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Military Records: Bush Records to be Released
Aired February 10, 2004 - 11:07 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Let's focus now on the man who has the job. The White House is fighting back against attacks on President Bush's record of military service. The president says he fulfilled his duty and officials say they will release the records to prove it.
Our White House correspondent Dana Bash has the latest from D.C.
With that, Dana, good morning again.
DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning again to you, Daryn.
And the White House says that they do have some new documents, they say, as you mentioned, will prove that the Democrats' charges that Mr. Bush was AWOL during his service in the National Guard during the Vietnam War to prove those charges are false.
Now the White House has been trying to counter these charges for about a week, since they really came up, first by the Democratic National Chairman Terry McAuliffe. At issue here is a period of about a year, from 1972 to 1973, when Mr. Bush was in the Texas Air National Guard, but he was serving the time in Alabama.
Today, what the White House says they're releasing are some new documents that show that he was actually paid for the time served, documents that they got, they said, last night from the Air Reserve Personnel Center in Colorado. White House spokesman Scott McClellan said this morning -- quote -- "he was paid for the days he served in the Air National Guard. These records clearly document that the president fulfilled his duties."
Now the president did authorize the release of these records, as soon as they got them, we are told. But the question is why haven't they been available until now, because the White House has said time and time again that they released everything that they knew that existed to prove that Mr. Bush did actually serve his time. What the White House is saying this morning is that they didn't know that these documents existed until now, until they got them last night.
But with the release of these records, Daryn, what the White House is trying to do is make sure that a major issue that they think is an asset of the president, his stewardship of the national security as commander and chief isn't shaded by these charges. And they are saying they want the Democrats to repudiate any comments that the president didn't serve his time in the National Guard -- Daryn.
KAGAN: Well, and kind of interesting how this is playing out two days after that "Meet the Press" interview with Tim Russert. The president, I don't know if you want to use the word smug, but he was just saying well, yes, you can look for records, I don't think they exist. They looked for them in 2000. And it seems kind of mysterious that they would just suddenly pop up.
BASH: Well he also said during that interview that when asked that he would release any pay stubs, any tax returns, anything to prove it. But you -- but you did hit on something, he recognized during that interview that people have been looking, not only since 2000, but really since he ran for governor in Texas in 1994 for actual documentation to show that he was serving his time, that he did do his duty when he was serving in Alabama. That has been really hard to find and get actual documentation.
It's important to note we don't have the documents yet. We're supposed to get them later today. But the White House says it should put all this to rest. We'll see.
KAGAN: Dana Bash at the White House. And I'm sure we're going to hear more about this later today. 12:15 Eastern there will be a White House briefing and our viewers will be able to see that live right here on CNN, 12:15 Eastern, 9:15, Pacific.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired February 10, 2004 - 11:07 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Let's focus now on the man who has the job. The White House is fighting back against attacks on President Bush's record of military service. The president says he fulfilled his duty and officials say they will release the records to prove it.
Our White House correspondent Dana Bash has the latest from D.C.
With that, Dana, good morning again.
DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning again to you, Daryn.
And the White House says that they do have some new documents, they say, as you mentioned, will prove that the Democrats' charges that Mr. Bush was AWOL during his service in the National Guard during the Vietnam War to prove those charges are false.
Now the White House has been trying to counter these charges for about a week, since they really came up, first by the Democratic National Chairman Terry McAuliffe. At issue here is a period of about a year, from 1972 to 1973, when Mr. Bush was in the Texas Air National Guard, but he was serving the time in Alabama.
Today, what the White House says they're releasing are some new documents that show that he was actually paid for the time served, documents that they got, they said, last night from the Air Reserve Personnel Center in Colorado. White House spokesman Scott McClellan said this morning -- quote -- "he was paid for the days he served in the Air National Guard. These records clearly document that the president fulfilled his duties."
Now the president did authorize the release of these records, as soon as they got them, we are told. But the question is why haven't they been available until now, because the White House has said time and time again that they released everything that they knew that existed to prove that Mr. Bush did actually serve his time. What the White House is saying this morning is that they didn't know that these documents existed until now, until they got them last night.
But with the release of these records, Daryn, what the White House is trying to do is make sure that a major issue that they think is an asset of the president, his stewardship of the national security as commander and chief isn't shaded by these charges. And they are saying they want the Democrats to repudiate any comments that the president didn't serve his time in the National Guard -- Daryn.
KAGAN: Well, and kind of interesting how this is playing out two days after that "Meet the Press" interview with Tim Russert. The president, I don't know if you want to use the word smug, but he was just saying well, yes, you can look for records, I don't think they exist. They looked for them in 2000. And it seems kind of mysterious that they would just suddenly pop up.
BASH: Well he also said during that interview that when asked that he would release any pay stubs, any tax returns, anything to prove it. But you -- but you did hit on something, he recognized during that interview that people have been looking, not only since 2000, but really since he ran for governor in Texas in 1994 for actual documentation to show that he was serving his time, that he did do his duty when he was serving in Alabama. That has been really hard to find and get actual documentation.
It's important to note we don't have the documents yet. We're supposed to get them later today. But the White House says it should put all this to rest. We'll see.
KAGAN: Dana Bash at the White House. And I'm sure we're going to hear more about this later today. 12:15 Eastern there will be a White House briefing and our viewers will be able to see that live right here on CNN, 12:15 Eastern, 9:15, Pacific.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
