Warning the court deposition was well over 200 pages but the letter is also very interesting. I have copied an article with much of the letter content. The court deposition link is below:

Court deposition link: <http://thestingray.net/>

Survivor Dirk: I Was Influenced
by Mark Armstrong
May 25, 2001, 2:15 PM PT

"I felt like there was influence...I felt that influence affected the game in an unfair manner."

So reads a potentially damning court deposition from former Survivor castaway Dirk Been, who backed up Stacey Stillman's claims that executive producer Mark Burnett encouraged him to vote against her--and also wrote a letter to Burnett chastising him, saying "not everything was as it seemed and I felt cheap and used."

"When I began to see the true level of your involvement, understanding how you swung votes and seeing the things you swept under the rug, it tainted the entire experience," Been wrote.

Despite previous attempts to keep the court papers confidential, Been's testimony was finally released Friday by lawyers for CBS, Burnett and Survivor Entertainment Group. Stillman, 28, is suing CBS and Burnett, claiming he encouraged two other castaways--including Bible-toting castaway Been--to vote her off instead of crotchety ex-Navy SEAL Rudy Boesch.

Now public, Been's deposition has sent both sides lunging for their dictionaries. In a press release, lawyers for CBS put a positive spin on his testimony, saying it does not help Stacey's case because Been "specifically denies" there was "manipulation" on the show.

"We're delighted with this testimony," says Andy White, attorney for CBS and Survivor's producers, "because it confirms what other witnesses have said--that there was no manipulation."

Counters Stillman's lawyer, Donald Yates: "I think that Dirk completely backs up Stacey 100 percent, and they're focusing desperately on the word 'manipulation.' "

While Been does not use the word "manipulate," he did say that Burnett pulled him aside and encouraged him to vote Stacey off, according to transcripts of the testimony obtained by E! Online.

Burnett has vehemently denied interfering in the tribal council votes, but according to Been, "He said, okay, we need Rudy around. Vote--you know, form an alliance to vote Stacey off."

Been said Burnett then walked over to castaway Sean Kenniff and had what Been believed was a similar conversation. Kenniff, along with the rest of the members of the Tagi tribe, have denied any wrongdoing by Burnett--and have spoken not-so-lovingly of their lawyer tribemate, Stacey. ("Smarmy," "sarcastic" and "bossy" were among their descriptions.)

Been, however, wrote a letter to Burnett following his stint on Pulau Tiga, condemning Burnett's involvement in the show.

"hortly after being voted off the island, I heard things I probably was not supposed to hear and was told things by people that were probably not supposed to be talking," Been wrote, in a letter dated May 23, 2000. "It soon became clear to me that not everything was as it seemed and I felt cheap and used. I suppose it is kind of like finding out your wife of 40 years has been cheating on you the whole time. Imagine how hard it would be to find out the entire marriage was a sham.

"When I began to see the true level of your involvement, understanding how you swung votes and seeing the things you swept under the rug, it tainted the entire experience," Been adds. "I understand that you have a job to do, make the best TV show possible, but is that worth your or anyone else's integrity? I would hope you would say no."

Been concludes the letter by stating, "I guess what it comes down to is, how well are you sleeping at night?"

According to Stillman's lawyer and one Survivor watchdog, the letter and deposition show that Burnett did "influence" the game--which they believe is a violation of federal game-show regulations and violates the contestants' contracts with CBS.

"This is extremely significant," says Peter Lance, an Emmy-winning journalist and Survivor sleuth who first reported the alleged manipulation in his unauthorized book, The Stingray.

"CBS is trying to put the best spin on a smoking gun that demonstrates, once and for all, the validity of Stacey Stillman's claim--that Mark Burnett intervened with Dirk Been to rig her ejection from Survivor," he said. "In the Survivor world, this is weapons-grade plutonium."

Lance, joined by nonprofit freedom-of-information groups Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and the California First Amendment Coalition, had been fighting to gain access to Been's deposition, which has been the subject of much speculation since he first testified in April.

Lance also was trying to get public access to Been's letter, but both sides had previously agreed to keep it confidential. (Been didn't want his testimony released, fearing it may harm his aspirations to pursue a career in entertainment.) A copy of Been's letter is expected to be posted on Lance's Website, www.thestingray.net.

Up to this point, things hadn't been going too well for Stillman. Last week, a judge refused to dismiss CBS' $5 million countersuit against her, saying she "has put forward no admissible evidence to support her manipulation claim."

But Stillman's lawyer, Donald Yates, says Been's deposition hadn't been included in that evidence. "Now that this deposition is not under seal, we can show there certainly is testimony supporting Stacey's position," he said.