In return, he said, Lockhart tried to "convince me as to why I should give them the documents."

Lockhart has staunchly denied that he ever discussed the forged documents with Burkett, though he confirmed that a conversation had indeed taken place in a call arranged by "60 Minutes" producer Mary Mapes.

But with Burkett now claiming otherwise, Republicans have their first evidence of Rathergate wrongdoing that directly implicates the Kerry campaign.

Burkett also complained that "60 Minutes" anchorman Dan Rather tried to set him up as a "fall guy" in the forged document scandal during his mea culpa broadcast on Monday.

"He snipped [my interview] apart to cover them," he told the Telegram. "That's all that that evening news was - to find a fall guy. And it was me."

"Dan Rather ruined my reputation in front of 70 million people," he added.

Burkett's former lawyer said Tuesday that the controversial Guardsman was preparing a lawsuit against CBS.

Editor's note: