A CBS News executive may sue the network for breach of contract rather than resign over a story about President Bush, The New York Observer said Wednesday.

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Citing unidentified sources, the paper said Josh Howard -- one of three CBS News executives who were asked to resign over a "60 Minutes Wednesday" report on the president's military service record -- has hired a lawyer to develop a suit against the network.

The paper said Howard is demanding CBS retract comments by network President Leslie Moonves, revise its official story line about the "60 Minutes" segment and clear his name.

After a blue-ribbon panel issued a report on the Bush story in January, CBS said it asked Howard to resign, along with news executives, Mary Murphy and Betsy West. The Observer said Wednesday none of the three has resigned, leaving the situation in a stalemate -- CBS cannot be sued for breach of contract unless it fires them, but could continue to pay them until their contracts expire.

"60 Minutes" segment producer Mary Mapes was fired for her role in the airing of a story last September about Bush's National Guard record that relied, in part, on documents of questionable authenticity.