Rep. Slaughter Calls on President Bush to Explain Emerging White House Briefing Room Scandal

http://www.louise.house.gov/HoR/Louise/News/Press+Releases+By+Date/2005+Press+Releases/WH+Briefing+Room+Scandal.htm ^

[hipaatwo]

Washington, DC - Rep. Louise M. Slaughter (NY-28), long time champion of media reform and Ranking Member of the House Committee on Rules, sent a letter to President George W. Bush today asking him to explain how discredited "reporter" Jeff Gannon was credentialed as a member of the legitimate media by the White House.

The letter follows: Wednesday, February 9, 2005 The Honorable George W. Bush President of the United States 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Washington, DC 20500 Dear Mr. President: In light of the mounting evidence that your Administration has, on several occasions, paid members of the media to advocate in favor of Administration policies, I feel compelled to ask you to address a matter brought to my attention by the Niagara Falls Reporter (article attached), a local newspaper in my district, regarding James "JD" Guckert (AKA Jeff Gannon) of Talon News. According to several credible reports, "Mr. Gannon" has been repeatedly credentialed as a member of the White House press corps by your office and has been regularly called upon in White House press briefings by your Press Secretary Scott McClellan, despite the fact evidence shows that "Mr. Gannon" is a Republican political operative, uses a false name, has phony or questionable journalistic credentials, is known for plagiarizing much of the "news" he reports, and according to several web reports, may have ties to the promotion of the prostitution of military personnel.

Several weeks ago when it was revealed that radio/TV host Armstrong Williams had received payment from your Administration in exchange for his vocal support of the 'No Child Left Behind' initiative, I was stunned. For years now I have been leading the fight in Congress for fairness and accountability in the media; the Williams revelation only underscored the need for a media that has integrity, is balanced and expresses the local interests and concerns of its consumers. Since that time, two more members of the media have been found to have received money from your Administration in exchange for their vocal, yet undisclosed support of Administration policies. And just this morning we have learned that "Mr. Gannon" has resigned his post at the, so called, Talon News amid growing concerns over his controversial background and falsified qualifications. In fact, it appears that "Mr. Gannon's" presence in the White House press corps was merely as a tool of propaganda for your Administration. Mr. President, I am sure we both agree the White House Press Corps is an honored institution in America that should be beyond the scope of partisan meddling, and that a free and independent media is the cornerstone of our success as a democracy.

Likewise, I am sure we can both agree the American people have the right to expect that journalists who question their President everyday are experienced, independent, and perhaps most importantly, unbiased in their approach. I was already concerned about what appears to be an organized campaign to mask partisan propaganda as legitimate news by your Administration. That we have now learned this same type of deception is occurring inside the White House briefing room itself is even more disturbing.

That is why I am asking you to please explain to the Congress and to the American people how and why the individual known as "Mr. Gannon" was repeatedly cleared by your staff to join the legitimate White House press corps? Mr. President, your Administration has driven the so-called "values" debate in this country. But the most important value for those of us in public service should always be honesty and integrity, particularly when considering the manner in which we conduct our affairs of state.

I would appreciate your prompt response on this matter. Respectfully, /LMS Louise M. Slaughter Ranking Member, House Committee on Rules

From the Niagara Falls Reporter on Monday, February 7, 2005 AN OPEN LETTER TO LOUISE SLAUGHTERDear Rep. Slaughter, As a small newspaper located in your district, we are asking for your help. It has come to our attention that an individual who calls himself "Jeff Gannon" has been credentialed by the White House to attend press briefings and presidential news conferences.

He is affiliated with an organization called Talon News, and is frequently called on by White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan and President Bush. This individual has no background in journalism whatsoever, and his "syndicated column" appears solely on his personal Web site, www.jeffgannon.com. According to the Philadelphia Daily News, "Jeff Gannon" isn't even his real name. In his biography at the Talon News site, where he holds the title of "Washington Bureau Chief," he claims to be a graduate of the "Pennsylvania State University System" and the Leadership Institute Broadcast School of Journalism. While the 23 schools in the Penn State system award diplomas, the system itself does not, and the Daily News investigation has thus far failed to turn up a "Jeff Gannon" who holds a degree in education from Penn State, as this person claims he does. Furthermore, the Leadership Institute Broadcast School of Journalism is a right-wing diploma mill where anyone with $50 and two days to waste can receive a degree. As for Talon News itself, it seems to consist solely of a Web site that links directly to a Republican site called www.gopusa.com.

Both Talon and GOPUSA have the same mailing address, a private residence in Texas. It isn't clear whether anyone at Talon News is paid, as one portion of its site asks, "Want to join the Talon News team? Click here to find out more about being a volunteer reporter for Talon News." Looking at the staff biography section of the site, none of the 10 individuals listed appear to have any training or previous experience in journalism, although all list credentials as Republican activists.

We respectfully ask your office to look into how a partisan political organization and an individual with no credentials as a reporter -- and apparently operating under an assumed name -- landed a coveted spot in the White House press corps. Sincerely, Bruce Battaglia, publisher, Mike Hudson, editor in chief, Rebecca Day, senior editor, David Staba, sports editor, Bill Gallagher, national correspondent, John Hanchette, senior correspondent, Frank Thomas Croisdale, contributing editor, Bill Bradberry, contributing editor, Niagara Falls Reporter.

[MeekOneGOP]

[MeekOneGOP]

Rep. Louise M. Slaughter:

For years now I have been leading the fight in Congress for fairness and accountability in the media; the Williams revelation only underscored the need for a media that has integrity, is balanced and expresses the local interests and concerns of its consumers.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1224680/posts?page=155#155

To: MeekOneGOP; Slip18; Argh; xsmommy; Gabz; VRWCmember

BALLAD OF DAN RATHER

(Think "Beverly Hillbillies" theme song)

Come and listen to my story 'bout a man named Dan,
The documents were fake and he didn't give a dam*;
He put 'em on the air, an' he thought he'd done the job,
But up from the web come a howlin' mob.

Blogs, that is.
Web logs.
Checkin' facts.

Well, the first thing you know ol' Dan's a-runnin' fast;
Made a false report an' it bit him in the a$$;
He said 'dog-gonnit, I done thought I'd get away!'
But it turned out to be his a-reckonin' day.

Busted, that is.
Red-faced.
Mud in the eye.

Well, now it's time to say goodbye to Dan and all his men;
And they would like to shoot you folks for turnin' them in;
You're all invited back next week to watch the Evening News,
And see which correspondent's picked to fill Dan's empty shoes.

Y'all come back, now, hear?

155 posted on 09/23/2004 4:15:51 PM CDT by TheGrimReaper

---

[TheGrimReaper]

BALLAD OF DAN RATHER

[cyncooper]

Slaughter also claimed that according to the Washington Post, Gannon was "the only person known to have access to a CIA secret document about the case of Valerie Plame" and claimed "this shows to me that this is a man who has extraordinary good White House credentials".

Cross referencing my find from last night.

Jeff Gannon did an interview with Joe Wilson where he asked him about this memo. The interview was published October 28, 2003

Then we hear how the WaPo (which is involved in the Plame Game) is pushing a bogus story Talon news is the only outlet to know about the secret memo

BUT

Last night I found an old FR thread based on an October 17, 2003 WSJ article about that very memo.

Clearly it took some time to do it, but the dems devised this spin. The WaPo piece pushing the false story showed up at the end of December so it took awhile to contrive and now here it is, resurrected.

Next I need to find the actual WaPo story. I want to see the bylines.

[cyncooper]

Well, I found the WaPo article from December 2003 (see post #383 for context). Guess who was on the byline?

Leaks Probe Is Gathering Momentum

By Mike Allen and Dana Milbank

December 26, 2003

Sources said the CIA is angry about the circulation of a still-classified document to conservative news outlets suggesting Plame had a role in arranging her husband's trip to Africa for the CIA. The document, written by a State Department official who works for its Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR), describes a meeting at the CIA where the Niger trip by Wilson was discussed, said a senior administration official who has seen it.

CIA officials have challenged the accuracy of the INR document, the official said, because the agency officer identified as talking about Plame's alleged role in arranging Wilson's trip could not have attended the meeting.

~snip~

Yet even the 9/11 Commission found the memo and that Plame had attended the meeting. So the "CIA officials" were wrong again.

I note this Post article says "conservative news outlets", which could arguably be used to tag the WSJ as well. The WSJ piece citing the memo predates the Talon News Gannon piece by well over one week. That has morphed in contemporary lore to Gannon being the only reporter with knowledge of the memo. That is clearly incorrect.

In fact, this very article, after making the "conservative news outlets" (cue JAWS music) reference proceeds to cite only Talon News:

On Oct. 28, Talon News, a news company tied to a group called GOP USA, posted on the Internet an interview with Wilson in which the Talon News questioner asks: "An internal government memo prepared by U.S. intelligence personnel details a meeting in early 2002 where your wife, a member of the agency for clandestine service working on Iraqi weapons issues, suggested that you could be sent to investigate the reports. Do you dispute that?"

No mention specifically of the WSJ article of October 17 describing the same memo.

[Miss Marple]

Don't you think it odd that the Wilson/Plame thing has suddenly resurfaced, with a bunch of the MSM and the leftists blogs pointing at Gannon? If I didn't know better, I would assume that all those reporters who got called into the grand jury were colluding on finding someone to pin the blame on...and they fell on Jeff Gannon because he was the odd man out.

If that Pincus person from the WP resurfaces in this mess, I will be pretty sure I am right.

[cyncooper]

I agree. When I first heard yesterday the Plame business was being raised I thought "huh?", yet as the day rolled on it seemed to me that that is the true purpose of what is going on here.

Then lo and behold I find the documented state of the record is NOT how it is being portrayed, so what else can we conclude other than this is the real reason for this attack.

I hope Fitzgerald is making real and true progress in his investigation.

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for the ping!

[FairOpinion]

http://www.gopusa.com/

http://www.talonnews.com/

Statement concerning former Washington, DC correspondent Jeff Gannon

Talon News Washington, DC reporter and White House Correspondent Jeff Gannon submitted his resignation from our organization effective February 8, 2005.

I understand and support Jeff's decision, and have accepted the resignation.

We are currently evaluating candidates to fill this critical assignment, and anticipate minimal interruption of Talon's coverage of our nation's capitol and the White House in the meantime.

-- Robert R. Eberle, Ph.D.
Editor in Chief, Talon News


====

GOPUSA.com and Talon News seem like grassroots Republican sites.

I don't know how much of the accusations against Gannon are true. Or is it that the MSM is lashing out against conservatives sites.

Check out the websites, they seem pretty reasonable to me.

[All4mykids]

I think you can read minds. Everything you stated is exactly what I was thinking.

[devolve]

Saturday, July 10, 2004

http://pro.lookingat.us/Goldfinger.html