NYT: Doubts About White House Reporter Recalled

[goodhue]

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/18/politics/18gannon.html

Doubts About White House Reporter Recalled
By ANNE E. KORNBLUT

Published: February 18, 2005


WASHINGTON, Feb. 17 - A former Bush administration official said Thursday that a reporter calling himself Jeff Gannon who presented questionable news credentials from an obscure Internet organization, Gopusa, aroused suspicions at the White House a few years ago.

* * *

Now, a series of damaging disclosures about the writer, whose real name is James D. Guckert, forced him to resign from Talon News, a Web offshoot of Gopusa.

* * *

The standards for a one-day pass are less ironclad. After a visiting reporter has passed an instant background check - primarily using the name, Social Security number and date of birth to check against criminal records - it is up to lower-level White House press aides to decide whether a particular news organization can have access to the briefing room. In Mr. Guckert's case, after he had established himself as a reporter, he faced no further questions about his credentials when he called seeking access, former and current White House officials said.

About two dozen reporters are given one-day passes each day, Mr. McClellan said. In most cases they are correspondents whose organizations do not qualify for hard passes or whose companies have exceeded their limit. The White House says 972 hard passes are in circulation.

"The credentialing is all handled at the staff assistant level," Mr. McClellan said.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/18/politics/18gannon.html

[benddem]

1. McClellan isn't telling the truth

Jim/Jeff tried to get a hard pass for the Congress and was denied. The way you get a hard pass at the White house is to get it first from Congress. These guys are spinning a web.

[icymist]

19. And the NYT can't see through this?

Don't the NYT have reporters in Washington going through the same process to obtain these passes? Wouldn't these same reporters be able to say "No, Mr McClellan, this is what I had to do to get a hard pass to the WH"?

[ItsTheMediaStupid]

26. NYT = MSM = Corrupt

Yes they can see through this.

Are they allowed to report it? Apparently not.

[justiceischeap]

2. Looky there, mom! Is that Jeff Gannon being thrown under the bus?

And so it begins.

[murray hill farm]

3. and if only 30 slots are open for a particular press conference,

and 300 folks apply for each...who decides which ones get in? And who decided that gannon got in for each and every one of them?

[Dhalgren]

5. Yeah, this is nothing but transparent bullshit!

How can this crap even get printed - it's so lame. Do they seriously think that this kind of release is actually going to function as damage control?! To any discerning reader this bilge is unadulterated hogwash! What simps...

[royale6]

12. THAT IS the whole issue

As Democrats, we should be more enlightened and not give a crap what someone does for their livelihood, as marginal as this man's was.

Giving someone a White House Press Pass with ZERO qualifications, ZERO credentials, working for a phony media company that doesn't have any circulation or readership apparently to influence political opinions is the real crime here.

It is a pattern that is continuing from the likes of Karen Ryan, Alberto Garcia and Armstrong Williams which tries to mock real reporting.

All four of these have prostituted themselves in a much more dangerous way than Guckert's "profession".

I think we need to overcome that angle, as tempting and salacious as it might be to try to find out if any of his clientele work at the WH.
If any "Blog Cabin Republicans" in high places happen to shake out, we should leave it to the Religious Wingnuts to bring them down.

We need to prove to the MSM that the most sensational story is not necessarily the most important one.

[Bridget Burke]

16. No, let's not forget the hypocrisy...

The main issue is, indeed, the role of the press--real or fake. But it's not the WHOLE issue.

The Bush campaign milked homophobia hard (odd image!) & has always come out for "moral values." If the reporter who loved to give Bush easy questions also spread himself across the Internet, we can gloat.

In fact, you mentioned the hypocrisy in another post. Have you changed your mind?

[CoffeeCat]

4. Ok, that's twice in one day....

...that a presidential press secretary (Ari Fleisher, Scott McClellan) has said that "credentialing is all handled at the staff assistant level."

Bullsh*t!!

We're supposed to believe that "staff assistants" solely decide--without the knowledge of the press secretary or the president--which reporters will be in that room?

OH come on! How dumb do they think we all are? Not only does the president know WHO will be there, but ofen that not--they know the question the specific reporter will be asking!

Twice, this "staff assistant" blow has been issued in the same day. Obviously, the White House is attempting to cover up any high-level involvement with Gannon.

Fortunately, their lies are almost as ridiculous as credentialing a call-boy prostitute who lobs softballs at the president--and then claiming it's all a big misunderstanding!

Nothing to see here folks!! Move along!!

[athenap]

30. Note To Self...

...never accept a staff assistant job in a Republican political organization. Unless it comes equipped with a raft and two paddles, because you'll be the first sent up sh*t creek.

[rocktivity]

36. WHO OKAYED GANNON'S PRESS PASSES?

Who did the actual background check? Who should have noticed that Talon was NOT a news service, had published for only two days, and was owned by a partisan political group? WHO????

:headbang:
rocknation

[aquart]

6. How many reports has Eberle sold?

"Mr. Eberle said he started Talon News as an offshoot two years ago in an effort to build a news agency that would appear more objective and whose purpose was to sell reports to outside subscribers."

How many subscribers does Talon have? What is the price of a subscription? What is the nature of the reports? What's the tax structure of the business?

[msongs]

7. how was he "forced... to resign from Talon News"???

forced to resign by who? in this case the onus should be on whoever forced the resignation, not the truth of who he is/was.

Msongs
www.msongs.com/political-shirts.htm

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

8. Key words:

"it is up to lower-level White House press aides to decide"

And vroom, off go the crooks.

[deacon]

9. but it is light years from being good enough-- if they want to try this

way out all it will bring on is more and more questions.

It's not nearly enough for the rove surrogates to spin.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

22. Yeah. I was referring more to their getaway plan

than the reality of the situation.

[Pithy Cherub]

13. hmmmm, they openly refer security of the White House for

"...lower-level White House press aides to decide"

for years in this case. :eyes: post 9/11...

[AlCzervik]

10. it's funny how the trail always leads to th same place

the asshole triangle in texas. I'm enjoying the scrambling and cover up that they are trying to run up the old flagpole and see if she'll fly.

[Kimber Scott]

11. So, basically, anyone with a name, social security number and a birthday

can get into see the president, right? So, why wasn't Maureen Dowd able to get in? And, why is it so much harder to see the president at a campaign rally than it is to get in to see him at the White House? How is it they can exclude anyone they believe APPEARS to lean a little to the left from taxpayer funded presidential events - or should I say - how do they KNOW ENOUGH about anyone who may tilt to the left to exclude them from presidential events, but they claim they didn't know a man-whore was strolling into the White House, almost daily, for two years? I just want to know.

:think:

[Fleshdancer]

20. and yet DFA members can't even get into a Bush rally??

I didn't know Dowd couldn't get in. Interesting...and Dowd IS her real name. Go figure.

They're digging themselves into a bigger hole everytime they open their mouth. It's actually very fun to watch at this point.

[LynnTheDem]

14. bushCabal whine; "It's not our fault!!! We're not responsible!!!

We didn't know!!! We don't know anything!!! It's just a few bad apples!!!"

When ya got people THAT STUPID that never know ANYTHING about what's going on in their own circle, then they're TOO STUPID to be running anything.

Or they're just a pack of LIARS.

Either way, they gotta go.

[Blue_Roses]

15. oh, come on

"A former Bush administration official said Thursday that a reporter calling himself Jeff Gannon who presented questionable news credentials from an obscure Internet organization, Gopusa, aroused suspicions at the White House a few years ago.

It took them "a few years" to figure this out--:eyes: Yeah, right...

[Judi Lynn]

17. I hope they aren't "divorcing themselves from reality!"

Surely they remember their strange "reporter" who makes nasty speeches when he asks softball questions whenever the normal reporters' questions get a little too pointed, which went on as far back as the incarnation of "you've been noted in the building" Ari!

[tsuki]

18. Question: Would a lien for taxes show up on a background

check?

[ItsTheMediaStupid]

27. Absolutely

One of the first things they do is run your credit. The lien shows up on the credit report.

[The Backlash Cometh]

21. So how many DUers have applied for and received those one day

passes now that we know they're easy to obtain?

[paineinthearse]

23. My ltte Boston Globe & Worcester Telegram (NYT papers)

Editor,

Re Doubts About White House Reporter Recalled
By ANNE E. KORNBLUT
New York Times
Published: February 18, 2005

Guckert's prositution and pornographic website antics aside, the issue here is the White House gave access to a non-media / non-credentialed civilian (there is photographic proof that "Gannon" was in the WH press briefings before Talon came into existance), and his subsequent actions of as a political operative who published hand fed information practically verbatum, probably including matters of national security (exposing a CIA agent's identity).

I encourage The Globe to support the continuing work of Charlie Savage and Alan Wirzbicki ("White House-friendly reporter under scrutiny", February 2, 2005 & "Reporter tied to GOP quits over scrutiny", February 10, 2005), and for both papers to carry the subsequent reporting from the Times.

Press Secretary Scott McClellan is lying when he says ""The credentialing is all handled at the staff assistant level." A professional and ethical press secretary would take full responsibility for all events within his office.

Do no be dissuaded by those who would shift focus away from the real issues, this scandal goes to the core of media accountability and manipulation.

A free press matters. I encourage the Globe and Telegram to live up to the highest journalistic standards and get to the bottom of this disgusting matter.

(me)

[Warren Stupidity]

24. edit: "actions of as a political operative " (nt)

[Lorien]

32. Excellent letter!

:thumbsup:

[Warren Stupidity]

25. I don't have NYT hardcopy

only the web version, but it seems to me that this article was buried.

I suppose buried is an improvement over 'didn't happen', but not by much.

[myrna minx]

28. Transcript of SNL from last year.

http://snltranscripts.jt.org/02/02obush.phtml

Even SNL sees through bulls**t even when the "press" is busy CYA. :eyes:

[GiovanniC]

29. Helen Thomas

Helen Thomas: Yes, Helen Thomas here, Mr. President. I have served in the Press Corps since the Kennedy administration, and, yet, do you know you completely ignored me at the last press conference?

President George W. Bush: Yes. Next question.

[Us vs Them]

35. So sad.

I've actually met Helen Thomas a few times. I can't imagine anyone being so cursory with her.

[kentuck]

31. It's about Ketchum and Omnicom Group.....

and the huge dollars this White House is passing to PR firms to get their message out, true or false. They can the people that the war is about bringing democracy to the Middle East. They can convince the people that Social Security is in a "crisis". They paid Armstrong Williams and others to promote their propaganda agenda becasue they believe in the power of propaganda - but they prefer to call it PR... Bush believes in it religiously.

[DU GrovelBot]

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[TexasSissy]

34. He used his real name to get in, then a FAKE name inside?

And they didn't catch that? Ha! Double Ha! If that's the best they can come up with, Pfffffffft! to them!

The writing's on the wall, or on the website, I should say.