CBS and Dan Rather initially defended the documents and the report, but on September 20, 2004 – less than two months before Election Day, CBS News stated that it had been "misled" and that it could not authenticate the documents and should not have used them. A later "60 Minutes" broadcast an interview with Marian Carr Knox, secretary to Killian at the time, who stated that she "didn't type these memos", although she stated she had typed memos of similar content. CBS then formed an independent panel headed by former U.S. Attorney General Dick Thornburgh and retired Associated Press president Louis D. Boccardi to investigate the story and the handling of the Killian memos. The final report of the panel, while not addressing the authenticity of the documents, faulted many of the decisions made in developing the story, and producer Mary Mapes along with three others were forced to resign from CBS News.