James D. Guckert (A.K.A Jeff Gannon)

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Mistletoe Angel

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since 2000-12-17

Posts 32816
Portland, Oregon

0 posted 2005-02-12 08:38 PM

By request, I've decided to start a thread strictly on this developing story of a White House reporter since 2002 for Talon News who abruptly quitted his job Tuesday, and confirmed to National Public Radio Wednesday that he has been using a false name (Jeff Gannon) and his real name is in fact James D. Guckert.
http://199.249.170.220/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000796790

According to this source, it says a few gay pornographic web sites may have been registered to an address in Delaware that's the same as one held by James Guckert, a.k.a Jeff Gannon. He apparently confessed himself he created these web-sites for clients of a software company he used to work for. I'm not sure how to react to that so we ought to just give this story time to develop.

Gannon also has ties to the Valerie Plame incident, where he was aid to been given a classified CIA memo that named agent Valerie Plame, leading to his grilling by the grand jury investigating her outing.

Finally, immediately following quitting his job, he has apparently deleted much of the information from his web domains, but shortly before doing so posted this via the web-site http://www.jeffgannon.com/

HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT

The hard-core Lefties are conducting an exhaustive search for me in cyberspace, which has produced an entertaining mosaic of conspiracy theories.I appreciate all the attention, but I can do without the threats on my person, property and family.

For those out there that still have questions about me and don't think I should be able to be a journalist, here's what you need to know:

I'm everything people on the Left seem to despise.I'm a man who is white, politically conservative, a gun-owner, an SUV driver and I've voted for Republicans. I'm pro-American, pro-military, pro-democracy, pro-capitalism, pro-free speech, anti-tax and anti-big government.Most importantly, I'm a Christian.Not only by birth, but by rebirth through the blood of Jesus Christ.

I've never been paid by a politician or given money to a politician.I've never worked on a campaign or worked for an elected official.I've never run for office or been appointed to any government position at any level.Few, if any of my colleagues can make the same claim.

Well, we'll just have to wait and see about that last part, the part that I'm concerned about here. This isn't about his sexual orientation or anything of that sort, which that can be perceived as a form of hypocrisy, but rather about the curiosity of his aliases, his abrupt stepping down, and the possibility he may be connected to the intelligence community on the GOP payroll, but most importantly of all, how he got credentialized with the White House, especially in this day in age where background checks and verification processes are required.

Keep in mind this is a developing story with much scattere detail. Therefore, let us keep an open mind as we wait and see the direction this story goes.

Sincerely,
Noah Eaton

"If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other"

Mother Teresa

Alicat
Member Elite

since 1999-05-23

Posts 4094
Coastal Texas

1 posted 2005-02-12 08:45 PM

Many journalists use pseudonyms. Ms Manners wasn't born in a Manners family, for instance. So using an alias or pseudonym isn't a crime, nor should it be held against him. After all, we're all writers, but very few here use their real names, instead preferring 'handles', aka pseudonyms or aliases. Nor is there any wrongdoing in creating websites for clients, irrespective of content. Again, he was promised payment for a job which was part of his job description. I really don't see why he resigned, except that the Left really did go after him for his views and his question formats. Basically, a witch-hunt.

Mistletoe Angel

Member Empyrean

since 2000-12-17

Posts 32816
Portland, Oregon

2 posted 2005-02-12 09:22 PM

***********Updates************

1) Did Guckert fail to pay his taxes before?
http://www.delawareonline.com/newsjournal/local/2005/02/12discreditedrepo.html

2) An interview with Joe Strupp of Editor & Publisher yesterday lays out more details and questions:
http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000799182

3) Does Scott McClellan know something the public doesn't know about Guckert?
http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/search/article_display.jsp?schema=&vnu_content_id=1000798395

4) A little analysis of the The Leadership Institute Broadcast School of Journalism, where Gannon used to attend.
http://mediamatters.org/items/200502120002

5) Talon News: News Organization or Source of Propaganda?
http://mediamatters.org/items/200501260015

6) How might we compare and contrast this case to the Eason Jordan case?

Sincerely,
Noah Eaton

"If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other"

Mother Teresa

Mistletoe Angel

Member Empyrean

since 2000-12-17

Posts 32816
Portland, Oregon

3 posted 2005-02-12 09:31 PM

Alicat, you make a fair assessment here. I'm just concerned of the extreme effect in using a pseudonym like that, and if it was used in promoting some sort of propaganda, that's what I have a problem with.

I can see how some may see this as a witch-hunt, but I could say the same for the Ward Churchill incident. The two main concerns here to me is how he got credentialized exactly, and what he's been promoting to his base exactly, which perhaps Scott McClellan can let us know.

And with you curious in wondering why he quite and why he would quickly rush to delete much information from his internet domains, that's likely why this will become a big story from all frontiers.

Sincerely,
Noah Eaton

"If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other"

Mother Teresa

Alicat
Member Elite

since 1999-05-23

Posts 4094
Coastal Texas

4 posted 2005-02-12 09:50 PM

Granted, but you're mixing apples and oranges. Using a pseudonym/pen name/alias/false name is far different than claiming a falsified ancestry for personal gain. Only a select few were upset by Guckert's form of questions (especially the 'divorced from reality' comment), but many were highly vexed at Churchill for his slander against 9/11 families. As for deleting his online content, that's rather simple as well, though I'll confess to not knowing his mind's working. Where I in those shoes, I'd prefer to remove as much ammunition as possible. And this may be a cheap shot, but if he failed to pay his taxes, perhaps he was peacably withholding any monies that would go towards a war chest.

Denise

Moderator

Member Seraphic

since 1999-08-22

Posts 22648

5 posted 2005-02-12 10:58 PM

So what exactly is this guy supposed to be guilty of, Noah? Being a writer with an alias? Doing work for a web site that eventually posted links to porn, and gay porn at that? Is that a problem for the Left? Was he indicted by the grand jury for anything after his grilling? I'm at a loss to see why this is news.

Mistletoe Angel

Member Empyrean

since 2000-12-17

Posts 32816
Portland, Oregon

6 posted 2005-02-12 11:40 PM

Alicat, that previous thread is history now, but let me just make it briefly clear that my intentions were good and I didn't deliberately try to encourage felonious activity and tell as many as possible not to pay taxes if they were opposed to the war. I clearly was saying we MUST pay our taxes but all the while we should be working to exercise our freedom of conscience and work to find a way to pay our taxes as respectable citizens without the toxic guilt in our guts they're working toward war machines and such. I believe there was great misinterpretation of that previous thread and I apologize if I mistakenably offended anyone in that manner.

The main purpose in providing that link was that apparently Guckert has moved around a lot, thus possibly adds to the concern of where an alias may have taken him. I'm not deliberately trying to be like some more extreme lefty blogger and try to uncover everything about his private life and violate his right of privacy, but checking up on his bio and his credentials, I'm concerned of his level of experience and how he was credentialized.

Denise, this is news, and it should have nothing to do with that he registered a few gay pornographic web-sites or anything in that manner. This is news because I am concerned in how someone with limited experience in journalism and such like Guckert could become credentialized in the White House, and especially after the payoffs like that of Armstrong Williams and after Bush and others insisted this propaganda promotion must stop, we hear something like this come out in concern that the propaganda may still be on the inside.

I've done a bit of research on Talon News and it strikes me as a slanted resource of information. Of course, it's associated with GOPUSA, so I can't see how Talon News can be much of a media outlet rather than an extention of GOP interests.

That's the main concern here, and I imagine the concern that'll make this story along with Eason Jordan's two hot button topics for at least another week.

Sincerely,
Noah Eaton

"If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other"

Mother Teresa

Tim
Senior Member

since 1999-06-08

Posts 1794

7 posted 2005-02-13 12:20 PM

Nothing slanted here as far as a source as it is her own site...

Ellen Ratner,,,  LIBERAL AND PROUD

White House correspondent by the way...
http://www.democracyradio.org/team

check out her credentials... not a bit of political bias there at all

btw... she in an interview in regards to the oil for food scandal indicated she saw no problem to worry about as  "every organization has a little corruption in it"

even worse...

her words prior to the election...

ER: That is unless he messes up the war....my hope.

BB: Your hope?!

ER: Well, I don't want him to be reelected.

She indicated in a live interview she wanted the war in Iraq to go bad so Bush would lose the election...

Now, this woman is a respected White House correspondent and no one seems to attack her extreme politial views...  but then again... she is not on the right.

Brad
Member Ascendant

since 1999-08-20

Posts 5705
Jejudo, South Korea

8 posted 2005-02-13 01:08 AM

Personally, I don't have a problem with this guy. All administrations have certain member of the press in their pocket. What's different perhaps is that this guy is proud of being a stooge.

Taken from the Boston Globe, Feb. 5.

quote:
The Bush administration has provided White House media credentials to a man who has virtually no journalistic background, asks softball questions to the president and his spokesman in the midst of contentious news conferences, and routinely reprints long passages verbatim from official press releases as original news articles on his website.

1. The man has no journalistic background.

quote:
Jeff Gannon calls himself the White House correspondent for TalonNews.com, a website that says it is "committed to delivering accurate, unbiased news coverage to our readers." It is operated by a Texas-based Republican Party delegate and political activist who also runs GOPUSA.com, a website that touts itself as "bringing the conservative message to America."

2. false advertising.

quote:
Now, the question of how Gannon gets into White House press conferences is coming under intense scrutiny from critics who contend that Gannon is not a journalist but rather a White House tool to soften media coverage of Bush.

3. Show me the money!

quote:
The issue was raised by a media watchdog group and picked up by Internet bloggers, who linked Gannon's presence in White House briefings to recent controversies over whether the administration manipulates the flow of information to the public.

4. No, he doesn't manipulate the media, he just tells you what the White House says, word for word. Yeah, but does he use quotes?

quote:
These include the disclosure that the Education Department secretly paid columnist Armstrong Williams to promote its education policy and the administration's practice of sending out video press releases about its policies that purport to be "news stories" by fake journalists.

5. This is what it's all about.

quote:
. . . transcripts of White House briefings indicate that McClellan often calls on Gannon and that the press secretary -- and the president -- have found relief in a question from Gannon after critical lines of questioning from mainstream news organizations.

6. Ahhh, the plot thickens.

quote:
When Bush called on Gannon near the end of his nationally televised Jan. 26 news conference, he had just been questioned about Williams and the Education Department funds, an embarrassment to the administration. Gannon's question was different.

"Senate Democratic leaders have painted a very bleak picture of the US economy," Gannon said. "[Minority Leader] Harry Reid was talking about soup lines, and Hillary Clinton was talking about the economy being on the verge of collapse. Yet, in the same breath, they say that Social Security is rock solid and there's no crisis there. How are you going to work -- you said you're going to reach out to these people -- how are you going to work with people who seem to have divorced themselves from reality?"

7. One, he gets the the paraphrase wrong. It's actually from Rush. Two, he gets his news and quotes from Rush?

quote:
As it turned out, Reid had never talked about soup lines. That was a phrase attributed to him in satire by Rush Limbaugh on his radio show.

quote:
Last year, during the presidential campaign, Gannon's comments could be even more pointed. In a Feb. 10, 2004, briefing with McClellan, for example, Gannon rose to deliver the following:

"Since there have been so many questions about what the president was doing over 30 years ago, what is it that he did after his honorable discharge from the National Guard? Did he make speeches alongside Jane Fonda, denouncing America's racist war in Vietnam? Did he testify before Congress that American troops committed war crimes in Vietnam? And did he throw somebody else's medals at the White House to protest a war America was still fighting?"

8. Remember, this is a briefing with Scott McClellan. I find this absolutely hilarious. This is a reporter? Like I said, this a guy who doesn't even pretend.

quote:
. . . many of the reports Gannon filed for Talon News "appeared to be lifted verbatim from various White House and Republican political committee documents."

9. Yeah, but did he use quotes?

quote:
. . . Gannon declined to comment. He did reply to Brock's group on his personal blog: "In many cases I have liberally used the verbiage provided on key aspects of the issue because it is the precise expression of where the White House stands -- free of any 'spin.' It's the ultimate in journalistic honesty -- unvarnished and unfiltered. If only others would be as forthcoming."

10. Yep, plagiarism is the ultimate in journalistic honestly.

Is any of this important? No, not really unless something turns up in the Plame, CIA operative scandal, it's not that big a deal.

--------------------

Ratner works for Fox News and Worldnetdaily. She probably wouldn't be working there if she wasn't biased.

Balladeer

Administrator

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since 1999-06-05

Posts 25505
Ft. Lauderdale, Fl USA

9 posted 2005-02-13 01:21 AM

Noah, it seems to me this thread is indicative of your fervor to find absolutely anything you can to cast a shadow on the White House or the right. Even when you can't say anything specific, you throw out unanswered questions to promote doubts or innuendos of some possible hidden agenda....is there that much desperation to bash?

Denise

Moderator

Member Seraphic

since 1999-08-22

Posts 22648

10 posted 2005-02-13 01:21 PM

Brad, I would think that Ellen Ratner working for Fox and Worldnetdaily would lend credence to those organizations, inasmuch as they are attempting to present all sides of issues, not just the views of the right.

Mistletoe Angel

Member Empyrean

since 2000-12-17

Posts 32816
Portland, Oregon

11 posted 2005-02-13 04:18 PM

Balladeer, I'm convinced anything I say that disagrees with your views will be seen as "bashing" in your eyes, and my intention is not to find some gap around the circle everyday and call for some sort of Visigoth invasion on the White House, that would a ridiculous type of thinking to do in.

I'm just interested in the truth. We heard the news about those three payoffs, we heard Bush and others calling for a stop to that, and then we hear this come out, which I find reason to be concerned about. Meanwhile, you've probably heard a few stories about Pentagon web-sites that are being criticized for airing propaganda to certain networks across the world.

I ask unanswered questions because I try not to put words into peoples mouths, and leave it open for interpretation. In my view, Talon News seems biased, but I decided to title the question as "Talon News: Media Outlet or Propaganda Pool?". I didn't automatically accuse Guckert of failing to pay his taxes between 1991 and 1994, I left it in a question form so as to not leap to conclusions.

And I do believe that Ward Churchill thing happening is a witch-hunt as well, because it wasn't the concern about the fraud he may have committed in lying about his tribal affiliation that's put him in a pool of controversy, but the opinions reflected in "Some People Push Back", an essay written over three years ago, which so happened to be noticed by O'Reilly and others when Hamilton College did not want him speaking at the college because of some tasteless text. In 1993 he could been have challenged, In 1994 he could have been challenged. The minute after 9/11 he completed his essay he could have been challenged, as well as the moment he first published it well before the Hamilton College story. So I happen to believe on the other side of the spectrum there's others looking for someone to bash, and in exhuming the Morning Star Institute letter and his 1980 resume, a gold mine happened to have been found.

Anyway, I'm glad you shared the word about Ellen Ratner, as I have never heard of her until now, and if she has limited experience or lack of credentials as well, I welcome a full investigation there as well. And if she does have the credentials, but it's known she runs a left equivalent of Talon News, I believe that seriously needs to be addressed.

I'm not here to tear out all the wallpaper in his house and dust the place. I'm just concerned this is just the next part of a pattern going on following the three previous payoffs, and believe the public deserves some answers to this before we can come to a comfortable conclusion this is the fourth part of a pattern or just a general misunderstanding.

Sincerely,
Noah Eaton

"If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other"

Mother Teresa

Denise

Moderator

Member Seraphic

since 1999-08-22

Posts 22648

12 posted 2005-02-14 08:30 PM

I really don't see that it matters what type of news organization someone works for, whether it be big or small, liberal or conservative, print or online. They should all be able to get access to White House press conferences and daily briefings, as long as they pass the security clearances. Why the call for investigations about access given based on the types of organizations for whom they work, Noah? Is there a type of organization that you believe should be banned? If so, why?

I've also seen you make several references to the fact that you believe Fox News is heavily biased. In your opinion, what news organizations do you believe give the unvarnished, no-spin outlook on the daily happenings of the world, or at least as close as is possible, and why do you believe that they do?

The Hamilton College furor arose because one of the students at that college had a relative (his father, I believe) killed at the Towers on 9/11. He made an issue over the college inviting Churchill after reading his essay, and took his outrage to the press after getting nowhere with the college administrators.

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