The strange story of White House reporter 'Jeff Gannon'
February 19, 2005
Donald P. Russo
Jon Stewart, the host of Comedy Central's ''The Daily Show,'' returned recently to the Lehigh Valley for two appearances at Easton's State Theatre. During his stand-up routine, Stewart said, ''Bush's presidency is like 'The Truman Show,' it's a world of his own creation.'' (He was referring to the 1998 Jim Carrey movie.) Based upon recent events, it appears that George W. Bush creates not only his own reality, but also, his own news media.
There was a time, not long ago, when the media would have taken a president to task for launching a pre-emptive war under false pretenses. Media pundits of yesteryear may have actually questioned the notion of a president leading a nation into a protracted war based upon spurious assumptions about the provenance of a prior terrorist attack, or manufactured hysteria over weapons of mass destruction that failed to materialize.
Such skepticism today, though, is viewed as unpatriotic. Many White House reporters have become good puppies, eager to serve as cheerleaders for Bush's policies. Many of them refused to hold Bush accountable for misdirecting us about Iraq's alleged WMD and connections to 911. Now, they sanguinely carry water for Bush's new Iranian agenda. We are hearing news reports about Iran possibly constructing heavy water nuclear reactors. No one is asking why we should believe these accusations, given the sloppy prognostications about Iraq.
We are ill-served by an acquiescent White House press corps. Consider how they are downplaying the remarkable story of one Jeff Gannon. James Dale Guckert, who reported under the pseudonym Jeff Gannon, resigned recently as Washington bureau chief for Talon News, a conservative on-line news service owned by the Web site GOPUSA.
A Feb. 9 story by Helen Kennedy of the New York Daily News reveals that Guckert has an unorthodox personal story — one that is anathema to the stated cultural beliefs of President Bush, a hero to the religious right. One can only speculate which name Mr. Guckert used when applying for White House press credentials. Which name was on the official daily press passes he was given? In this post-911 security environment, Guckert sat only a few feet away from the president during press conferences.
Guckert lobbed softball questions to the president and functioned as a lifeline for presidential press spokesman Scott McClellan. Guckert got some of his ''facts'' from Rush Limbaugh. The veracity of those facts was irrelevant to Guckert. Limbaugh invented statements by Democratic congressional leaders saying that President Bush's economic policies would bring back soup kitchens. Hearing this, Guckert parroted them, asking President Bush: ''You've said you're going to reach out to these people (Democrats). How are you going to work with people who seem to have divorced themselves from reality?''
This type of propaganda was allowed to permeate the public discourse by a White House fully aware that ''Jeff Gannon'' was not who he purported to be. Moreover, Talon News was created on March 29, 2003. It is owned by a Web site operated by a Texas-based Republican Party activist, Robert Eberle. Four days after Talon News began, ''Jeff Gannon,'' who had no background in journalism, secured White House press credentials. He also had access to classified information that named Valerie Plame as a CIA operative. The Washington Post reported last year that Guckert's name was on a list of reporters contacted by the special prosecutor who is investigating who leaked Plame's name to the press.
Imagine, if you will, a liberal on-line news service sending a reporter with a phony name to apply for White House press credentials. I'm sure the Secret Service would unhesitatingly invite that person to leave the building. Meanwhile, Guckert was turned down for a congressional press pass because he could not show that he wrote for a valid news organization. Nonetheless, he was welcomed into the heart of the White House press room.
We have previously heard about fake television commentary touting both the new Medicare law and the No Child Left Behind program; a study rating individual journalists on their ''favorability'' to Republican education policies; and payments to journalist Armstrong Williams. After the Williams controversy became public, Bush administration payments to two other journalists, Maggie Gallagher and Michael McManus, were also disclosed.
''Gannon'' resigned from Talon News last week. Still, the White House owes us an explanation.
Donald P. Russo
Jon Stewart, the host of Comedy Central's ''The Daily Show,'' returned recently to the Lehigh Valley for two appearances at Easton's State Theatre. During his stand-up routine, Stewart said, ''Bush's presidency is like 'The Truman Show,' it's a world of his own creation.'' (He was referring to the 1998 Jim Carrey movie.) Based upon recent events, it appears that George W. Bush creates not only his own reality, but also, his own news media.
There was a time, not long ago, when the media would have taken a president to task for launching a pre-emptive war under false pretenses. Media pundits of yesteryear may have actually questioned the notion of a president leading a nation into a protracted war based upon spurious assumptions about the provenance of a prior terrorist attack, or manufactured hysteria over weapons of mass destruction that failed to materialize.
Such skepticism today, though, is viewed as unpatriotic. Many White House reporters have become good puppies, eager to serve as cheerleaders for Bush's policies. Many of them refused to hold Bush accountable for misdirecting us about Iraq's alleged WMD and connections to 911. Now, they sanguinely carry water for Bush's new Iranian agenda. We are hearing news reports about Iran possibly constructing heavy water nuclear reactors. No one is asking why we should believe these accusations, given the sloppy prognostications about Iraq.
We are ill-served by an acquiescent White House press corps. Consider how they are downplaying the remarkable story of one Jeff Gannon. James Dale Guckert, who reported under the pseudonym Jeff Gannon, resigned recently as Washington bureau chief for Talon News, a conservative on-line news service owned by the Web site GOPUSA.
A Feb. 9 story by Helen Kennedy of the New York Daily News reveals that Guckert has an unorthodox personal story — one that is anathema to the stated cultural beliefs of President Bush, a hero to the religious right. One can only speculate which name Mr. Guckert used when applying for White House press credentials. Which name was on the official daily press passes he was given? In this post-911 security environment, Guckert sat only a few feet away from the president during press conferences.
Guckert lobbed softball questions to the president and functioned as a lifeline for presidential press spokesman Scott McClellan. Guckert got some of his ''facts'' from Rush Limbaugh. The veracity of those facts was irrelevant to Guckert. Limbaugh invented statements by Democratic congressional leaders saying that President Bush's economic policies would bring back soup kitchens. Hearing this, Guckert parroted them, asking President Bush: ''You've said you're going to reach out to these people (Democrats). How are you going to work with people who seem to have divorced themselves from reality?''
This type of propaganda was allowed to permeate the public discourse by a White House fully aware that ''Jeff Gannon'' was not who he purported to be. Moreover, Talon News was created on March 29, 2003. It is owned by a Web site operated by a Texas-based Republican Party activist, Robert Eberle. Four days after Talon News began, ''Jeff Gannon,'' who had no background in journalism, secured White House press credentials. He also had access to classified information that named Valerie Plame as a CIA operative. The Washington Post reported last year that Guckert's name was on a list of reporters contacted by the special prosecutor who is investigating who leaked Plame's name to the press.
Imagine, if you will, a liberal on-line news service sending a reporter with a phony name to apply for White House press credentials. I'm sure the Secret Service would unhesitatingly invite that person to leave the building. Meanwhile, Guckert was turned down for a congressional press pass because he could not show that he wrote for a valid news organization. Nonetheless, he was welcomed into the heart of the White House press room.
We have previously heard about fake television commentary touting both the new Medicare law and the No Child Left Behind program; a study rating individual journalists on their ''favorability'' to Republican education policies; and payments to journalist Armstrong Williams. After the Williams controversy became public, Bush administration payments to two other journalists, Maggie Gallagher and Michael McManus, were also disclosed.
''Gannon'' resigned from Talon News last week. Still, the White House owes us an explanation.
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