911 Panel Member: Viacom 'mugged' the proceedings, used it as book launching pad

A Republican member of the 9-11 Commission is claiming that Viacom 'mugged' the panel. His argument is that the media conglomerate moved up the release of Richard Clarke's book Against All Enemies so as to both take advantage of the panel's public awareness and actually direct/change the tone of the proceedings. The book, he notes, tells a version of history that differs from Clarke's original, pre-book testimony... a version that Clarke later stated with great fanfare at the public 9-11 hearings:
www.nationalreview.com...

John Lehman, the commission member who spoke out, also claims that the 60 Minutes interview with Clarke, Clarke's second testimony, and the Kerry campaign were all coordinated to create an assault on Bush. He says that GOP members were caught "flat-footed" while Dems seemed prepared for Clarke's change of story.

[edit on 22-7-2004 by onlyinmydreams]