Update on the Jeff Gannon, or should we say "Jeff Gannon" story. Rep. Slaughter (D-NY) writes the president with some questions on the White House Briefing Room Scandal:
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.
Story via Atrios.
The "prostitution of military personnel" reference is because "Gannon" had registered the domain names Hotmilitarystud.com, Militaryescorts.com, and Militaryescortsm4m.com, according to Daily Kos.
And, just to give the story some longer legs, there's the Valerie Plame connection...
| Louise Slaughter | George W. Bush | Propaganda | Valerie Plame | SCLM | Vast Right-wing Conspiracy |
