As most of you are aware, AMERICAblog has been hinting at a big story relating to 'Gannon' since last night...
The illustrious SusanG and NYBri are out for the morning, so you guys are stuck with me... ;-)
More on the flip...
Since the original story broke last week, we on the crew have continued to dig for the bigger story and have supported John's efforts at Americablog to keep this issue in the news. We are following leads and connecting the dots to help unravel who is the
man behind the curtain.
It's a long process, but we are committed to staying the course... because it's hard work... really hard work (sorry, couldn't resist). We will continue to do so, because although sex sells (and can be a fun diversion), it is not the whole issue here. The real story behind Gannon is how was a man with no journalism experience, who worked for a GOP front 'news organization' given access to the press gallery day after day where he was a lifeline for Scott McClellan, allowed to ask the President a partisan softball question, leaked classified information on Valerie Plame and serve as a propaganda tool for the administration?
The issues we need to keep focusing on are:
Why did he have access to a CIA memo?
Who's behind him? Who's funding him?
Okay, enough serious business... onto the breaking story:
www.americablog.org :
A man called Jeff
by John in DC - 2/14/2005 01:26:00 PM
WARNING: A number of the links in this story are to x-rated photographs, [even the link to Americablog is not work safe right now] and some of those might prove shocking to some people. Please exercise your own discretion when clicking. (And, as you read, please forgive the necessary typos - I'm going for rock-solid facts, rather than spelling.)
WOLF BLITZER: Because one of the things, as you know, that were said is that you had some sexually explicit Web sites that you were working on. I don't understand what that is, but maybe you could explain that.
JEFF GANNON: Well, several years ago, before I came to Washington, I had registered various domain names for a private client. I was doing Web site development. Those sites were never hosted. There's -- nothing ever went up on them. And the client went on to do something else. - CNN, 2/10/05
[snip]
In 1999, Paul Leddy, a Web designer and photographer, says he received an email from a man named Jeff from Wilmington, Delaware. Jeff wanted Paul to build him a new Web site for his business. Paul accepted the job, provided Jeff mailed him a check with half the money up front (Jeff had not provided a last name, and Paul wanted to make sure he was for real). Jeff sent the check, it cleared, and Paul built the site and launched it online for Jeff.
Paul didn't think about Jeff much until last week when he heard about a breaking scandal involving a man named Jeff who owned several military escort service Web addresses. "I saw the name Jeff Gannon, knew our Jeff, saw the militarystud.com Web address, and thought `hmmm, everything was military, that sounds like Jeff who we did the site for.'"
Paul searched the Internet WhoIs director for militarystud.com and saw that the owner was Bedrock Corp of Wilmington, Delaware. "That's definitely him," Paul said. (Paul and a second source both recall Jeff paying with a check in the name of Bedrock Corp. The name stuck in their heads at the time because they asked Jeff why "Bedrock"? He replied something about the Flintstones, they recall.)
Paul then went and checked his files. He found five invoices to Jeff from August 31, 1999 to March 30, 2000. (The file properties say they were created on those dates by Paul Leddy.)
[snip]
The invoices are from BELDesigns for “Website Design”and “hosting.” The billing address?
Bedrock Corp
5721 Kennett Pike
Centreville, DE 19807
(Paul Leddy’s address, phone number and email were removed from this invoice by me before publishing, at Paul’s request. I am happy to show the full invoice to journalists.)
[snip]
Conclusion:
So in the end, why does this matter? Why does it matter that Jeff Gannon may have been a gay hooker named James Guckert with a $20,000 defaulted court judgment against him? So he somehow got a job lobbing softball questions to the White House. Big deal. If he was already a prostitute, why not be one in the White House briefing room as well?
This is the Conservative Republican Bush White House we're talking about. It's looking increasingly like they made a decision to allow a hooker to ask the President of the United States questions. They made a decision to give a man with an alias and no journalistic experience access to the West Wing of the White House on a "daily basis." They reportedly made a decision to give him - one of only six - access to documents, or information in those documents, that exposed a clandestine CIA operative. Say what you will about Monika Lewinsky - a tasteless episode, "inappropriate," whatever. Monika wasn't a gay prostitute running around the West Wing. What kind of leadership would let prostitutes roam the halls of the West Wing? What kind of war-time leadership can't find the same information that took bloggers only days to find?
None of this is by accident.
Someone had to make a decision to let all this happen. Who? Someone committed a crime in exposing Valerie Plame and now it appears a gay hooker may be right in the middle of all of it? Who?
Ultimately, it is the hypocrisy that is such a challenge to grasp in this story. This is the same White House that ran for office on a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage. While they are surrounded by gay hookers? While they use a gay hooker to write articles for their gay hating political base? While they use a gay hooker to destroy a political enemy?
Who in the White House is at the center of all of this? Who allowed this to go on in the People's House? Who committed the crime of exposing Valerie Plame? Jeff Gannon has the answers to these questions, and boy we know he loves to talk.
Let him talk to Patrick Fitzgerald.
Full story at Americablog.
So this is about sex and porn sites... calls Gannon's credibility into question indeed, but let's please not lose site of the classified leak, the propaganda etc.
This is a juicy story all right... but it is just the tip of the iceberg. Let's stay focused, use this to our advantage and keep the pressure on.
It also destroys any remaining credibility Gannon/ Gukhert had left.
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Vive la Resistance!
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