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Scandal in the Press Corps (Jeff Gannon)
Washington Post ^ | Feb. 10, 2005 | Dan Froomkin

Posted on 02/10/2005 11:33:49 AM PST by QQQQQ

Pretty much every day, Gannon got cleared into the White House briefing room by a press office that knew his real name. Press Secretary Scott McClellan frequently called on him during the mid-day briefings, using his fake name. McClellan was consistently rewarded with questions that -- in stark contrast from most of what passes for questions in that room -- were more expressions of conservative dogma than actual attempts to elicit information. Members of the press corps individually confronted Gannon and told him that he didn't belong there. But nothing more serious than that happened -- until Bush called on him at his televised Jan. 26 news conference and he asked a loaded, inaccurate question partly derived from a Rush Limbaugh joke.

In the ensuing days, liberal Web sites and an army of bloggers determined his real name, called attention to his lack of journalistic credentials, found a link to gay porn Web sites, pointed out how that ran afoul of his "family values" positions, and apparently hounded him into resigning.

Brooks writes: "Bloggers also discovered that several gay pornographic domain names had been registered through his domain.

"Guckert said he registered those domain names for a client while he was working to set up a Web hosting business in Wilmington.

" 'There are people out there who will turn people's lives inside out,' Guckert said. 'They tried to intimidate me, punish me. Then they tried to embarrass me, and they've done a pretty good job of that.' "

(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...


TOPICS: Extended News; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: gannon; jeffgannon; msm
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To: OXENinFLA

The correct answer is the commandment says
"Thou shalt not murder"

It has been wrong translated as kill for too long.

Right after the commandments, the Lord commanded the Israelites to kill their enemies....

Moreover, many scholars believed that however the word was to be translated, it applied only to the Israelites murdering fellow Israelites, because they were people of the covenant.

I'd certainly throw the question right back at the "reporter".
His bait question is no match for his ignorance.


101 posted on 02/10/2005 8:43:22 PM PST by Prost1 (The Democrats hate Emancipation! They cannot control the vote!)
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To: LibertarianInExile

Well we know that this mess started with the Boston Globe who is owned by the New York Times Corp. (www.nytco.com) but if the lefty's want to try and link some dead and never used porn links to Mr. Gannon, let's look at a REAL link by the gay community about David Brock.

http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/gaybears/brock/


102 posted on 02/10/2005 8:53:02 PM PST by ElephantinTexas (Republican ladies are the fairest of them all!)
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To: churchillbuff

So now we can't have good conservatives who are web site developers register a domain name for a porn business? Is that your position?

You do understand those sites were never launched by the client. And even if they had been, your position is beyond ridiculous.

For someone who thinks he's so perfect, you sure have been spreading a lot of lies about Iraq for 2.5 years.


103 posted on 02/11/2005 4:47:06 AM PST by Peach
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Comment #104 Removed by Moderator

To: jsbankston
However, there is no excuse whatsoever to credential a reporter under a fake name. This breech of security is not only a threat to the President but a further threat to an already corrupt media. If Clinton had a White House reporter using a Fake Name tossing his easier questions than ABC, CNN etc the right would be livid.

Ease off there, partner.

It's not at all uncommon for media people, especially broadcast media people, to operate under noms d'plume. For example, if you're doing radio news, James Guckert isn't the best name to have.

It's a hoot that one of people interviewed for this column was Wolf Blitzer -- who, in a previous life, was also a WH correspondent. And whose real name is Irving Myron Federman, Jr.

I would not be at all surprised if, at any given time, four or five members of the WH press corps had a nom d'plume.

105 posted on 02/15/2005 5:24:52 PM PST by okie01 (A slavering moron and proud member of the lynch mob, cleaning the Augean stables of MSM since 1998.)
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To: jsbankston
how can someone using False Identification gain access to the Press Room with the President of the United States?

"Gannon's" press pass was applied for by and issued to James Guckert. Just as Wolf Blitzer's was applied for and issued to Irving Myron Federman, Jr.

The White House doesn't care what your "stage name" is -- only your true identity.

106 posted on 02/15/2005 5:30:06 PM PST by okie01 (A slavering moron and proud member of the lynch mob, cleaning the Augean stables of MSM since 1998.)
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To: Steve_Seattle
really is NOT a good idea for the White House to have a "plant" posing as an independent journalist.

Who said he was a "plant"? Or, for that matter, anything but a journalist representing a conservative website?

Would you have all conservative journalists banned from the WH Press Room?

To their credit, the WH also invites representatives of screaming leftoid websites to the press briefings, as well.

107 posted on 02/15/2005 5:36:24 PM PST by okie01 (A slavering moron and proud member of the lynch mob, cleaning the Augean stables of MSM since 1998.)
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