WASHINGTON (AFP) - The CBS television network, under fire over the authenticity of documents it used in a report discrediting President George W. Bush`s military service, stuck to its guns, airing an interview it said lent credence to the report.
The network`s "60 Minutes" program, known for its investigative reporting, last week broadcast typewritten memos, apparently from Bush`s unit commander in the Texas Air National Guard, that suggest the future president had failed to fulfill his service requirements in the 1970s.
The memos, purportedly written by Lieutenant Colonel Jerry Killian, say Bush disregarded an order to appear for a mandatory medical examination in 1972.
Killian also apparently wrote of political pressure to "sugar-coat" Bush`s annual review.
By serving in the domestic military organization, Bush avoided going to the Vietnam War, where his presidential election rival John Kerry was decorated for valor.
Other US media challenged the authenticity of the documents obtained by CBS, citing document experts who said they appear to have been typed by a word processor which did not exist at the time they were allegedly written.
The problem in substantiating the report was that Killian died in 1984.
CBS`s position appeared increasingly embarrassing.
But on Wednesday evening, the network ran an interview with Killian`s former secretary, Marian Knox.
Knox said she did not type the memos in question and believed they were fake.
But, she also said, "The information in those is correct."
She said Killian liked Bush as a person, but did not like his attitude.
"First of all, Killian was very friendly with Bush," she said. "They had fun together. And I think it upset him very much that he was being defied," an apparent reference to Bush`s alleged failure to follow orders.
Knox said essentially the same thing in an interview with The Dallas (Texas) Morning News.
"These are not real," Knox said of the memos. "They`re not what I typed, and I would have typed them for him (Killian)."
Knox also told the newspaper she does not support Bush for re-election, describing him as "unfit for office."
CBS Washington correspondent Wyatt Andrews said the memos came from a confidential source, and the network "remains certain the content of the story is true."
CBS News president Andrew Heyward added, "We would not have put the report on the air if we did not believe in every aspect of it."
But Andrews acknowledged that "unresolved issues" remained, saying the network would "redouble our efforts to answer those questions."
The story has also become an embarrassment for Democrats who seized on the CBS documents to attack the Republican president in the campaign for the November 2 election.
Democrats have used the CBS report to counter a campaign by a veterans` group that has aired television spots attacking Kerry`s Vietnam War service. The group says he lied about his record and betrayed fellow soldiers by opposing the war after he returned from Vietnam.
Kerry has fallen behind Bush in opinion polls since the advertisements began to appear, and since the Republican convention two weeks ago.
The White House defended Bush last week, saying he received an honorable discharge from the National Guard and fulfilled all his military obligations.
CBS sent the documents to the White House last week.
"We had every reason to believe that they were authentic, because they were being provided to us by a major news organization," said White House spokesman Scott McClellan.
But "serious questions" remain over their authenticity, he said.
McClellan also turned his attention to Kerry and the Democrats.
"There`s no question about the timing of this orchestrated effort to tear down the president by John Kerry and his surrogates," he said.