Here is the non-statement from CBS:
Statement by the President of CBS News, Andrew Heyward:
“We established to our satisfaction that the memos were accurate or we would not have put them on television. There was a great deal of coroborating [sic] evidence from people in a position to know. Having said that, given all the questions about them, we believe we should redouble our efforts to answer those questions, so that’s what we are doing.”
Others have already noted the presence of weasel words, using the term accurate rather than authentic, and it is clear that no one thinks the documents are authentic (except inside CBS perhaps, but I doubt even that).
I think we are now to the point where CBS is frantically trying to minimize the damage, and this statement, while it says nothing, really, is rather inciteful. It seems pretty clear to me that they understand how damaging this memogate bit has been to their reputation and their credibility. However, they have determined that revealing their sources and methodology in a forthright, open statement would be more damaging still.
I think we are going to learn, in the not so distant future, about a serious incestuous relationship between CBS News and some person, persons, or group. I also bet we will see a bit of the sausage making- and these facts terrify CBS. The only reasoning I can come up for this continued self-inflicted wound is the fear that the truth is much more damaging than the current stonewalling. Right now, they merely appear incompetent, and they have determined incompetence is better than complicit.
While they are re-doubling their efforts, perhaps they can dispatch a staffer or two to help O.J. find the real killers.