Posted on 02/09/2005 6:14:00 PM PST by KidGlock
Congresswoman Asks for Probe After 'Gannon' Quits WH Reporting Post
By Joe Strupp
Published: February 09, 2005 updated 2:00 PM ET
NEW YORK Jeff Gannon, the controversial reporter for conservative Web site Talon News who drew complaints for gaining access to White House press events, resigned from his job last night amid liberal blogs' allegations about his real name and his personal and professional life.
Today, Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-N.Y.) sent a letter to President Bush asking him to "address the matter" in light of "mounting evidence that your Administration has, on several occasions, paid members of the media to advocate in favor of Administration policies."
Last night, in a message on his Web site (www.jeffgannon.com), Gannon announced: "Because of the attention being paid to me I find it is no longer possible to effectively be a reporter for Talon News. In consideration of the welfare of me and my family I have decided to return to private life. Thank you to all those who supported me."
In an e-mail to E&P last Friday, not published until now, Gannon wrote: "Much has been made about whether I use a professional name or not, but I am reluctant to provide information one way or another because of the threats that have been made against my person, property and family in both internet postings ... as well as in e-mails that I have forwarded to law enforcement. I'm sure you understand."
E&P has not been able to reach Gannon again today.
Gannon, whose real name, according to investigators at DailyKos and other blogs, is James "J.D." Guckert, first gained attention several weeks ago when he asked a question at a presidential press conference that some in the press corps considered so friendly it might have been planted. Later it was revealed by E&P that Gannon had been turned down last year for a congressional press pass because he could not prove his employer was a valid news organization. That denial barred him from receiving a White House "hard pass," allowing regular access to White House press events.
But Gannon had been obtaining daily White House press passes, a situation that had irked some veteran White House reporters who also questioned his credentials or considered him to be too partisan in his questioning.
Gannon's refusal to deny he used a fake name sparked investigations by a number of blogs, including Daily Kos, Eschaton, and World O' Crap, that probed his true identity. In addition, those sites posted allegations yesterday that Web sites such as hotmilitarystud.com, militaryescorts.com, and militaryescortsm4m.com, were registered to the same owner as Gannon's personal Web site, according to the blog MediaCitizen.
In her letter to President Bush, Rep. Slaughter charged that "it appears that 'Mr. Gannon's' presence in the White House press corps was merely as a tool of propaganda for your Administration."
Dan Froomkin, the Washington Post columnist, said today in an online chat, "I had less of a beef with Gannon than I did with the folks who actually on him (at press conferences)." He said "the heat should be on" Bush spokesman Scott McClellan: "Why did he call on Gannon? Did they ever pre-arrange anything? Did they have contact with his parent organization?"
Another intriguing issue is his involvement, along with better known Robert Novak, Judith Miller and others, in the Valerie Plame/CIA episode. His name turned up on a list of reporters targeted for questioning by the federal prosecutor in the case. Froomkin of the The Washington Post wrote last spring that "the reason Gannon is on the list is most likely an attempt to find out who gave him a secret memo that he mentioned in an interview he had with Plame's husband, former ambassador and administration critic Joseph Wilson."
The Talon News site today scrubbed its archives of many "Gannon" articles and removed his biography.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Joe Strupp (jstrupp@editorandpublisher.com) is a senior editor at E&P.
Having him in the press area under a fake name, knowing that the name being used was, in fact, fake.
He isn't the first and he won't be the last to do so.
Do you have information about other reporters who have gotten into the White House under false names?
Jerry Rivers
I just checked my Penn State alumni directory and found this entry:
Guckert, Donald James '78 BS, '78 BA, '86 M ENG
r: (address in Columbia Missouri and phone number follows)
I don't know if this is the guy, but it looks pretty coincidental. There are two other "Guckerts" listed, but one is a doctor who graduated in '61 and the other graduated in 2000. Neither has a "James" in his name.
Well that's fine by me...
Since we're not privy to your insider information, I guess we'll just have to live with the high probability and suspicion that your posts are also scripted by Karl Rove.
I have no problems with that. In fact, it explains quite a bit.
Ta-ta for now, have a good evening!
The guy displayed poor judgment all around. Operating under false pretences is typically indefensible and cannot be excused. He is wise to bounce himself, before he was bounced.
William Jefferson Blythe got access to the White House using a fake name, "William Jefferson Clinton" (he was never adopted by his step-father).
By the way, there is indeed NO "Jeff Gannon" listed in my PSU directory.
Man! Those guys at dailykos are really on his case! Unfortunately, it looks like they have a pretty-well coordinated search-and-destroy mission going there.
They have a photo of Gannon and a photo of Guckert, (from an AOL home page) and, to my eyes, there is a distinct similarity.
I hate to say it, but this appears to be a bunch of lefties who are as dogged in their eforts as we were on RatherGate...
Hang on to that cached page; Gannon may need it in a harassment suit...
If I were Gannon, I'd be keeping my head down, too!
Yup, I just got off the phone with my buddy Karl and he told me exactly how to respond to your post.
Good grief.....take a little bit of common sense and reread my posts.
Have you ever been threatened because of something you have done in the course of your job/profession/career? I have, it's not something to be taken lightly. In fact, it scared the bejeezus out of me. And it concerned enough people I worked with that when I worked late, which was nightly when the legislature was in session, I was escorted home. My then boyfriend (now husband) went so far as to gift me with a handgun because there was so much concern.
If Jeff chooses to be silent at this time (IMO a smart move) I'm going to respect that choice. I wish others, specifically you, would also.
OK, let the chap tell us one way or the other as to whether he lied to the White House about his name. If he didn't, I retract the comment.
The reason this is important is because the Daily Kos has been pushing the Gannon story and one angle they are using---and are wrong about---is they're saying Gannon was the only reporter with knowledge of this memo. This proves that is flat out wrong.
WASHINGTON -- An internal government memo addresses some of the mysteries at the center of the White House leak investigation and could help investigators in the search for who disclosed the identity of a Central Intelligence Agency operative, according to two people familiar with the memo.
The memo, prepared by U.S. intelligence personnel, details a meeting in early 2002 where CIA officer Valerie Plame and other intelligence officials gathered to brainstorm about how to verify reports that Iraq had sought uranium yellowcake from Niger.
~snip~
Thanks for that. I saw your earlier post just after I made mine. He still isn't using his real name, but it is a closer match according to the Snopes version. It's an interesting question, whether reporters are using their real names or pen names (to the public that is).
Freepmail...
Replied!
If he is using a nom de plume he had no choice BUT to give his real name in order to get WH credentials.
I don't understand why so many peole are getting their panties in a wad over whether or not the guy is using his "legal" name or a "professional" name.
It is something that is done on a daily, regular basis and always has been.....yes even in this post 9/11 age.
If I were to go back into the business, as has been suggested to me more than once in the past few months, including tonight, I would go right back to the name I used to use, even though it is not my "legal" name. And I would be able to pass any and all security checks.
cyncooper: The source that Daily Kos is citing for linking Jeff Gannon to the leaked CIA memo written by a State Dept employee is the Washington Post. Apparently they reported that Jeff Gannon was the only reporter to actually see the memo whereas other WH press corps members only received an oral background briefing.
I must say that this story doesn't bode well for conservative information channels on the Internet. The identity issue is the objective concern. How did Gannon, if that is his name, get access to the White House? How did Talon News get a WH correspondent only a month after its creation?
Frankly I think it would be much more productive to investigate what kinds of stories CNN didn't show us when it was flogging for Sadaam.
I sure have.
Proudly stood my ground and defended myself like a true professional, too.
It goes with the territory.
That's what separates the men from the boys.
If Jeff chooses to be silent at this time (IMO a smart move) I'm going to respect that choice. I wish others, specifically you, would also.
Hey, if he wants to crawl under a rock and hide, that's fine with me.
But we both know that the 'Rats aren't gonna stop yakking about it until he at least tells us who he really is.
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