Lockhart said Mapes asked him the weekend before the story broke to call Burkett. "She basically said there's a guy who is being helpful on the story who wants to talk to you," Lockhart said, adding that it was common knowledge that CBS was working on a story raising questions about Bush's Guard service. Mapes told him there were some records "that might move the story forward. She didn't tell me what they said."

Lockhart said he thanked Burkett for his advice after a three- to four-minute call, and that he does not recall talking to Burkett about Bush's Guard records. "It's baseless to say the Kerry campaign had anything to do with this," he said.

However, the White House called the exchange, evidence of coordination between the Kerry campaign and Burkett.

"The fact that CBS News and a high-level adviser to the Kerry campaign coordinated a personal attack on President Bush is a stunning and deeply troubling development," said White House communications director Dan Bartlett.

Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe, insisting serious questions remain about Bush's Guard service, said Monday nobody at his party had anything to do with the disputed documents.

The documents were part of a of CBS report that also included an interview in which former Texas Lt. Gov. Ben Barnes, a top Kerry supporter, said he helped Bush get into the Air National Guard in 1968 after being requested to do so by a now-deceased Bush family friend.

The president and his father have denied any knowledge of any strings being pulled to get Bush into the Guard at a time when many young men sought the slots as a way of avoiding service in Vietnam.

The documents — which quickly drew questions — indicated Bush ignored a direct order to undergo a physical exam to maintain his flight status when he transferred to an Alabama unit in 1972. Bush moved to Alabama to work on a family friend's political campaign.

The "memorandum for record" concerning the physical exam was signed by Lt. Col. Jerry Killian, now deceased. Two "memos to file," purportedly authored by Killian but carrying no signature, said Bush was "talking to someone upstairs" and that there had been pressure from higher-ups to "sugar coat" Bush's evaluation. One of those memos also said there had been "no feedback" from the Alabama unit as to whether Bush met his commitment there.

Marian Carr Knox, who was Killian's secretary, said the documents were not authentic, but reflected Killian's feelings about Bush.