60 MINS PLANNED BUSH MISSING EXPLOSIVES STORY FOR ELECTION EVE

XXXXX DRUDGE REPORT XXXXX TUE OCT 26 2004 11:02:38 ET
XXXXX

60 MINS PLANNED BUSH MISSING EXPLOSIVES STORY FOR
ELECTION EVE

News of missing explosives in Iraq -- first reported
in April 2003 -- was being resurrected for a 60
MINUTES election eve broadcast designed to knock the
Bush administration into a crises mode.

Jeff Fager, executive producer of the Sunday edition
of 60 MINUTES, said in a statement that "our plan was
to run the story on October 31."

Elizabeth Jensen at the LOS ANGELES TIMES details on
Tuesday how CBS NEWS and 60 MINUTES lost the story
[which repackaged previously reported information on a
large cache of explosives missing in Iraq, first
published and broadcast in 2003].

The story instead debuted in the NYT. The paper
slugged the story about missing explosives from April
2003 as "exclusive."

An NBCNEWS crew embedded with troops moved in to
secure the Al-Qaqaa weapons facility on April 10,
2003, one day after the liberation of Iraq.

According to NBCNEWS, the explosives were already
missing when the American troops arrived.

It is not clear who exactly shopped an election eve
repackaging of the missing explosives story.

The LA TIMES claims: The source on the story first
went to 60 MINUTES but also expressed interest in
working with the NY TIMES... "The tip was received
last Wednesday."

CBSNEWS' plan to unleash the story just 24 hours
before election day had one senior Bush official
outraged.

"Darn, I wanted to see the forged documents to show
how this was somehow covered up," the Bush source, who
asked not to be named, mocked, recalling last months
CBS airing of fraudulent Bush national guard letters.

Developing...