Lautenberg Requests All Doc From White House Relating to James D. Guckert, A.K.A. Jeff Gannon

WASHINGTON, DC -- In light of yet another scandal involving the Bush administration's manipulation of the media, United States Senator Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) today requested from White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan all the documents relating to the press credentials of James. D. Guckert, a.k.a. "Jeff Gannon"; the "journalist" now famous for being the White House correspondent for his softball questioning of President Bush and various Administration spokespeople.

"I am writing to request that you immediately release documents to my office relating to the White House press credentials of James D. Guckert, a.k.a. "Jeff Gannon." Specifically, I am seeking documentation related to the question of which name Mr. Guckert/Gannon used when applying for credentials, and which name was on the official White House press credentials he received," wrote Lautenberg.

"As you may know, Mr. Guckert/Gannon was denied a Congressional press pass because he could not show that he wrote for a valid news organization. Given the fact that he was denied Congressional credentials, I seek your explanation of how Mr. Guckert/Gannon passed muster for White House press credentials," Lautenberg wrote.

Senator Lautenberg has been the Senate leader in exposing the Bush administration's propaganda efforts.

I am writing to request that you immediately release documents to my office relating to the White House press credentials of James D. Guckert, a.k.a. "Jeff Gannon." Specifically, I am seeking documentation related to the question of which name Mr. Guckert/Gannon used when applying for credentials, and which name was on the official White House press credentials he received. Additionally, I am seeking documents indicating whether Mr. Guckert/Gannon received a "hard pass" or daily passes from your office. Despite your assertions to the contrary, at least one White House reporter has revealed that Mr. Guckert/Gannon appeared to have "hard pass" credentials.

As you may know, Mr. Guckert/Gannon was denied a Congressional press pass because he could not show that he wrote for a valid news organization. Given the fact that he was denied Congressional credentials, I seek your explanation of how Mr. Guckert/Gannon passed muster for White House press credentials.

I have led the effort in the Senate to investigate a number of instances of troubling propaganda efforts by the Administration. The Government Accountability Office has agreed to my requests to investigate various attempts at media manipulation: fake television news stories touting both the new Medicare law and the "No Child Left Behind" education program; a study rating individual journalists on their "favorability" to Republican education policies; and the payment to journalist Armstrong Williams.

Since the Armstrong Williams controversy became public, Administration payments to two other journalists, Maggie Gallagher and Michael McManus, have come to light. Given the backdrop of these scandals, coupled with Mr. Guckert/Gannon's role in recent White House press briefings and press conferences, it is understandable that the circumstances of Mr. Guckert/Gannon's credentialing have raised suspicion.

FROM GANNON'S WEBSITE

I GOT SMEARED!

For the second time in as many weeks, the liberal media has taken a shot at me. Recently an article appeared in the Washingtonian magazine’s online feature, Washington Buzz entitled, “Can White House Stay on Message Amid Leaks?”. In it, political writer Harry Jaffe tried to make the point that the alleged leak of a CIA agent’s name by someone in the administration has caused problems for a White House that had been otherwise effective in maintaining a unified front in dealing with the press corps.

While it is true that decidedly partisan reporters in the White House press corps have dominated the briefings with endless questions about “leakgate”, the administration does not appear on the verge of collapse from defections on the lower echelons. Neither has the administration gone into the “stonewalling” mode so often seen during the Clinton years. In fact, the investigation into the matter is proceeding at lightning speed.

But Jaffe suggested that the White House is reacting to the negative reporting by attacking members of the press corps. He wrote:

“There are signs the White House may be going on the offensive, striking back at reporters it considers too aggressive. Both Moran [of ABC] and NBC’s David Gregory were singled out in a dispatch published in Talon News, a news service sponsored by GOPUSA, a Republican Party news service.”

He’s talking about me! Jaffe is claiming that I am a Republican Party operative instructed by the White House to write a hit piece on these two reporters. Both of those allegations are totally and completely false.

My article, “White House Cites Partisanship in Furor Over Alleged Leak” accurately reported the administration’s contention that some have tried to take political advantage of the investigation. It should be noted at this point that Harry Jaffe began his Washington career in the 1970s as press secretary to U. S. Senator Patrick Leahy, Democrat of Vermont.

After several emails and telephone calls, the article was changed to “conservatives may be going on the offensive” and Talon News was a “Web-based conservative information company.” But the implication that the “vast right-wing conspiracy” was attacking reporters remained.

What was most surprising about the article is that Jaffe didn’t do his homework on Talon News. He either made incorrect assumptions without checking facts or some “unnamed source” misled him. Either way, he was very wrong. To he credit, he did make the corrections.

However, the most bothersome aspect of the article was that Jaffe contacted Ken Bazinet of the New York Daily News, Bob Deans of Cox Newspapers and Terry Moran of ABC News for quotes to use in his story. These are all people I work with every day in the White House briefing room. He didn’t bother to contact me before putting on the smear.

Misfeasance or malfeasance, take your pick. It’s poor journalism and Jaffe’s accusations never would have been made about a liberal member of the press. My questions at the daily White House press briefing stand out because no one else asks them.

The second stab came last week from an admittedly liberal reporter at the White House who gave me what she thought was friendly advice. She said, “Don’t suck up to these people [the Bush administration], you’ll lose your credibility.” After an edgy discussion during which I pointed out that I was pursuing stories and angles that no one else was, she realized I was not interested in her counsel and that I categorically rejected her assessment of my credibility.

To say that I lack credibility because I ask questions that don’t assume the President is an illegitimate, corrupt, lying, warmongering extremist is laughable. It seems that I am virtually alone in trying to balance out the agenda-driven questions so that the full story can be told. Apparently the President sees it that way as well, since he recently spoke out about the filtering that news gets about events in Iraq.

While I get twisted up for a bit over these kinds of things, I have come to know that it is part of the territory. As my editor wisely observes, if my reporting is being noticed, I’m doing my job. That’s my agenda.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.