Posted on 03/26/2011 2:52:57 PM PDT by Las Vegas Dave
*** REPORTER CONFINED IN CLOSET DURING VEEP'S FUNDRAISER ***
Sat March 26 2011 17:04:37 EDT
Staffers with Vice President Joe Biden confined an Orlando Sentinel reporter in a closet this week to keep him from mingling with high-powered guests gathered for a Democratic fundraiser.
Reporter Scott Powers was the designated "pool reporter" for the vice president's Wednesday visit to the massive Winter Park, Fla., home of developer and philanthropist Alan Ginsburg. The veep hadn't arrived yet but most of the 150 guests (minimum $500 donation) had. They were busy noshing on caprese crostini with oven-dried mozzarella and basil, rosemary flatbread with grapes honey and gorgonzola cheese and bacon deviled eggs, before a lunch of grilled chicken Caesar and garden vegetable wraps.
Not so for Powers. A "low-level staffer" put Powers in a storage closet and then stood guard outside the door, he told the DRUDGE REPORT. "When I'd stick my head out, they'd say, 'Not yet. We'll let you know when you can come out.'"
And no crustini for Powers, either. He made do with a bottle of water to sip as he sat at a tiny makeshift desk, right next to a bag marked "consignment." Powers was closeted at about 11:30 a.m., held for about an hour and 15 minutes, came out for 35 minutes of remarks by Biden and Sen. Bill Nelson, Florida Democrat, and then returned to his jail for the remainder of the event.
Powers' phone didn't work in the closet, but his Blackberry did, so he fired out a picture of his impromptu prison to his editors, who posted a short blog item on the lack of freedom of the press under the veep's control.
Powers didn't mention his confinement in either of his pool reports that day, saying only that "press coverage was limited to a single pool reporter, filing on behalf of all local media, who was allowed to listen to the remarks but not given an opportunity to talk with anyone at the event."
On Friday, Powers said, the home's owner called him. "He said he had no idea they'd put me in a closet and was very sorry. He said he was just following their lead and was extremely embarrassed by the whole thing."
Your post reminded me of a reporter friend of mine with the Commercial Appeal in Memphis...he would be a guest at an “open, walking around” buffet we had for several VIPs and he could hide more food in 30 minutes than most folks could eat in a week...thanks for bringing up fond memories!
As my sainted Father would say...Whatever.
I guess you CAN put this Baby in a corner!
The other possibility is that the ER doc was being lied to. ???
Someone is trying to shove you in a closet and keep you from asking reasonable questions. ;^)
If this had happened at a fundraiser for Dick Cheney - while George Bush was President - the press would NOT be taking it this well...
At the least it would have been 'closetgate' at worst all of us would have been tarred as kidnappers.
But when a liberal does it?
It's a different story.
The New York Times has passes ready for all dems involved - it was just a joke - boys will be boys ...
Bump
In Florida wouldn’t thus be considerr false imprisonment ?
He was here this past week and I didn’t know he was coming back so soon.
Ping
And why did he let them put him back in again? None of this makes any sense. If he wasn't on the phone to the police and wasn't destroying the room and making all kinds of noise to get out then I'm calling BS on it.
Amen........
This really needs to stay bumped.
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