November 8, 2013

I can name at least two equally bad 60 Minutes stories as this one: The one pushing for exempting taxes on overseas profits, and the recent debunked story on alleged rampant abuse of the Social Security disability system. It would be nice if the journalism establishment had pushed back as hard on those stories as they did on this; 60 Minutes hasn't been a trustworthy source for news since they were neutered over the Bush National Guard story. Oh well:

(CNN) -- CBS correspondent Lara Logan apologized Friday and said the network was "wrong" for a "60 Minutes" report that raised questions about the Obama administration's response to last year's attack on the U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya. The assault left four Americans dead, including Ambassador Christopher Stevens.

"In this case, we were wrong. We made a mistake," she said on "CBS This Morning." "That's disappointing for any journalist. It's very disappointing for me."

A primary source for the "60 Minutes" report on October 27 was a security contractor using the pseudonym "Morgan Jones," later identified as Dylan Davies. Davies told CBS he was able to reach the Benghazi compound on the night of September 11, 2012, scale a wall and even fight off a militant.

That story cast doubt on whether the Obama administration sent all possible help to try to save Stevens and his three colleagues. The "60 Minutes" story was cited by congressional Republicans who have demanded to know why a military rescue was not attempted.

Logan responded Friday to questions from CBS' Norah O'Donnell, who pressed her for details about Davies.

"What we know now is, he told the FBI a different story to what he told us," Logan said. "That was the moment for us when we realized that we no longer had confidence in our source and we were wrong to put him on air, and we apologize to our viewers."

Analyzing Benghazi report Benghazi report questioned Did witness lie about Benghazi attacks?

Logan was also asked about how CBS vetted Davies and his story.

"We verified him, confirmed who he was, that he was working for the State Department at the time, that he was in Benghazi at the special mission compound the night of the attack," Logan said. "He showed us -- he gave us access to communications he had with U.S. government officials."

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