WASHINGTON – With the mystery of “Jeff Gannon” deepening, Rep. Louise Slaughter, D-N.Y., yesterday renewed her call for the White House to explain its relationship with a conservative ex-reporter linked to an online gay escort service
The White House has denied any special relationship with Gannon. But it has not provided an explanation of its policies on providing credentials to reporters, either the temporary “day” passes for reporters not normally assigned to the White House or the so-called permanent hard passes that White House beat reporters get.
Nor has it explained how Gannon received almost daily passes to the news briefings for about two years using a pseudonym and working for an organization that failed to meet the criteria for media credentials to cover Congress.
The ensuing investigations by Gannon’s critics cast doubts about his journalism credentials and linked him to Internet sites that featured nude photos of Gannon and advertised male escort services for $200 an hour.
When you think about all the people the rupublicans could have hired to pose as a reporter and lob softball questions it boggles my mind they would hire a gay male escort to do this. There must be a romantic tie to a member of the Bush administration, don’t you think?
It must be Cheney…
RE:It is a federal offense to reveal the name of an undercover intelligence operative.
Is this Watergate 2? Did the Bush administration actually hire a gay male escort and use him to do their dirty work? I hope there is an investigation, especially since they put an operative at risk.
Well, the article states that Gannon’s site was actually set up to ensnare/entrap gay military personnel, so I doubt the legitamacy of his “escort” status when one looks at it in that light. The whole thing has Mr. Rove written all over it.
BREAKING NEWS: Gannon reportedly knew about Iraq attack four hours before it happened
by John in DC - 2/18/2005 09:57:00 AM
A news producer for a major network just told me that Gannon told the producer the US was going to attack Iraq four hours before President Bush announced it to the nation.
According to the producer, Gannon specifically told them that in four hours the president was going to be making a speech to the nation announcing that the US was bombing Iraq. The producer told me they were surprised that Gannon, working with such a small news outfit, could have access to such information, but “what did you know, he was right,” the producer said today. The producer went on to say that Gannon often had correct scoops on major stories, including information about Mary Mapes and the Dan Rather BUSH/AWOL scandal that this news outlet got from Gannon before any had the information publicly.
This more than a few questions and points:
Assuming this news producer is telling the truth, and I have no reason to believe they are not, how did Gannon get access to such highly classified information as to when the US was going to bomb Iraq?
Even if Gannon were part of a press gaggle that was told embargoed information about the war by the White House, this producer alleges that Gannon would have broken any such embargo, which is a security risk to the operation, and more generally shows that concerns about Gannon’s White House access posing a risk to national security might now be warranted.
How would someone on a day pass, who hadn’t gotten the requisite 3-4 month FBI background check that other full-time White House employees get, get access to such highly classified information? Certainly the White House didn’t include someone with simply a day pass in the highly-classified pre-briefing about details of the war (assuming such a briefing even occurred)? If the White House did a briefing and Gannon were included, this would mean ANYONE could walk in off the street, say they’re a reporter, and provided by they don’t have a criminal record, the White House will simply tell them at what hour we’re launching a major attack? And if there was no briefing for reporters, then how did Gannon allegedly find out?
Even if the White House had simply told the press pool that Bush was speaking to the nation in a few hours, and the press had figured out that this meant were were attacking Iraq, was the information about the upcoming speech embargoed? Was the information about the upcoming speech also announced to the public four hours before? Or did Gannon get access to inside information concerning the war simply because of his presence in the White House - a presence that should have required an FBI background check considering how often he was there?
How would Gannon get inside information on the Dan Rather scandal BEFORE the rest of the major media? Assuming the producer is correct, did it come from a White House source, and if so, what does this say about possible White House involvement in creating this scandal in the first place?
According to my source, Gannon’s insider tidbits were always on the mark. “Gannon’s stuff was always golden,” the producer says. My source says they kept asking themself, “how does this small news outfit get this info?”
And Maureen Dowd, columnist for the NY Times, who was denied a White House press pass, was told she’ll now get one, but only after a Secret Service background check that’ll take a few months.
Anyone who doesn’t think this Administration will do anything to manipulate the news has their head up where the sun don’t shine.
paid journalists to tout their programs without disclosing the payment?
put out fake news reports with fake newspersons that tout their programs without disclosure?
given Helen Thomas the boot (hint: she started in the Kennedy admin)?
given a press pass to a non-journalist whose sole task is to pose non-questions when the going gets rough in a news conference, then given us the bullshit line about “low-level staff” who were responsible?
You are amazing. Talk about having your head up your ass. Get real. Every admisistration manipulates the news. What do you think Clintons people did during his presidency?
Not exactly like those but wouldn’t you say that the Clinton attack dogs like Carville, Begalla, and Blumenthal manipulated the way things came out of the White House? What about the Lewinski mess, Juanita Broderick, Paula Jones, Whitewater and on and on. They spun stories more than a top. My only point is Kens characterization of THIS administration as like no other one did it.
I am in no way beating up on ol slick Willy. I was only trying to make the point that this administration is no better or no worse than others. Just like my mom used to say two wrongs don’t make it right;)
This administration (and the neocons puppetmasters who are responsible for it) is the most overtly corrupt regime in recent memory. The “they’re all crooks” theory simply doesn’t wash. There is an almost daily barrage of underhanded maniplulation the Bush regime has employed in their attempts to steal social security, justufy war and smear their detractors.
Remember the good ole days when Tip O’neal and Reagan could find common ground on issues? Even Bush the elder and Clinton would stump for bipartisn support.
But with a media controled by big business, a GOP majority in congress, the co-opting of religion, redistricting to favor the GOP even more, and the shameless use of fear to motivate average Americans to think terrorists were in Iraq and Social Security is drying up tomorrow, you have to go allllll the way back to Berlin 1937 to find a similar pattern of deliberate and systematic corruption of power.
i’ve been reading some of the blogs to get more info on this story. this whole thing is pretty weird. the mainstream press is finally starting to pick up the story a bit. however, and again this strikes me as odd, is rather than ask some pertinent, relevant questions about gannon, how he got his press pass, who’s paying him, etc., they are using it as an angle to cover the bloggers, which is a non-story at least with respect to gannon.
bloggers broke the rather story, did the main stream news talk in terms of conservative lynch mob bloggers like they are doing with this story? what gives?
