McClellan Tells a Whopper, Part 2 (hard pass or daily pass?) >

[Stephanie]

Did "Jeff Gannon" have a daily pass, as McClellan claims? Or did he have a permanent White House pass, as Milbank and others observed?

The Milbank quote was found by crispini. The McClellan press conference is from yesterday.


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http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6947877 /

Feb. 9.

OLBERMANN: Was he—it‘s been reported that he was issued daily passes rather than the proverbial hard pass, the permanent one that admitted him. Is that correct, to your knowledge?

MILBANK: Well, we don‘t know. I‘ve seen him with something that looked an awful lot like a permanent White House pass, with his face, name and organization on it. Others have seen the same thing. We don‘t know for sure. But either way, it‘s clear that Scott Mcclellan knew that it wasn‘t his real name. He had to provide his real name to get into the White House. So, here you have the press secretary to the United States, playing along addressing this guy by his pseudo name. So there was some degree of complicity, even if he was not granted, against White House rules, an actually hard past.

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http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/02/20050210-6.html#4

Q Jeff Gannon. How did he get a White House pass, or what kind of credentials did he have?

MR. McCLELLAN: Just like anyone else who comes to the White House.

Q Hard pass?

MR. McCLELLAN: No, he had never applied for a hard pass. He had a daily pass. I think he's been coming for --

Q Was he coming for --

MR. McCLELLAN: Hang on. I think he's been coming for more than two years now.

* * * * *

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, like I said -- what do I think about it? Well, let me explain a few things. First, as the press secretary, I don't think it's the role of the Press Secretary to get into picking or choosing who gets press credentials. Also, I don't think it's the role of the Press Secretary to get into being a media critic, and I think there are very good reasons for that. I've never inserted myself into the process. He, like anyone else, showed that he was representing a news organization that published regularly, and so he was cleared two years ago to receive daily passes, just like many others are. The issue comes up -- it becomes, in this day and age, when you have a changing media, it's not an easy issue to decide or try to pick and choose who is a journalist. And there -- it gets into the issue of advocacy journalism. Where do you draw the line? There are a number of people who cross that line in the briefing room.

* * * * *
Q But just to make it clear, the only criteria, from the White House perspective is, someone can pass the Secret Service background check

MR. McCLELLAN: No, no, that's not -- first of all, I don't involve myself in that process, it's handled at a staff level. Like I said, if the White House Correspondents Association ever wants to talk about issues, I welcome that. But it becomes an issue -- it becomes an issue of where do you draw the line? Do you draw the line at advocacy journalism because there are a number of people that crossed that line, as I said? But there's hard -- there's hard passes and there's daily passes, as you are well aware. For a hard pass, you have to have a House and Senate credential, you have to regularly cover the White House, you have to apply for it, you have to go through a detailed FBI background check.

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Previously, we caught McClellan lying about his stafff having vetted Talon News as a legit news organization on the basis that they "published regularly," when in fact the website had only been up for four days prior to Gannon being issued his pass.

Now we need to know, was it a daily pass, or a permanent pass? Is Scotty lying again? Some photo analysis might give us the answer.

[BOSSHOG]

1. He didn't apply for a hard pass because

rove/mcclellan ensured he got one without an application. He applied at Congress and was turned down, it wasn't going to work out any differently at the White House, without inside complicity. rove could not afford an FBI background check on his boy. He needed him working two years ago. People who could pass an FBI check would not be wanted by karl rove.

[hootinholler]

10. Not necessarily...

If the boy was 'an operator' (I'm thinking like DIA or other MIL) and cleared, that could have been used to bypass vetting by the security office. Once a clearance was transmitted, they would have rubber-stamped it and issued the pass.

My take is that any real evidence will be quashed for 'security reasons'.

-Hoot

[Ganja Ninja]

2. I'm sure by next week we'll be counting Scotty's lies ...

in that statement. The truth is going to come out.

[rlpincus]

5. McClellan can always quit

And I wouldn't be surprised if he did to make the whole thing go away.

[Stephanie]

8. Is there any penalty for Scotty lying?

What could happen if he is outright caught, like I think he is?

[havocmom]

3. Are you telling me the story is not Gannon but McClellan & maybe Rove?

Are you telling me to go for BIGGER FISH than just a wanker wannabe journalist?

:wow: Cool, I think it's much more fun to fry BIG fish! So I will consider Gannon as a tool, a means to an end, and not an end himself.
Think I've got it now, Stephanie. How do we get the rest of the troops to realize he is just a stepping stone on the path to exposing more serious scandals? ;)

[Stephanie]

6. Oh yeah, it's about Rove for sure

Look at some of the other threads about Eberle, who owned Talon and "employed" Gannon, and his ties to Texas Republican politics. It's a Rove dirty trick, we just have to catch him at it. I think a lot of people are thinking in this direction, especially the folks investigating over at www.dailykos.com

[montanacowboy]

7. Rove had to be the source

for giving Gannon/Gukey the CIA memo on Plame - a direct tie to the WH

[Hissyspit]

9. Gannon is like Nixon 'rat f**ker;' Rover learned from Nixon's Don Segretti

Jeff Gannon was acting like one of Nixon's "Rat Fuckers" (Democ-RAT Fuckers). He is probably connected to Karl Rove - seems like one of Rove's tricks - but that is the big question. Here is how Rove is connected to the Nixon people - Don Segretti. Remember that name from your childhood (Watergate coverage)?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=3091072#

Lex (1000+ posts) Fri Feb-11-05 02:21 AM
Response to Reply #16

18. Found it! Rove's connections to Nixon's ratfuckers!

Edited on Fri Feb-11-05 02:25 AM by Lex
.
"At 21, Rove dropped out of college and into politics, and became an early protégé of convicted Watergate player Don Segretti – the political operative who invented the term “ratfucking” in the first place. In that same tradition, Rove has been linked to the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, attacks on John McCain’s mental health, and, back in Texas, the whispering that Democratic Governor Ann Richards was a lesbian. Rove remains, for many, a prime suspect in the outing of CIA agent Valerie Plame, and even Republicans tend to reinforce his image as Bush’s Dark Lord. “He dominates a campaign,” Republican strategist David Weeks told The Washington Post. “Nothing ever happens that he’s not aware of.”"


http://www.lacitybeat.com/article.php?id=1316&IssueNum=...

[havocmom]

11. Yes, I am quite old enough to know where Rove learned his craft

And he has definately surpassed his teachers in subverting truth, justice and the American way.

[KharmaTrain]

4. Snotty's Nose Grows & Stomache Loosens

This dude must dread the words "yes, Jeff..."...or soon will.

At the least, this scandal uncovers a lax and poorly run news operation in the White House. Someone who is a real security threat.

C'mon Scotty...ya gotta be hearing footsteps.