Buchanan parroted Kerry-bashing veteran O'Neill's discredited claim about co-author

On the August 11 Scarborough Country, guest host and MSNBC analyst Pat Buchanan parroted anti-Kerry group Swift Boat Veterans for Truth co-founder John E. O'Neill's false claim that Jerome R. Corsi didn't actually co-write Unfit for Command: Swift Boat Veterans Speak Out Against John Kerry with O'Neill but merely "did the editing." Corsi has come under scrutiny for extreme comments first exposed by Media Matters for America on August 6.

O'Neill, Scarborough Country, August 10: "The co-author of my book [Corsi] ... is simply an editor and not really any sort of co-author."

Buchanan, Scarborough Country, August 11: "But the guy [Corsi] didn't write it. It's O'Neill's book and the guy did the editing."

Former Clinton White House special counsel Lanny Davis, appearing on the August 11 Scarborough Country, questioned Buchanan's forwarding of O'Neill's dubious claim: "Are you believing Mr. O'Neill when he says that, with his credibility?"

As MMFA has previously documented, the preface, acknowledgments, dedication page, and book jacket of Unfit, as well as the publisher's promotional materials for the book, show Corsi's role to be that of co-author. MMFA has also analyzed the other lies and distortions peddled by O'Neill during his 25-minute interview with Buchanan and during other recent appearances.

—N.C.