Kerry Press Release: Kerry Campaign Urges BC04 to Release Documents

[Skinner]

For Immediate Release
July 13, 2004

Kerry Campaign Urges BC04 to Release Documents Relating to Bush's Performance in Office

Washington, DC - Kerry-Edwards campaign manager Mary Beth Cahill today sent the following letter to Bush Cheney '04 Campaign Manager Ken Mehlman in response to a letter Mehlman sent yesterday:

"July 13, 2004

Ken Mehlman
Campaign Manager
BUSH-CHENEY '04, Inc.
P.O. BOX 10648
Arlington, VA 22210

Dear Ken:

Over the past several months, allies of the President have questioned John Kerry's patriotism while your staff has criticized his service in Vietnam. Republicans and their allies have gone so far as to launch attacks against his wife and your campaign has run $80 million in negative ads that have been called baseless, misleading and unfair by several independent observers.

Considering that the President has failed to even come close to keeping his promise to change the tone in Washington, we find your outrage over and paparazzi-like obsession with a fund-raising event to be misplaced. The fact is that the nation has a greater interest in seeing several documents made public relating to the President's performance in office and personal veracity that the White House has steadfastly refused to release. As such, we will not consider your request until the Bush campaign and White House make public the documents/materials listed below:

- Military records: Any copies of the President's military records that would actually prove he fulfilled the terms of his military service. For that matter, it would be comforting to the American people if the campaign or the White House could produce more than just a single person to verify that the President was in Alabama when said he was there. Many Americans find it odd that only one person out of an entire squadron can recall seeing Mr. Bush.

- Halliburton: All correspondence between the Defense Department and the White House regarding the no-bid contracts that have gone to the Vice-President's former company. Some material has already been made public. Why not take a campaign issue off the table by making all of these materials public so the voters can see how Halliburton has benefited from Mr. Cheney serving as Vice-President?

- The Cheney Energy Task Force: For an Administration that claims to hate lawsuits, it's ironic that the Bush White House is taking up the Courts' time to keep the fact that Ken Lay and Enron wrote its energy policy in secret behind closed doors. Please release the documents so that the country can learn what lobbyists and special interests wrote the White House energy policy.

- Medicare Bill: Please release all White House correspondence between the pharmaceutical industry and the Administration regarding the Medicare Bill, which gave billions to some of the President's biggest donors. In addition, please provide all written materials that directed the Medicare actuary to withhold information from Congress about the actual cost of the bill.

- Prison Abuse Documents: A few weeks ago, the White House released a selected number of documents regarding the White House's involvement in laying the legal foundation for the interrogation methods that were used in Iraq. Please release the remaining documents.

We also wanted to wish you a happy anniversary. As we are sure you and the attorneys representing the President, Vice-President and other White House officials are aware, today marks one year since Administration sources leaked the identity of a covert CIA agent to Bob Novak in an effort to retaliate against a critic of the Administration.

In light of the fact that the Administration began gutting the laws protecting the nation's forests yesterday, we hope you will accept the paper on which this letter is written as an anniversary gift. (The one year anniversary is known as the "paper anniversary.")

Sincerely,

Mary Beth Cahill
Campaign Manager"

-30-

www.johnkerry.com

Paid for by John Kerry for President, Inc.

[PopSixSquish]

1. Yeah, Come On!!!!!!!!

That was a hard left to the jaw!

[Old and In the Way]

2. Bwahahahahahahaha

I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for the WH to release those documents, Mary.

[Dickie Flatt]

3. Posted already

Already being discussed here.

[mzmolly]

4. Kerry's campaign continues to impress.

:toast:

Send this to the media pronto folks!

[Catfight]

5. Spectacular!

[KoKo]

6. Excellent! Now did she issue a press release on it? Hopefully this will

get some traction...somewhere...

[sandnsea]

7. Love those Kerry Women!!!

Tough and witty women, all of them. Way to go Mary Beth, you knocked that one out of the park!!!

[Zorra]

8. George, please tell us - why won't you release the documents?

It really looks like you are trying to hide so many things. Why are you hiding these documents from the People?

I thought that we had a government of the People, by the People, and for the People.

The People of the United States are asking you to release OUR property, Mr pResident.

[ibegurpard]

9. Nice!

And that's how you deal with these assholes.

[Hillary for Pres]

11. ha

[flpoljunkie]

10. Ken Mehlman, don't be messin' around with Mary Beth Cahill.

She has called you out on this one. Way to go, MBC!