New York magazine’s Joe Hagan writes at length (5,700 words worth) about Dan Rather‘s lawsuit against CBS. Hagan, who also wrote about Rather’s successor Katie Couric for a cover story in July, conjures up a likely “catalyst” for Rather’s suit: former producer Mary Mapes‘ book defending the Bush/National Guard story. Hagan writes:
What was in the book wasn’t surprising to Rather. What was surprising was that after its publication, Mapes hired a high-powered Houston lawyer named Mark Lanier to draw up a lawsuit against CBS, and CBS responded with a settlement before she had even filed it. What was in the suit that Mapes hadn’t included in her book? What would make CBS so eager to settle? The settlement required that Mapes sign a confidentiality agreement, and she couldn’t talk about it, even to Rather. Her settlement made Rather feel like he was the last of the Guard-story veterans left standing. The three other CBS staffers dismissed in 2005 had already settled as well — Josh Howard for $3 million. “Every other person has taken the money for silence,” says Rather. He thought of himself as the only one who could still uncover the truth.
(photo: John P. Filo/CBS/Getty Images)