Posted on 02/17/2005 3:59:09 PM PST by cyncooper
Former White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer was so concerned about Talon News reporter James Guckert's potential ties to the Republican Party that he stopped calling on him at press briefings for about a week in 2003, Fleischer told E&P today.
"I found out that he worked for a GOP site, and I didn't think it was my place to call on him because he worked for something that was related to the party," Fleischer said in a phone interview. "He had the editor call me and made the case that they were not related to the Republican Party. He said they used the GOP name for marketing purposes only."
He said he resumed calling on Guckert, who used the alias Jeff Gannon, after Bobby Eberle, owner of both GOPUSA and Talon News, "assured me that they were not part of the Republican Party." Eberle is a Texas Republican activist and served as a delegate to the 2000 Republican National Convention.
Fleischer has not previously commented on the Gannon/Guckert affair.
"I don't think that party organizations should have people in that room acting as reporters," Fleischer said, explaining his initial concerns. "They are advocates, not reporters, and a line should be drawn." But, after speaking with Eberle and looking at Talon News, he was convinced that GOPUSA.com and Talon News were not official party sites.
"It looked like a conservative news organization," Fleischer said. "If I thought that they were part of the party, I would not have [resumed] calling on them."
Fleischer served as Bush press secretary from January 2001 to July 2003. Guckert, who has become a center of controversy after it was learned he had used an alias at the White House and had ties to several male escort sites, resigned his Talon News post last week.
Fleischer said he did not know much about Guckert and could not recall exactly when he started covering press briefings. He said he played no part in approving Guckert's requests for daily press credentials (which were handled by his office) and could offer no further comment on that.
But he said he did not know at the time that Guckert had been using a false name and did not know if Scott McClellan, now press secretary but then Fleischer's aide, had known then either. "It came as a surprise to me, because I always knew him as Jeff Gannon," he said. Fleischer said he did not know of any other White House reporters using aliases.
He said he did not know the method the White House Press Office used to keep records of those, like Guckert, who received daily press passes. White House Press Office officials did not respond to several requests today for such information.
Fleischer said he knew that he would get a conservative question from Guckert whenever he called on him. "He was one of the few identifiable conservatives in the room," Fleischer said. "[With] some reporters, you know you will get a question from right field, and [with] some you know you will get a question from left field. I made a deliberate practice to call on everyone in the room. It was a way to make sure large organizations got their questions in, but also to be fair to organizations who do not get their questions in right away."
Fleischer stressed that he did not go to Guckert more often than others or in the hopes of getting a "softball" or partisan question. "Sometimes, you can get tripped up from right field," he said with a laugh.
When asked about the credentialing process for reporters, Fleischer said he purposely did not get involved in deciding who should get passes and believes no one in his former job should. He recalled that there was a rule about credentialed reporters being part of news organizations that "published regularly" but was uncertain how it applied to Web sites. "I don't know that we even had a policy vis-a-vis bloggers and blogs," he told E&P. "I never kept up on any of that.
"Until this issue came up, it was such a low-level thing that it would be below the radar of the press secretary," Fleischer noted. He also believes that the issue will eventually blow over. "I have a feeling that this is going to be one of those issues where people wring their hands, say 'woe is me,' and decide that it is best the way it is," he predicted. "I would advise the White House not to get into [efforts to change the system]."
Fleischer also stressed that, beyond security concerns, reporters from any regular news organization should be allowed to a have White House access unless they can be shown to be a threat. "It is a slippery slope for any press secretary in any administration to pick and choose who gets a credential based on ideology," he said, adding, "so long as they are a legitimate reporter."
Even Guckert's ties to several sex Web sites and allegations that he worked as a male prostitute should not necessarily keep him or any other reporter out, Fleischer said. "The last thing our nation needs is for anyone in the White House to concern themselves with the private lives of reporters," he said. "What right does the White House have to decide who gets to be a reporter based on private lives?"
If allegations that Guckert ran Web ads offering his services as a male escort prove true, however, this would represent more than a “private life” issue. Asked what he thought about the recent revelations about Guckert's past, Fleischer said only, "It is all a bit odd."
When asked if knowing that Gannon was a fake name would have changed his treatment of Guckert, Fleischer said, "I don’t know how I would react to that." Should changes in the credentialing process be made? He said, "the White House Correspondents Association should either seek a change or leave it alone and recognize that there is room for a little weirdness on both sides."
He also said Guckert was "just as legitimate as some of the fringe organizations in the room."
The law reads "Democrats are innocent, Republicans are guilty until you prove otherwise"
Maybe not "equivalent", but same type of outlet.
Thanks, I've read it. Slowly, perhaps, but I did manage to get through to the end.
I think I can now see what you're getting at, though. The point is that Ari checked him out, and saw that he was
legit.
Problem is that the MSM probably won't spin it that way. They'll spin it something like "Even Ari Fleischer thought he might be a plant" and ignore the rest. That's how they work.
If we wanted a plant couldnt we buy someone a little higher caliber?
If we wanted a plant couldnt we buy someone a little higher caliber?
Doesn't matter, since being an escort is semi-legal anyway. And besides, it's not like anyone was going to charge him with anything.
Nope, this is all about the court of spin, where there are no rules.
Seriously, with all the resources that the President and the RNC have, I think they would get a bit classier if they were going for a "plant." After all, they can draw on all sorts of past contacts. The idea that Gannon is a "plant" is just ridiculous.
Seriously, with all the resources that the President and the RNC have, I think they would get a bit classier if they were going for a "plant." After all, they can draw on all sorts of past contacts.
I would think with all the money raised under W we could afford Woodward and Bernstein. ....What good is a plant if he works for a small internet news agency that has no credibility?
You mean Kerik?
Yep..... couldn't even remember his name he made such an impression......
I hope not. I gave $30. to em back then and I got a real good picture of W and a Christmas card
Bump for later. Gotta make popcorn.
Gotta make popcorn.
Well, that was for a cabinet level position. That's a much bigger deal than just for getting access to the White House.
I gave $30. to em back then
Ok, put this under Leftist wishful thinking :
NBC Nightly News, Hardball and Anderson Cooper all covered the Gannon/WH story tonight
by John in DC - 2/17/2005 08:17:00 PM
This is now a real hard-news story. If all goes well, tomorrow should be nuts.
If all goes well, tomorrow should be nuts.
BTW I met with my cardiologist this week... he seemed to think I still have a heart and that all is well ...Ive decided to quit spending money like there is no tommorrow...Hope you are doing well also
Where are all these naked pics you speak of? Post a link... I have only seen one picture of him AND he had pants on -hardly something to defend? The only fools worried about this non-story are dummicrats.
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