Congresswoman Asks for Probe After 'Gannon' Quits WH Reporting Post

Editor and Publisher ^ | 2/9/05

[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.

[Samizdat]

Valid news organization? Like the left wing kooks at CBS, NBS, NY times, etc? Oh Puhleez! They're the ones that aren't "valid"

[Peach]

Geraldo Rivera.

Wolf Blitzer.

Lots of people write under an assumed name, hon. Grow up.

You wrote he was in the press area under an assumed name. How do you know that? You don't think the FBI knows his REAL name? Naive, naive, naive.

[Miss Marple]

I am so glad you referenced Sammon's description of Milbank in Fighting Back. He has been on my watch list for a long time because of that book. A Citizen Reporter and I have noticed that whenever there is a really nasty article about President Bush in the Washington Post, Milbank is on the by-line.

Apparently Milbank's position at the post is nothing more than the "Bush Hate" desk.

[Alia]

The lefties need human sacrifice and blood to energize themselves. It attracts those disappointed by the election results. Attacking Republicans gives Democrats something to do, other than twiddling their fingers, while the Bush Administration very ably takes us into the next century.

I hear Tony Blankley is next on their "isolate and obliterate" target list.

DailyKos and allies have found a genuine THERAPY FOR PEST SUFFERERS! Attack Republicans on scurious charges, have pals threaten them. This tactic galvanizes the liberal base. Remember the Scream? It's the "attack" cry.

[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 understand exactly what is being said. There is zero evidence Gannon received anything more than other WH corps members. I hope you understand that.

the fact is the WSJ piece predates Gannon's Wilson interview by at least 10 days.

[lowbridge]

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.

Uh huh.

At President Bush's press conference yesterday, ABC News (search) reporter Terry Moran (search) described the case of a Jordanian activist, Ali Hattar, who Moran said had been arrested and charged with slander for promoting a boycott of U.S. goods. Moran called it an "abuse of human rights," and invited the President to condemn it, saying, "If you won't, sir, then what ... do your fine words [about freedom] mean?"

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1331308/posts

Then it was send in the clowns time as the media started asking their questions. It wasn't so much a question and answer period as it was an interrogation. First question? How could Bush be so wrong about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and how could he take us to war on false premises? Straight out of the liberal playbook. At the beginning of the war in Iraq John Kerry had the same view on WMDs as did George Bush; ditto for the United Nations and most of Europe. To hear the media tell it there was only one person in the world last March who felt that Saddam Hussein had stockpiles of WMDs, and that person was George Bush. Then, we had the question that Bush would not answer...and it was priceless, because they tried more than once. Does the president feel any personal responsibility for 9/11? The first question that comes to mind is whether or not it is even appropriate for a reporter to demand apologies from the president at a presidential news conference? But ... ask the question they did.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1117343/posts

[cyncooper]

Here is a link to the Washington Post story about the "secret memo" and hinting that only "conservative news outlets" had heard about it, yet goes on to cite only Talon News and does not specifically mention the WSJ article that was published over 10 days before the Gannon piece.

Leaks Probe Is Gathering Momentum

I will note that the reporters, Allen and Milbank, mention "CIA officials" disputing the memo and its contents. Unfortuantely, their source was either a poor one or a lying one (I pick the latter) as the memo surfaced and was precisely as described and Plame did attend the meeting.

[cyncooper]

Ping to #147 for the actual WaPo article and my comments about it.

[TXnMA]

Don't tell the dumb@$$es at dailyKOS, but using multiple names is just as simple, legal -- and common -- as filling out the colored field of this form:

(This example happens to be from DD1879 -- the form for background investigations up to Top Secret.)

Don't tell the idiots at dailyKOS, though -- let them go crazy chasing their own tails!! LOL!!

[VictoryGal]

Great example.

I think we can help lay this story to rest by pointing out as many softball questions from MSM for the Fornicator in Chief as we can. I can't find anything thru Google-- how about it guys? Anyone got old transcripts from Cigar-boy's press conferences?

[PAR35]

You don't think the FBI knows his REAL name?

It's a Secret Service responsibility, not FBI. And you have made my point. The SS/White House did know, and they aided in the cover up. On the other hand, there is no secret about Jerry Rivers.

Between this and the bribed columnists, there needs to be a bit of pruning in the White House press office.

[conservative in nyc]

On the other hand, there is no secret about Jerry Rivers.

What's not secret about Jerry Rivers?

Between this and the bribed columnists, there needs to be a bit of pruning in the White House press office.

What did the White House press office have to do with the "bribed" columnists?

[johnb838]

He ought to jerk ALL of their press passes and then hand them back on an individual basis after having someone have a talk with them so they understand that they WILL maintain decorum in the White House or they will be escorted off the property.

My goodness, this is as despicable as the attack on the SoD for using an autopen.

[PAR35]

What's not secret about Jerry Rivers?

See post 121 addressed to me.

What did the White House press office have to do with the "bribed" columnists?;

Sounds like something democrat senator Frank Lautenberg would ask. http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1340582/posts

Actually, I didn't say that they did have anything to do with bribing the columnists, but I see how you could have reached that conclusion from my juxtaposition of the two issues. I'll try to be more precise in my writing in the future.

[Txsleuth]

I wasn't alive during the era of McCarthy, but from what I have heard---the black lists and all, this sounds like McCarthyism, where this guy is "run out of town" because of his political party, not his journalistic credentials---

[conservative in nyc]

Geraldo Rivera's birth name is NOT Jerry Rivers. That's an urban myth that has been debunked by Snopes. The name on his birth certificate is Gerald Riviera. The "Riviera" part was probably a mistake on his mother's part; Geraldo is the Spanish version of Gerald.

Look there are tons of reporters past and present who have used pen names. The founder of the New York Post, Alexander Hamilton, used the name "Publius" when publishing the Federalist Papers (along with Messrs. Jay and Madison). Samuel Clemens used Mark Twain as his nom de plume, even as a travel and political writer. As others have posted, Larry King's real name is Larry Zeigler. And I don't think Cokie Roberts' real first name is Cokie (although I haven't found definitive proof of this). Not everyone is born with a simple name made-for-television.

Wolf Blitzer's real name is likely Wolf Blitzer, though.

[PAR35]

You left a key one off of your list of pen names. And it must be Bush's fault because it involved crime and corruption, bank scandal, and a Texas governmental office (but his apologists will try to make an issue out of the fact that it all occured before Bush was born.) O. Henry (William Sydney Porter) http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/library/ahc/ohbiography.htm

And, of course, after he was exposed and did his time in federal prison, he took refuge in New York City.