Setback For Dan Rather Lawsuit Against CBS

Judge Dismisses Portions Of Ex-News Anchor's Suit But Rather's Attorney Says Central Claims Remain Intact

(CBS/AP)  A Manhattan judge has dismissed portions of a lawsuit Dan Rather has filed against CBS and Viacom.

Judicial Hearing Officer Ira Gammerman on Thursday allowed the lawsuit to go forward, but struck down the parts of the suit that name Viacom Chairman Sumner Redstone, CBS President Leslie Moonves and former CBS News President Andrew Heyward.

A lawyer for the defendants, lead outside counsel James Quinn, said the judge's ruling eliminated Rather's core complaints of fraud and breach of good faith and fair dealing.

The lawyer said it was hard to see how the ex-anchor's assertion of a conspiracy between CBS and the Bush administration "will have any traction going forward."

Dan Rather's lawyer, Martin Gold, forcefully disagreed with the defense's characterization of today's motion.

"It's not a setback at all," Gold told CBS News legal analyst Andrew Cohen. "The biggest shock that I had was when I read Jim Quinn's statement…in which he said that it was a great victory for them and all that's left is a garden variety contract dispute, those were his words, and that's just nonsense."

Gold told Cohen that he still planned on deposing all three of the individuals whose names were eliminated from the complaint: Redstone, Moonves and Heyward.

"They were the people who acted on behalf of the company," Gold said, "Corporations act by human beings. Those are some of the major people who functioned on behalf of the company and they have to be deposed."

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Listen to CBS' interview with Dan Rather's attorney, Martin Gold.

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CBS said in a statement: "We are gratified that the court has dismissed the majority of Mr. Rather’s claims, including the spurious claims against Mr. Redstone, Mr. Moonves and Mr. Heyward. With respect to the few remaining claims, relevant to his contract, there are no facts to support them and we expect them to be dismissed when the discovery process is complete.”

Rather's last months at CBS News were clouded by a disputed story on President Bush's Vietnam-era military service. Rather says his employers made him a "scapegoat" to placate the White House after questions arose about the story.

Quinn told CBS News' legal analyst Andrew Cohen that the contract issue left relates to "whether or not we 'benched' him and whether he had sufficient time on 60 Minutes and 60 Minutes II after he stepped down as the anchorperson."

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Listen to CBS' interview with defense attorney James Quinn.

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"We obviously say we gave him all the time in the world," says Quinn.

Rather narrated the September 2004 report that claimed President Bush skirted some of his duties during his National Guard service and that a commander felt pressured to sugarcoat Bush's record. He maintains the story was true.

But an independent review for the network determined the story was neither fair nor accurate. CBS fired a producer for airing it, and three news executives resigned.

Viacom Inc. is CBS's former parent company.

[momandfamily]

"...But an independent review"

I bet.

[romperroom2]

You guys believe in space aliens too?

[korlapundit]

He neglected to share this important piece of evidence with the judge:

http://korlapundit.blogspot.com/2004/09/fake-but-accurate.html

[korlapundit]

He neglected to share this important piece of evidence with the judge:

http://korlapundit.blogspot.com/2004/09/fake-but-accurate.html

[tonic1661]

i am inclined to believe dan rather before george bush or anyone associated with him..

[creeper00]

Gammerman''s rate of reversal is well-known. It''s a shame he did this. It''ll be overturned but you and I will pay the ongoing legal bills.

The man is a jerk but he''s been around so long they can''t get rid of him. Sound familiar?

[bluemax372]

Memo to Dan: Your new tinfoil hat is ready. It will receive the new frequencies per your instructions.

[ping2007-2009]

Dan Rather is an arrogant egomaniac. He tried to influence the outcome of a Presidential election with questionable information and he burned himself. He is irrelevant and a flaming liberal. Anyone who tries to justify his actions become as foolish as Rather. To think CBS teamed up with Bush is laughable.

[mailmann14]

another vast right wing conspiracy...take some time off Dan....maybe take a hunting trip with *** Cheney...

[libh8er]

No Dan, your arrogance on running a biased story with forged documents is why CBS handed you your hat. Quit whining and get on with your nothing life.

[heresmy2cent]

Federal judges are bought and paid for the administration that appointed them.

Dan Rather is now experiencing what many "regular Americans" have had to endure when going before these "jurists."

[kgecrxmt]

dear JH6379... You''re just having a devil of a time...You''ve already proven to us all that you''re clueless...On one post you say that Dan Rather was fed bad info then hung out to dry by CBS...I guess you didn''t catch the part where Danny still stands by this bogus story...And then when it doesn''t work out for you , you go back to the old tired liberal stand by...Blame Fox News for your misery and claim that Conservatives are the haters. Typical Left Wing Cluelessness.

[jetlizhan]

simmer down now posters! tomorrow''s friday - whooooooo-hooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[usbrit-2009]

Blame Fox News for your misery and claim that Conservatives are the haters. Typical Left Wing Cluelessness.

Posted by KgeCrxmt

Notice the name of your similarly ignorant cohort -LibH8er, not to mention demslie, librweak and any other number of brain dead rightists. I understand these next nine months will see the end of your dream dynasty, but please fall off the edge of the earth with a little dignity.

[christheatc]

Dan failed one of the most basic aspects of Journalism: Verify your sources! Had he done this, suspicion might have been aroused to the veracity of the story, the motivations of the source.

This may get lost in the shuffle, but for those who think that a Bush appointed judge killed this, you may want to look up the bio of the judge. He was elected to the Supreme Court in New York back in the 80s. He is not a federal judge whose appointment could be politically influenced. I don''t know enough about the case or the law to comment on the merits of his decision, but it is just plain wrong to try to paint this as a politically influenced decision.

[christheatc]

It is striking the number of tinfoil hat types accussing a state court of being beholden to the Bush adminstration, ostensibly due to the fact that President''s appearently now appoint state supreme court justices?!?

[demwatcher]

"gwb is a illiterate psycopath. he tried to influence public opinion about war w/ iraq w/ endless misrepresentations and sophisticated (someone did this for him) techniques in influence & persuasion. he is incoherent and a babbling moron. anyone who defends his idiocy is as much of one as he is himself. to think that the republican party nominated him is laughable.

Posted by bobnjersey at 03:37 PM : Apr 10, 2008"

And you are a pathological ignoramus. You continue spewing the leftist talking points, ingore the facts, and blindly follow your leaders like a good little lemming.

BTW, look at the ''cream of the crop'' that your party has picked as candidates. An unqualified buffoon and a pathological liar. You have nothing to brag about.

You pathetic, ignorant, Liberal, kool-aid drinking, dumbarse.

[bhaynm]

Do us all a favor, Dan. Go share your pureed carrots and applesause with Helen Thomas and talk with her about the "good old days".

[hawksprings]

Never thought about this until now, but Hillary oughta choose Dan as her running mate.

Think about it, they are very well suited for each other.

[coco0331]

I think CBS owes Dan Rather everything he claims. At least we had the truth on an even basis. And if he came down on someone for something there was a reason. Everything he said about Bush was true. He is a complete tyrant and the slop job he did proves it. Give him his job back with back pay. CNN and Fox make me sick.

[texanforlogi]

Excuse me, DemWatcher, but are you really heaping abuse upon democrats about "blindly follow your leaders like a good little lemming"? Talk about the pot calling the kettle black! You neocons continue to blindly follow the worst president this country has ever seen! You just branded yourself a "pathological ignoramus" and a pompous, arrogant, jerky hater besides.

[noloyalisti]

When you are called a liberal or progressive you should take that as a complement. Most of the time it is a "this is my story and I''m sticking to it" conservative with nary a brain or shred of common sense. They want to be told what to do, when and what to think and who to support. They are just jealous of those with brains who think for themselves. Conservative has become the dirty word in America.

[Dryden01]

The facts always escape the liberal mind but the politically correct are sometimes dragged back to reality just as Dan Rather was. He was caught trying to peddle manufactured documents for imagined ones and was justly forced out by CBS in order to retrieve some acceptable level of credibility for its news broadcasts.

It is obvious Rather was trying to benefit the Democratic Party by trading on and risking the good name of his employer. To paraphrase the words of a former Democratic Mayor of Chicago, he should have had the decency to "sit down and shut up."

[kgecrxmt]

JH6379...Re-read thw story. It clearly says that Rather STILL stands by the story. And even you acknowledge that the "facts" given him by his "supers" were bad. AND you seemed to be saying that that CBS then went on to hang him out to dry...As far Conservatives being haters/hateful...I invite you to read what SuperBoobinJersey had to say. Apparently he didn''t get the memo. GW''s GPA in College was higher that John Kerry''s/ IQ was higher too.So does that mean that Kerry is even more illiterate than GW? And BinJ continues with his hateful attacks towards our President based , again on faulty info by trying to suggest that the same info that the Clinton Admin (and most Intelligence Agencies around the world)put out in the 90''s was some how all of a sudden not valid because GW said it? And so I say, someone who calls our President an illiterate psychopath based on obvious lies and misinformation is the hateful one, wouldn''t you agree?

[sjw1253]

christheatc - your comment is true and Dan actually wrote this in one of his first books - The Camera Never Blinks - I bought at a thrift store for $.25 last fall.

I am heartbroken that this happened to him - but I bet the story was true and that there was some way to make it look as though it was not true.

I was always very fond of Dan and even more respect for him after reading the book above. He had high standards and worked very hard for what he accomplished.

I do miss him very much and wish that he were back on CBS. I like Katie but she is not Dan.

I don''t know all of the details - but I wish him the best.

[gatecrasher7]

Someone mentioned that Hillary should pick Dan Rather as her running mate, don''t you think Mary Mapes would be better?

[rsgates2]

Lets look at this.

Lets look at this. Burkett gets swindled by a mystery man with bogus documents. He is inclined to believe them, gives them to Mapes and Rather both of which apparently are inclined to believe them.

There are many possibilities, but it would be nice for Burkett and Mapes to publicly apologize for this sordid affair.

Cheers,

Rob

[sanfelz]

The story that Rather could not verify was way less harmful than the story we were all fed by Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld/Powell/Rice---and now McCain.

[bobnjersey]

[And you are a pathological ignoramus. You continue spewing the leftist talking points, ingore the facts, and blindly follow your leaders like a good little lemming.]
[Posted by DemWatcher at 04:29 PM : Apr 10, 2008]

who''s my leader? do i need a leader ... or are you just projecting your own perspective on others? how are determining my pathalogical status? are you a psychologist?

[BTW, look at the ''''cream of the crop'''' that your party has picked as candidates. An unqualified buffoon and a pathological liar. You have nothing to brag about.]

are any of them illiterate sociopaths?

[vincepage]

Down here in Texas, we would like everyone to know that we cannot find a copy of Dan Rather''s birth certificate. We have concluded that he really isn''t a Texan after all.

[smitty448]

The cowards at CBS reveal the typical corporate culture: stab anyone in the back who has served loyally for decades for the preservation of the bottom line.

[smitty448]

Hey vincepage

Down there in Texas you can''t even find a copy of the U.S. Constitution! Keep looking.

[hermitdave]

Dan you should have remembered how you got Walters job. I know you made a name trashing Nixon, but then you caved and made your famous Nixon''s finest hour speech. You sold out as a honest reporter, but made the big bucks. News people have to be careful who they tell the truth about. No way are you going to win anything against Bush.

[jumkey]

Of course this whole episode was simply a smokescreen put up to draw attention from the fact that Bush WAS AWOL from his National Guard and only among the drunken progeny of the rich and famous do they call it something else: reassignment, campaign work, whatever.

Whether the document Rather reported on was or was not a forgery had nothing do with the fact that Bush and his apologists have never fully explained his absence from duty.

Given his silver spoon upbringing, his sociopathic behavior and that by all accounts he was nothing but a crude drunken frat boy for most of his life it is hardly surprising that he would shirk his military service as well.

There is no dispute about this.

[loudrich]

Well maybe i should go ahead and file a complaint against Dan Rather,and HD.net for age and *** discrimination

All i asked is: AM I TOO OLD TO BE DAN RATHER''S PRODUCTION ASSISTANT..

well YES i am i am a male and over 40...he hired a young chicky-poo

come on Dan sue me for libel you can''t win because you know this is true.

[veteran72]

The fact that no GOPerv has claimed a $!00K cash prize for ANYONE that can prove the Little AWOL/Deserter was actually at his assigned duty
station is proof that Dan Rather''s assertions were, and still are, correct.
The Little Decider got Drunk, snorted a bag of coke, and couldn''t report to the Flight Surgeon for his physical, ''cause even Poppy would have had a hard time covering up medical documentation.
Face it, Shrub is a Coward, Traitor, and now sadly, a War Criminal. Nuff said....

[veteran72]

loudmouth,
We all understand you''re mentally challenged, no need to repeat your mindless, inane, spew....

[veteran72]

Imagine, 18% of Americans still support this mindless drunken twit. I guess it''s true about birds of a feather.....

[teeveelover]

CBS calls this a win? Puleeze! How many millions is this going to cost Les, Sumner and friends? Perhaps the CBS Board will finally realize boy wonder Moonves is costing more than he''s producing! Lets see, ratings down across the board. The Early Show, with his child bride, is a disaster. The Evening News is a financial fiasco with Katie laughing all the way to the bank and prime time? Check it out. Dropping like...the Evening News!!!! Yeah, CBS, you win. Congrats to everyone.

[rowdytexan2]

Bush''s whole national guard duty was a scam. The idiot son was trained on a decommissioned plane that would NEVER see action in the first place!

And yes, the little twit was too liquored up, and/or drugged up to take the physical!

So what did Poppa Bush do? Cleaned the little bustward up and sold him to the Neocons for their stoolie! And people bought this scam not once, but twice!

Fools!

[rowdytexan2]

Hey vincepage

Down there in Texas you can''''t even find a copy of the U.S. Constitution! Keep looking.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by SMITTY448 at 05:28 PM : Apr 10, 2008

You can''t find his driver''s license history either, cuz he was charged with DUI!

[Karpindur]

History will be kind to Bush. Millions of hysterical liberal girlie men and manly girls will not, in the end, be able to alter the facts:
Bush is intelligent. He holds masters from Harvard AND Yale and a better GP then Clinton ever dreamed of.
Bush stands for something and does not bow to political pressure of the moment. He is going to introduce freedom and end repression in the middle east despite all of you pansy''s.
Bush is honest. You know it and, being vile yourself, despise him for it.
These truths will transcend your best efforts. Deal with it.

[hawksprings]

Dan Rather - Posterboy for Left-wing Media Bias.

Dan Rather is to Liberal Media Bias what Charlton Hesston was to the NRA.

[skikirk680]

ALRIGHT I''VE F***ING HAD IT!!! All you dumbasses that just keep banging the drum about Bush being a drunk are the same brain dead jerk-offs that expect us to all look the other way everytime one of your liberal heroes gets busted. Bush has been sober for what 30-40 years now? How many of you hypocrits can claim that. Oh, and he''s stupid? REALLY? He had a MUCH highre GPA than Kerry. He''s never killed anyone ina car crash while drunk, let his mistress drown while he sobers up before calling for help. You *** cuz his daddy helped him, But its OK that special ed Kennedy has had

[skikirk680]

..CONT....HANDED TO HIM HIS ENTIRE LIFE!! Where, I ask WHERE is the evidence that Bush was AWOL? Thats a big charge. its not like the rather report where people crawl out of the wood work to say that was b.s. THREE handwriting experts told Rather that the doc was a blatant forgery and he ran it anyway. He got what he f''n deserved!

[hawksprings]

skikirk680,
You have to understand that in LiberalWorld, it''s not the EVIDENCE of the charge that matters, it''s the SERIOUSNESS of the charges that matter.
Facts be dammned.

That also explains why Dan Blather could knowingly used forged documents against Pres Bush.

It''s not the Real World, it''s LiberalWorld.
THere''s a HUGE difference.

[eddaly1]

Whats the frequency...KENNY ?????????
DUH ?? At least Katie is down to earth... Wink wink

[maxmage]

Not many people would admit to lying about the President. Who would even try considering all the paperwork that would either prove or disprove what Rather said. It must have been some sort of farewell joke by Rather? Shoot down the President gag before you retire?

[maxmage]

Not many people would admit to lying about the President. Who would even try considering all the paperwork that would either prove or disprove what Rather said. It must have been some sort of farewell joke by Rather? Shoot down the President gag before you retire?