Drudge: New Republic story falls to pieces

Matt Drudge has managed to obtain original documents showing that the phony Scott Beauchamp story is in the process of officially collapsing. While The New Republic has acknowledged that one minor mistake was made, it has thus far refused to apologize for writing about Beauchamp, a soldier stationed in Iraq who seemed to be witness to all manner of atrocities committed by American troops in Iraq that nobody else happened to see. The mainstream media, if they covered the story, leapt to defend both Beachamp and The New Republic, despite the fact that The New Republic has published made-up stories (editor Stephen Glass:  "I lied for esteem") in the past.

The interesting thing is that I did a search for "Beauchamp" at the New Republic website and The New Republic blogsite and retrieved absolutely no entries. They apparently want to pretend that Beauchamp and the phony stories written on his Baghdad antics never existed.

I am quoting from Drudge in part to preserve his story and in part to provide a permanent link to the heretofore suppressed documents which tank both Beauchamp and The New Republic:

Document 1: Beauchamp Refuses to Stand by Story (Beauchamp Transcript Part 1)THE NEW REPUBLIC has been standing behind the stories from their Baghdad Diarist, Scott Thomas Beauchamp, since questions were first raised about their accuracy over the summer. On August 10, the editors at TNR accused the Army of "stonewalling" their investigation into the stories by preventing them from speaking with Beauchamp. The DRUDGE REPORT has since obtained the transcript of a September 7 call between TNR editor Frank Foer, TNR executive editor Peter Scoblic, and Private Beauchamp. During the call, Beauchamp declines to stand by his stories, telling his editors that "I just want it to end. I'm not going to talk to anyone about anything really." The editors respond that "we just can't, in good conscience, continue to defend the piece" without an explanation, but Beauchamp responds only that he "doesn't care what the public thinks." The editors then ask Beauchamp to cancel scheduled interviews with the WASHINGTON POST and NEWSWEEK. 

Document 2: Beauchamp Admits to "Gross Exaggerations and Inaccurate Allegations" (Beauchamp Transcript Part 2)The DRUDGE REPORT has also obtained a signed "Memorandum for Record" in which Beauchamp recants his stories and concedes the facts of the Army's investigation -- that his stories contained "gross exaggerations and inaccurate allegations of misconduct" by his fellow soldiers.  

Document 3: Army Investigation: Tales "Completely Fabricated," Beauchamp Wanted to be HemingwayThe third document obtained by the DRUDGE REPORT is the Army's official report on the investigation into the allegations made by Private Beauchamp. The Army concluded that Beauchamp had "completely fabricated" the story of mocking a disfigured woman, that his description of a "Saddam-era dumping ground" was false, and that claims that he and his men had deliberately targeted dogs with their armored vehicles was "completely unfounded." Further the report stated "that Private Beauchamp desired to use his experiences to enhance his writing and provide legitimacy to his work possibly becoming the next Hemingway."

In case you think that American mainstream rarely makes mistakes, check out Randall Hoven's excellent article, It's not just Scott Beauchamp, at the American Thinker.