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.
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?
Good point!
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.
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?
What a choice of phrases...ROTFLMAO!
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.
Democrats obsession with "Jeff Gannon": Absurd.
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?
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.
Excellent point!
ROFL! I hadn't caught that part. hehehe
Demorats engaging in "McCarthyism"?
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.
Nope, I was wrong. Evidently, Wolf Blitzer IS his real name, after his grandfather.
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.
I don't know. Just look into those lovely eyes. I think she wants you.
Can Terry Moran pass that test?
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