Ed Schultz said that former CBS host Dan Rather was made into a "scapegoat" for his unethical 2004 smear on President George W. Bush's military record Monday on MSNBC.
Schultz compared that scandal to CBS's decision to retract a recent story on Benghazi:
ED SCHULTZ: Back in 2004, the conservatives wouldn't stand for questionable sources, because it threatened one of their own. That year, a 60 Minutes 2 report claimed to have documents that claimed President George W. Bush received preferential treatment in the Texas National Guard. Those documents were called into question. CBS Evening News anchor Dan Rather was made into a scapegoat and eventually stepped down.
Rather claimed in a 2007 lawsuit that CBS made him a "scapegoat" to mollify the Bush administration who were upset with the reporter over his role in running the unsubstantiated story on President Bush's record at the Texas Air National Guard. Although, the former CBS host's complaint presented virtually no evidence that his termination had anything to do with collusion between the White House and CBS.
Embarrassingly, Rather still stands by the Bush Air National Guard story:
Critics said that many of the documents that the storied relied on were most likely fake, and CBS commissioned an inquiry led by former President George H.W. Bush's attorney general, Richard Thornburgh, which ultimately led to the network finding fault with the report and firing producers involved.
Rather, however, is unbowed, and blamed much of CBS' reaction on its corporate parent, Viacom.
[...]
I made some, President Bush obviously made some. But because we reported that story, they put heavy pressure on the corporate entity and the corporate entity voted."