AT's Ethel Fenig alerts  us to the inevitable book deal offered to Mary Mapes by St. Martin's Press.  Of course, the book will tell Mapes' side of the Memogate story for a hefty profit, but many people would really like to hear about her role in obtaining the Abu Ghraib investigative documents and photos.

If trying to influence a Presidential election using phony documents deserves a book deal, so does the unauthorized acquisition of classified documents and evidence in a criminal proceeding in an attempt to oust a sitting Secretary of Defense.  Perhaps Mapes thinks a Memogate book will focus attention on CBS's unethical news gathering practices, while hoping that the criminal nature of the Abu Ghraib document scandal will fade from memory.

Sorry, Mary, but AT will not let that happen.

Doug Hanson   03—22—05