Scottie corrects himself with Ed and publ.says Gannon got pass

[merbex]

initially for GOPUSA

http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000808705

Scott McClellan Reveals That Gannon/Guckert Got GOPUSA Press Pass

By Joe Strupp

Published: February 18, 2005 5:20 PM ET

NEW YORK Former Talon News reporter James Guckert obtained his first White House press credentials as a representative of the pro-Republican Web site, GOPUSA, not as a Talon News reporter, as previously believed, Press Secretary Scott McClellan told E&P today.

McClellan said White House Press Office staffers considered the obviously partisan site to be a legitimate news organization when they gave Guckert, a.k.a. Jeff Gannon, the first of numerous day passes in February 2003.

[Dookus]

1. Ah... guckert

the gift that keeps on giving.

[Bluebear]

2. Aw no shit, Scott. drip drip drip drip

[cornermouse]

3. Yeah. Right.

What else do they expect us to believe?

[Vinca]

4. Guess there's no real brain trust working in the press office if

they couldn't distinguish between say the NY Times and GOPUSA. Wonder if I cook up a faux news site - let's say Republicancrap.com - if they'll let me in? (My apologies if Republicancrap.com is an actual site, which, now that I think about it, it may well be because that's a great name.)

[rodeodance]

5. so-will Scotty will the fall guy--if there is a fall guy--the story is ove

[rodeodance]

7. nope--Scotty is blaming a staff assistant!!

"He faxed a letter in on his letterhead, they checked that it was a Web site he worked for," McClellan explained, referring to his staffers who handled such credentialing at the time. "There was a check to make sure it was a news organization and a news Web site. There was a determination made at that point ."

McClellan, who was deputy press secretary under Ari Fleischer when the initial Guckert approvals were given, became press secretary in July 2003. He said he currently has a staff of 12, only one of whom handles the 20 to 25 daily press passes issued each day. He said he had spoken with the staffer who approved Guckert's initial credential, but would not identify the person or comment on how he or she could consider GOPUSA -- which is run by Texas Republican activist Bobby Eberle -- to be a legitimate news organization.

"Our staff assistants do a good job," he said. "The staff assistant went to verify that the news organization existed."

Talon News, for whom Guckert later obtained daily credentials, did not launch until April 2003. Speculation has arisen in recent days that Guckert had somehow obtained access to White House briefings before Talon News officially launched, after videos and transcripts of his presence at briefings as early as February 2003 were revealed.

[fob]

9. Only now there is some pics/video caps of what appears to be jimjeff

in the WH in 2002! What will Snottie think of next? Also, if he was checked as jim guckert is that the excuse they are going to give for how all the jeff gannon exploits were missed?

Please Snottie, keep digging!

[w13rd0]

12. Wow...

...with background checks like that, it's no wonder Bush had his pants down just WAITING for that second plane to hit.

That must be how they tracked down all the terrorists too, they just looked them up on alqueda.gov

keep spinning simple scottie

[CoffeeCat]

6. Man, the WH is doing some serious damage control...

...with the Gannon issue. They're all over the place--covering their tracks, heaping lies over more lies and backtracking.

It's really nice to see the Republicans do this, for once!!

The Gannon issue has now taken hold in the MSM. It's officially a story and the coverage will only exacerbate in the coming days.

Thank God, the media is taking this seriously.

[rodeodance]

8. and the WH reads Maureen Dowd also!!

.....He also said that Maurren Dowd's column in The New York Times did not tell the whole story about her credentialing woes, pointing that she was refering to a "hard" pass while Gannon only received day passes. He said he has now asked his staff to get the process going for her again to get a hard pass.

Joe Strupp ([e-mail]) is a senior editor at E&P.

[Gman]

10. Watergate was not on the front page every single day

In fact, in the earliest days of Watergate, there were only 2 or at best 3 short blurbs a week in the local paper. (Remember there was no Internet and the daily paper was your news shot for the day besides Walter Chronkite.) You had to try to assemble what was going on from these bits and pieces. Each story in an of itself was not a lot to get real excited about. It took over a year from the breakin for the story to get really rolling.

Don't lose faith.

[rodeodance]

11. maybe--the WH is Great at damage control and now Scottie put

the error on his staff. I think the story will fizzle with this slam dunk!

[w13rd0]

13. Are you joking...

...or are you using "slam dunk" in a Tenet-like sense?

[rodeodance]

15. I am only saying that once someone is blamed--in this case a lowly

staff assistant--then someone has taken the fall--and the story is over.

That is what I think at least.

[CoffeeCat]

14. I do think Scottie "beam me up Gannon" is doing damage control...

...however Scottie doing damage control---means that we've won. We've won folks!!!

When network news allowed Swift-Boat John O'Neil to trumpet his lies and define John Kerry as a "traitor" and a "liar"--that's when we lost.

When issues are legitimized and positioned as "news"--they sprout wings. That's when reporters begin digging and deeper truth is discovered.

I was horrendously sad when the media gave so much space to the Swifty liars. It's too bad that the Reps have to lie and create destruction campaigns to win elections. The Dems, however--need only to ferret out the truth. That's what the bloggers did with the Gannon story.

Scottie is REACTING to the story. He's on the defensive. So is the administration. We've got them right where we want them. The fact that "Gannon" is being covered by the MSM, and that the Reps are reacting, is such a win for the Dems--and for anyone who is interested in the truth!!

For once, the Republicans do something wrong--and the initial phases of real journalism take root.

[rodeodance]

16. you could be right--visible damage control by the WH is not their style-

as they ususally just ignore or are silent on the issues.

[merbex]

17. Definately on the defensive and spinning,spinning, spinning

We need to push the White House about that Congresswoman from NY
It doesn't end here

[Eloriel]

18. To me, this marks the real serious beginning of the Cover Up phase

all together now: It's not the crime, it's the cover-up.

WooHOOOOOOOO!!! Go, Scottie, Go!!