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| Killian's DEM secretary says She hates W but didn't type the memos. |
| 2004-09-14 |
| By PETE SLOVER / The Dallas Morning News HOUSTON — The former secretary for the Texas Air National Guard colonel who supposedly authored memos critical of President Bush's Guard service said Tuesday that the documents are fake, but that they reflect real documents that once existed. Since they don't exist anymore - who's to say. Marian Carr Knox, who worked from 1956 to 1979 at Ellington Air Force Base in Houston, said she prided herself on meticulous typing, and the memos first disclosed by CBS News last week were not her work. "These are not real," she told The Dallas Morning News after examining copies of the disputed memos for the first time. "They're not what I typed, and I would have typed them for him." Yup! Mrs. Knox, 86, who spoke with precise recollection about dates, people and events, said she is not a supporter of Mr. Bush, who she deemed "unfit for office" and "selected, not elected." Blaah Blaah Blaah. Yeah, but at least you told the truth about the stuff. God forgives your error about the Prez. "I remember very vividly when Bush was there and all the yak-yak that was going on about it," she said. But, she said, telltale signs of forgery abounded in the four memos, which contained the supposed writings of her ex-boss, Lt. Col. Jerry Killian, who died in 1984. MS Word? She said the typeface on the documents did not match either of the two typewriters that she used during her time at the Guard. She identified those machines as a mechanical Olympia, which was replaced by an IBM Selectric in the early 1970s. She spoke fondly of the Olympia machine, which she said had a key with the "th" superscript character that was the focus of much debate in the CBS memos. Experts have said that the Selectric, and mechanical typewriters such as the Olympia, could not produce proportional spacing, found in the disputed documents. Rather's lonely th CBS officials have defended their report. They have declined to say who provided 60 Minutes with the documents, other than that it was an "unimpeachable source" — or exactly where they came from, other than Lt. Col. Killian's "personal file." The memos, if real, would show that as a pilot, Mr. Bush defied a direct order to obtain a flight physical, enjoyed the benefit of pressure from high officials to "sugar coat" his record, and was grounded for failing to meet military performance standards. Mrs. Knox said she did all of Lt. Col. Killian's typing, including memos for a personal "cover his back" file he kept in a locked drawer of his desk. CYA probably shredded when Killian retired. But did they really exist? We don't think so. That's OK Mrs. Knox. Vote Kerry, be happy. She said she did not recall typing the memos reported by CBS News, though she said they accurately reflect the viewpoints of Lt. Col. Killian and documents that would have been in the personal file. Also, she could not say whether the CBS documents corresponded memo for memo with that file. Uh-huh "The information in here was correct, but it was picked up from the real ones," she said. She has a "solid" memory? She said that the culture of the time was that men didn't type office-related documents, and she expressed doubt that Lt. Col. Killian would have typed the memos. She said she would typically type his memos from his handwritten notes, which she would then destroy. Uh-huh Mrs. Knox, who left the Guard before Lt. Col. Killian died, said she was not sure of the disposition of his personal files when he died while still serving at Ellington. But, she said, it would have been logical that a master sergeant who worked in the squadron headquarters would have destroyed any such nonofficial documents after Lt. Col. Killian's death. Uh-huh That man, reached Tuesday, declined to comment. "I don't know anything about the matter," he said. Wise. She also said the memos may have been constructed from memory by someone who had seen Lt. Col. Killian's private file but were not transcriptions because the language and terminology did not match what he would have used. For instance, she said, the use of the words "billets" and a reference to the "administrative officer" of Mr. Bush's squadron reflect Army terminology rather than the Air National Guard. Some news reports attribute the CBS reports to a former Army National Guard officer who has a longstanding dispute with the Guard and has previously maintained that the president's record was sanitized. But the fact that forgeries are in the mix makes ANY supposed memos suspect. Mrs. Knox also cited stylistic differences in the form of the notes, such as the signature on the right side of the document, rather than the left, where she would have put it. Yup. Thanks Mrs. Knox. You have integrity. As a Kerry person, that is special. |
| Posted by:BigEd |
| #14 You are right, they aren't in quotes. Let's parse this: She said she did not recall typing the memos reported by CBS News, though she said they accurately reflect the viewpoints of Lt. Col. Killian and documents that would have been in the personal file. Also, she could not say whether the CBS documents corresponded memo for memo with that file. whoa, whoa, she said she didn't type the memos - then who did? Killian didn't type. Is she saying there were handwritten memos in the file? The language on this is intentionally vauge, and considering the source, probably misleading. I wish someone would get her to claify if this is what she meant. |
| Posted by: 2B 2004-09-14 10:45:31 PM |
| #13 I was listening to Boortz this week on the radio....he said the whole furor is moot due to the fact that every year Bush was in the Tex ANG he earned more then the required 50 points a year to satisfy his reserve duty - to include the year he was in 'bama - this is undisputed fact. The whole documents thing is a smokescreen. Hell, his squadron was never going to 'Nam anyhow due to the drawdown in the early 70's, too bad most people are too stupid to know the history.......typical. |
| Posted by: Jarhead 2004-09-14 10:20:55 PM |
| #12 I'm wondering if Mrs. Knox really did say all those things attributed to her that were not in quotes. Is it possible that Pete Slover attended the same journalistic ethics classes as the AP reporters, Scott Lindlaw and Tom Hays? Forgive my cynicism about all 'professional' journalists, but I wasn't born a cynic. |
| Posted by: GK 2004-09-14 10:11:20 PM |
| #11 One indisputable fact is enough to establish the fact that these documents were forgeries. Like Staudt having retired over a year before he was supposedly pressuring people? |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2004-09-14 9:28:18 PM |
| #10 It's not clear why CBS wants to go kamakazi for Kerry, it's clear that they are. If it is indeed going to come out that Kerry's superiors rated him "unfit for command", then what Kerry's MSM surrogates are desperately trying to do is to throw anything, anything at all, that will show Bush was also stupid and reckless while he was young. They will ignore the 254 swift vets, Kerry's fake ribbons, Cambodia, the treachery against his commrades, etc., etc. - and hang their hat on Bush missing a physical. Pathetic. Even thought she said the memos were fake, expect them to make Mrs. Secretary the wise ol' owl whose voting for Kerry. These people in the DNC and MSM are so freaking deluded. Someone needs to get them a clue-by-four. |
| Posted by: 2B 2004-09-14 9:16:43 PM |
| #9 Personal secretaries have a tendancy to project theirown beliefs onto that of their bosses. I would still like to see the Post Office called confirm that the PO Box was factitious. One indisputable fact is enough to establish the fact that these documents were forgeries. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2004-09-14 9:10:53 PM |
| #8 Angie - excellent points all! I think you hit the nail on the head. There was some disgruntlement in TANG re: the senators' sons. But good catch. Why just quote "yak,yak" without getting a more specific, clear quote on this very important point? I think we all know why. One thing missing here is that she should have some insight into the whole AWOL mess. But nada a word is mentioned. And why not? Clearly she remembered him as she made specific comments about how he was always polite, etc. Also, back then, an officer was practically rated on his ability to consume large quantities of alcohol. It was still ok to drive drunk, and official command parites would have encouraged drinking. So none of this would have been considered a black mark for a young jo. |
| Posted by: 2B 2004-09-14 9:02:01 PM |
| #7 âI remember very vividly when Bush was there and all the yak-yak that was going on about it,â she said. You know, at this point I begin to be suspicious. "Poppy" had been a two-term Rep and in '71 was appointed UN ambassador. According to Molly Ivins, Bush's unit also included Lloyd Bentsen's and John Connally's sons, plus several of the Dallas Cowboys. So what made Bush so memorable? Now, Mrs. Knox says she remembers the "yak yak", but does she mean the yak yak about Bush, or about those privileged young fellers in general? Also, I've been wondering just how much sugar coating a politician thinks his son needs. To hear some people tell it, W. was already destined to become President at that time. Why else would all these people -- both for and against -- obsess so much about sanitizing his record? And this at a time when a little drinkin' and carousin' was not held to be too big a black mark against a man's characer. |
| Posted by: Angie Schultz 2004-09-14 8:31:55 PM |
| #6 for 86 she's got a hell of a memory, no? I can't remember last week's memos without seeing them again. Hmmmmmm |
| Posted by: Frank G 2004-09-14 7:25:37 PM |
| #5 She saw? That's even worse than "she typed". YEAH - Hewitt wants congreessional hearings? This would be interesting. "Well I think I saw them, but he's was a nice polite young man. But I voted for Gore and am going to vote for Kerry. But I saw the memos." |
| Posted by: BigEd 2004-09-14 7:24:22 PM |
| #4 Read that piece carefully, she said that she saw memos that reflected the contents of CBS's fakes (riiiiiight). Tomorrow's NYT/WaPo/Globe/CBS headline, "Killian's Secretary Confirms Contents of Bush Memos". |
| Posted by: AzCat 2004-09-14 7:13:52 PM |
| #3 CBS special report - Rather explodes |
| Posted by: Frank G 2004-09-14 7:05:20 PM |
| #2 Here's Drudge's Entry She said to Drudge Bush was a "Nice young man" but not qualified to be pres. Also : Lloyd Bentsen's nephew had connections too. In 1970, Lloyd Bentsen defeated George HW Bush for a senate seat... |
| Posted by: BigEd 2004-09-14 6:44:11 PM |
| #1 PS Hattip - Hugh Hewitt |
| Posted by: BigEd 2004-09-14 6:23:34 PM |