War and Piece:

February 17, 2005

I'm still mystified by this story. I was rejected for
a White House press pass at the start of the Bush administration, but someone with an alias, a tax evasion problem and Internet pictures where he posed
like the "Barberini Faun" is credentialed to cover a White House that won a second term by mining homophobia and preaching family values?

At first when I tried to complain about not getting my pass renewed, even though I'd been covering presidents and first ladies since 1986, no one called me back.

Finally, when Mr. McClellan replaced Ari Fleischer, he said he'd renew the pass - after a new Secret Service background check that would last several months.

In an era when security concerns are paramount, what kind of Secret Service background check did James Guckert get so he could saunter into the West Wing
every day under an assumed name while he was doing full-frontal advertising for stud services for $1,200 a weekend? He used a driver's license that said James Guckert to get into the White House, then, once inside, switched to his alter ego, asking questions as Jeff Gannon.

Mr. McClellan shrugged this off to Editor & Publisher magazine, oddly noting, "People use aliases all the time in life, from journalists to actors."

I know the F.B.I. computers don't work, but this is ridiculous. After getting gobsmacked by the louche sagas of Mr. Guckert and Bernard Kerik, the White
House vetters should consider adding someone with some blogging experience.

Update: Meantime, noting that it has been confirmed that "Jeff Gannon" was in the White House on February 28, 2003 -- a full month before TalonNews even existed, Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY) has written to President Bush demanding to know why. This story just gets weirder and weirder. So "Gannon" was stringing from the White House before TalonNews existed, and Dowd couldn't get a White House press pass after covering the WH since Reagan?? while a staffer for the well known publication you might have heard of called the New York Times?

Posted by Laura at February 17, 2005 10:01 AM