GOP Columnist Fakes Credentials for White House

[GreNME]

Story here. (http://www.cnn.com/2005/ALLPOLITICS/02/09/white.house.reporter/)

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A New York congresswoman asked the White House to explain Wednesday why a man who worked for a news Web site owned by a GOP activist was able to obtain White House press credentials under an assumed name.

James Guckert, who reported from the White House for the Talon News Service under the name "Jeff Gannon," announced he was quitting the business "in consideration of the welfare of me and my family."

"Because of the attention being paid to me, I find it is no longer possible to effectively be a reporter for Talon News," he said in a statement posted Wednesday on his Web site.

In a letter to President Bush, Rep. Louise Slaughter, a Democrat, questioned why Guckert routinely received credentials for White House news briefings.

Slaughter linked Guckert's case to recent revelations that two conservative columnists who supported Bush administration policies had received government money.

"It appears that 'Mr. Gannon's' presence in the White House press corps was merely as a tool of propaganda for your administration," Slaughter wrote.

The White House had no comment.
There's more, but you just gotta read it.

[pod]

nono,

You best go read where the story actually broke (http://www.dailykos.com/), and that would be the blogosphere. I've been watching this develop, and have grown considerably more impressed with the blogging world.

Senator Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) summed it up best in a letter he wrote to Scott McClellan:

As you may know, Mr. Guckert/Gannon was denied a Congressional press pass because he could not show that he wrote for a valid news organization. Given the fact that he was denied Congressional credentials, I seek your explanation of how Mr. Guckert/Gannon passed muster for White House press credentials.

Guckert's apparent scam was that he was shilling for conservative political operations posing as a journalist. On top of that he did some other not-so-reputible things, such as run porn sites with both hetero- & homo-erotic military themes.

[Ela]

I have been watching this story develop also.

Unbelievable. :blink:

[Kayla]

Just to keep the thread alive, I thought I'd add Leonard Pitt's column from today.

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/livin...ts/10929316.htm (http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/living/columnists/leonard_pitts/10929316.htm)

If you're still around, remember the uproar you do not hear right this moment and tell them the truth.

Ignorance was easier

[pod]

Just to amend my previous comments, Guckert apparently wasn't just running porn sites, he was running an "escort" service, featuring, among others, himself. He also apparently has outstanding backtaxes due to some state or other on the west side of the country.

Guckert's public persona regularly contradicts (http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id= 1000808726) himself when he's not being extremely evasive (http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0502/18/acd.01.html) about answering actual questions about Talon news and GOPUSA

[Zyne]

It's nice to finally have a real prostitute in the washington press corps.

:rolleyes: