September 19, 2007
Rather Sues CBS For $70 Million
More than two years after being forced out as anchor of the "CBS Evening News," Dan Rather remains (to borrow one of his Texas colloquialisms) "madder than a rained-on rooster."
The New York Times is reporting that Rather has filed suit today against his former employers to the tune of $70 million. He claims that the network robbed him of his allotted airtime on "60 Minutes" and made him a "scapegoat" in the controversy surrounding a now-discredited 2004 report on that program which suggested that President Bush shirked his National Guard service.
CBS appointed an independent panel headed by former Attorney General Richard Thornburgh to investigate the news division's conduct in broadcasting the story. Rather insists that the ensuing report was "biased" and was designed to hang him out to dry in order to "pacify the White House," but, the Times notes, "the formal complaint presents virtually no direct evidence to that effect."
Stay tuned. If this suit makes it to court, the trial could be "nasty enough to gag a buzzard."
See the full Thornburgh report here [PDF], and catch up with Rather in his new, lower-profile gig at HDNet.
