September 9, 2004

Forgery Update

Glenn Reynolds has a comprehensive round-up of coverage of the investigation into the possibility that the memos that CBS says show George W. Bush shirked his Guard duty three decades ago are forged. Also, even the Associated Press is investigating the possibility that the documents were forged:

Independent document examiner Sandra Ramsey Lines said the memos looked like they had been produced on a computer using Microsoft Word software, which wasn't available when the documents were supposedly written in 1972 and 1973.

Lines, a document expert and fellow of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, pointed to a superscript - a smaller, raised "th" in "111th Fighter Interceptor Squadron" - as evidence indicating forgery. Microsoft Word automatically inserts superscripts in the same style as the two on the memos obtained by CBS, she said.

"I'm virtually certain these were computer-generated," Lines said after reviewing copies of the documents at her office in Paradise Valley, Ariz. She produced a nearly identical document using her computer's Microsoft Word software.

Charles Johnson has more, too.

It's looking bad for CBS.

More coverage of the forgery story at ABC News (and NightLine is doing a show on it tonight). Also, Hugh Hewitt has posted the transcript of his radio interview with a document forensics expert. Also, Donald Sensing has a very long and detailed post, drawing on his own extensive military experience and knowledge.

I conclude that the Killian-signed documents are forgeries, forged by someone without a very good knowledge of military correspondence or Air Force publications or procedures. Based on the Air Force's own online library of current and obsolete publications, I conclude that there never was an Air Force Manual 35-13, although there was an AF Regulation by that number. But a lieutenant colonel would never have made such a fundamental error as using "AFM" twice when he meant AFR. Furthermore, it is likely that whatever AFR 35-13 governed, flight physicals wasn't it.

It's not looking bad for CBS. It's looking very very bad.

Meanwhile, documents of known authenticity show that Bush completed more than his required amount of service, and was granted early release from his Guard hitch in order to go to Harvard Business School. And an honorable discharge. And there are at least three witnesses who saw him pull Guard duty in Alabama during the period of time under dispute.

Not one assertion to the contrary is based on solid facts or documentation.