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Democrats ask White House for documents on conservative blogger
Knight Ridder Newspapers ^ | March 8, 2005 | Elana Schor

Posted on 03/08/2005 8:11:15 AM PST by Peach

Democrats ask White House for documents on conservative blogger

BY ELANA SCHOR

Knight Ridder Newspapers

WASHINGTON - (KRT) - U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., the House's top Democrat for homeland security, has found an unlikely place in need of his protection: the White House press room.

Thompson and four colleagues, all senior congressional Democrats, have petitioned Bush administration officials to release classified documents about James D. Guckert, a conservative activist who was a daily fixture at White House press briefings.

Calling himself Jeff Gannon, Guckert asked President Bush questions at televised news conferences as a representative of Talon News Service, which was a Web site affiliated with Texas Republican Bobby Eberle.

"Any time there's a situation like this, where there are plants or presumed plants in the White House press corps, whatever story comes out of the White House is tainted," said Lanier Avant, Thompson's chief of staff.

"We want to remove that stain."

Soon after his true identity was revealed, Guckert shut down his personal Web site that he had been using to repackage Republican press releases as news stories. Talon News Service also shut down last month.

Avant said the congressman did not believe Gannon's presence to be an isolated incident of misconduct in the White House media operation, but that Thompson was not opposed to the certification of bloggers, writers for Web journals, on an individual basis.

Monday marked the first White House press briefing that a blogger, for www.mediabistro.com, was officially permitted to attend.

"The test will be, is that reporter producing some objective, newsworthy matter that's not slanted to one political ideology or another?" Avant said.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Extended News; Government; Miscellaneous; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: bias; davidbrock; doublestandard; easonjordan; gannon; halperin; lautenberg; mediamatters; rather; slaughter; soros; talonnews; whca; whcaneedschange
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To: Peach
Apparently the dems are only interested in fake names of unknown reporters.

We've all seen her ... Mary Martha Corinne Morrison Claiborne Boggs - but you might know her better as Cokie Roberts.

Can Wolf Blitzer possibly be a real name?

21 posted on 03/08/2005 8:44:32 AM PST by Sgt_Schultze
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To: big bad easter bunny

Good point!


22 posted on 03/08/2005 8:45:10 AM PST by Peach (The Clintons pardoned more terrorists than they ever captured or killed.)
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To: Sgt_Schultze

There was a list around here somewhere of all the reporters who used different names for professional reasons but Cokie Roberts wasn't on it.

I'm SO glad you posted that.


23 posted on 03/08/2005 8:46:36 AM PST by Peach (The Clintons pardoned more terrorists than they ever captured or killed.)
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To: Peach
The Gannon "scandal", as tiny and ridiculous as it is, is the only thing recently that has gotten the Dems any traction at all. I think it is unworthy of a US Congressman to press this. But I will concede the emphasis is somewhat reasonable when Thompson's chief of staff said:

where there are plants or presumed plants in the White House press corps, whatever story comes out of the White House is tainted

but he shouldn't be allowed to conflate that with slant when he said:

The test will be, is that reporter producing some objective, newsworthy matter that's not slanted to one political ideology or another?

24 posted on 03/08/2005 9:13:40 AM PST by NutCrackerBoy
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To: Peach
"We want to remove that stain."

What a choice of phrases...ROTFLMAO!

25 posted on 03/08/2005 9:16:59 AM PST by ravingnutter
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To: Sgt_Schultze

Wolf Blitzer is his real name but he has written under the pseudonyms Ze'ev Blitzer and Ze'ev Barak.

Larry Zeigler, Gerald Riviera are the real names of Larry King and Geraldo Rivera.


26 posted on 03/08/2005 9:25:24 AM PST by MisterRepublican (I DEMAND THAT FOX NEWS REHIRE JENNIFER ECCLESTON!)
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To: Peach

Democrats obsession with "Jeff Gannon": Absurd.


27 posted on 03/08/2005 9:28:39 AM PST by MisterRepublican (I DEMAND THAT FOX NEWS REHIRE JENNIFER ECCLESTON!)
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To: Peach

Note that the Democrats are all of the sudden concerned about "national security" when it comes to "GannonGate" but have you heard a peep from them about the Islamic terrorist Ahmed Omar Abu Ali and his plan to assassinate George w. Bush?


28 posted on 03/08/2005 9:33:28 AM PST by MisterRepublican (I DEMAND THAT FOX NEWS REHIRE JENNIFER ECCLESTON!)
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To: Peach
"The test will be, is that reporter producing some objective, newsworthy matter that's not slanted to one political ideology or another?" Avant said.

I'm so thrilled that congressmen and their staff have dicovered a new function for themselves and deemed themselves worthy to judge the output of the media. Spares me from all that thinking.

Thompson and four colleagues, all senior congressional Democrats

I'm sure we can trust these guys to render judgement on 'the test' in an objective manner.

29 posted on 03/08/2005 9:40:35 AM PST by siunevada
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To: MisterRepublican

Excellent point!


30 posted on 03/08/2005 10:00:06 AM PST by Peach (The Clintons pardoned more terrorists than they ever captured or killed.)
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To: ravingnutter

ROFL! I hadn't caught that part. hehehe


31 posted on 03/08/2005 10:01:06 AM PST by Peach (The Clintons pardoned more terrorists than they ever captured or killed.)
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To: Peach

Demorats engaging in "McCarthyism"?


32 posted on 03/08/2005 10:07:03 AM PST by TheDon (The Democratic Party is the party of TREASON)
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To: MisterRepublican

As I recall, Wolf Blitzer is NOT his birth name, he changed it. Can't remember what it was, though, but it was posted on FR.


33 posted on 03/08/2005 10:12:29 AM PST by Judith Anne (Thank you St. Jude for favors granted.)
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To: MisterRepublican

Nope, I was wrong. Evidently, Wolf Blitzer IS his real name, after his grandfather.


34 posted on 03/08/2005 10:16:30 AM PST by Judith Anne (Thank you St. Jude for favors granted.)
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To: Enterprise

I am pushing for a new rule!
The Helen Thomas Rule:
Before posting a picture of Helen Thomas there needs to be a warning. I was drinking something at my desk and just spit it on my keyboard. Please, before attaching picture post the following statement:
The next post will contain a photo of Helen Thomas. Please stop or proceed with extreme caution.


35 posted on 03/08/2005 11:11:08 AM PST by Holicheese (This is Hockey East)
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To: Enterprise
A witch hunt? I found one! LOL!
36 posted on 03/08/2005 11:55:21 AM PST by Free_at_last_-2001 (is clinton in jail yet?)
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To: Holicheese

I don't know. Just look into those lovely eyes. I think she wants you.


37 posted on 03/08/2005 3:52:49 PM PST by Enterprise (President George W. Bush - the leading insurgent detergent.)
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To: Peach
WASHINGTON - (KRT) - U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., the House's top Democrat for homeland security..

Jeez I am embarrassed that this jackass is my Representative.
38 posted on 03/08/2005 4:07:24 PM PST by somniferum (All warfare is deception - Sun Tzu)
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To: Peach
"The test will be, is that reporter producing some objective, newsworthy matter that's not slanted to one political ideology or another?"

Can Terry Moran pass that test?

39 posted on 03/08/2005 4:09:40 PM PST by Petronski (This is the Serengeti, heart of the Dark Continent, where Bar Codes roam free...)
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