CBS fought very hard on this because it believed and believes that there's a principle at stake here. The principle is that Dan Rather doesn't work for the police, and that people that speak to Dan Rather understand that he's a journalist and not a police agent.
“After leaving law school, I intentionally said that I never wanted to hold a job more than six years.”
“Most victims of my autobiographical verse are either far too polite, remarkably understanding unaware that I have written poems about them.”