington Post: “Evidently not.”

A second document expert, Emily Will, told ABC News correspondent Brian Ross that she had cautioned CBS in writing that there were “significant” problems with the documents, which were used in a “60 Minutes” broadcast last Wednesday as evidence that Bush received favorable treatment while he was in the Texas Air National Guard.

“I told them that all the questions I was asking them on Tuesday night, they were going to be asked by hundreds of other document examiners on Thursday if they ran that story,” Will told ABC. A third document consultant, Marcel Matley, told the Post on Monday that although he vouched for the signature of Bush’s former squadron commander, the late Lt. Col. Jerry Killian, there was “no way” he could authenticate Killian’s purported memos because they were copies.

CBS News Senior Vice President Betsy West said Tuesday night: “As far as I know, Linda James raised no objections. She said she’d have to see more documents to render a judgment.”

As for Will’s account, West said: “I’m not aware of any substantive objection she raised. Emily Will did not urge us to hold the story. She was not adamant in any way. At one point, she raised a concern about a superscript ‘th,’ which we then discussed with the other experts we hired to examine all four of the documents we aired. We were assured the ‘th’ was consistent with technology at the time, an assessment that has since been backed up by other experts.”

CBS spokeswoman Sandy Genelius added that both women “played a peripheral role and deferred to another expert,” Matley. But James said she did not defer to Matley and merely recommended him to CBS. The network says it relied on two additional document experts, whose names have not been made public.

The accounts by Will and James add to the mounting questions about whether the 1972 and 1973 memos reported by CBS could have been produced on a Vietnam War-era typewriter. This is the first time that people involved in the process have said they raised warning flags about the memos, whose authenticity has been doubted by the president’s wife, Laura, and some outside document experts.

Meanwhile, Killian’s former secretary, 86-year-old Marian Carr Knox, also questioned the documents in an interview with The Dallas Morning News.

“These are not real,” Knox said in a story posted Tuesday on the newspaper’s Web site. “They’re not what I typed, and I would have typed them for him.”

Knox told the newspaper she did not recall typing the memos, but that they echoed Killian’s views on Bush. Killian died in 1984.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

Customers enter and exit the Costco on Dec. 2, 2022, in Lake Stevens. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Costco stores could be impacted by looming truck driver strike threat

Truck drivers who deliver groceries and produce to Costco warehouses… Continue reading

Two Washington State ferries pass along the route between Mukilteo and Clinton as scuba divers swim near the shore Sunday, Oct. 22, 2023, in Mukilteo, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Ferry system increases ridership by a half million in 2024

Edmonds-Kingston route remains second-busiest route in the system.

Pharmacist Nisha Mathew prepares a Pfizer COVID booster shot for a patient at Bartell Drugs on Broadway on Saturday, Oct. 1, 2022, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Everett lawmakers back universal health care bill, introduced in Olympia

Proponents say providing health care for all is a “fundamental human right.” Opponents worry about the cost of implementing it.

x
Edmonds police shooting investigation includes possibility of gang violence

The 18-year-old victim remains in critical condition as of Friday morning.

Outside of the updated section of Lake Stevens High School on Thursday, Feb. 27, 2020 in Lake Stevens, Wa. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Lake Stevens, Arlington school measures on Feb. 11 ballot

A bond in Lake Stevens and a levy in Arlington would be used to build new schools.

Robin Cain with 50 of her marathon medals hanging on a display board she made with her father on Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025 in Lake Stevens, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Running a marathon is hard. She ran one in every state.

Robin Cain, of Lake Stevens, is one of only a few thousand people to ever achieve the feat.

People line up to grab food at the Everett Recovery Cafe on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Coffee, meals and compassion are free at the Everett Recovery Cafe

The free, membership-based day center offers free coffee and meals and more importantly, camaraderie and recovery support.

Devani Padron, left, Daisy Ramos perform during dance class at Mari's Place Monday afternoon in Everett on July 13, 2016. (Kevin Clark / The Herald)
Mari’s Place helps children build confidence and design a better future

The Everett-based nonprofit offers free and low-cost classes in art, music, theater and dance for children ages 5 to 14.

The Everett Wastewater Treatment Plant along the Snohomish River on Thursday, June 16, 2022 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Everett water, sewer rates could jump 43% by 2028

The rate hikes would pay for improvements to the city’s sewer infrastructure.

The bond funded new track and field at Northshore Middle School on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024 in Bothell, Washington. (Courtesy of Northshore School District)
Northshore School District bond improvements underway

The $425 million bond is funding new track and field complexes, playgrounds and phase one of two school replacements.

Lake Stevens Sewer District wastewater treatment plant. (Lake Stevens Sewer District)
Lake Stevens sewer district trial delayed until April

The dispute began in 2021 and centers around when the city can take over the district.

A salmon carcass lays across willow branches in Edgecomb Creek on Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025 in Arlington, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Tribes: State fish passage projects knock down barriers for local efforts

Court-ordered projects have sparked collaboration for salmon habitat restoration

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.