Members of dailykos. We would like your help again. This is YOUR story. Please distribute this press release as per instructions below. The last press release had responses from all over the world and it got he ball rolling.
We are working on other leads and we will be releasing more information in the near future. In the meantime, please recommend so this will be here in the AM.
BTW, props to troutfishing, cho and georgia10 for their help on this.
"As Propagannon is being picked up by the national media, it is critical that we keep them focused on the important aspect of this: How did Guckert get access, and did he have anything to do with the Plame leak?
(1) Please send the link to this this press release, to your local media and national media. Again, you can use
Media Blaster
(2) Email addresses for print, radio, and TV news can be found courtesy of Troutfishing
Here
(3) Call in to radio shows. Call into right-wing radio shows. Ask Hannity and Limbaugh if they agree with Ari that Guckert is a "legitimate" reporter.
(4) Finally, let's not forget the international media. Sometimes, it takes an outside perspective to see how wacky this all is. So please, take a moment and send this to any international media you know."
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Brian Kelly at nybri2@yahoo.com
Member, DailyKos.com
WHITE HOUSE SCRAMBLES TO EXPLAIN
FAKE REPORTER IN ITS PRESS CORPS
Feb.17, 2005 -Internet researchers have uncovered new evidence that contradicts the Bush Administration's claims about James Guckert, a Republican activist allegedly involved in criminal activities and linked to an incident involving a major breach of national security. Guckert, operating as "Jeff Gannon," was granted daily access to White House press briefings for more than two years as a "reporter" for Talon News.
White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan stated that Guckert was granted access in part because he was affiliated with a news organization that "publishes regularly." But yesterday, bloggers discovered video footage suggesting this standard was not applied to Guckert. Video footage of a Feb. 28, 2003 White House press briefing shows Guckert, apparently unaffiliated with any news organization, asking former White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer a question. It is unclear why Guckert was granted any pass at this time, since the Internet-based Talon News did not register its domain name until March 29, 2003.
Maureen Dowd, a Pulitzer Prize winning columnist for the New York Times, reported today she was denied press credentials at the start of the Bush administration in 2001. Yet Guckert, whose only journalistic training was derived from a $50 weekend seminar, was repeatedly granted access.
Despite calls from Congress for the White House to disclose its standards for entrance to the briefing room, the Bush administration has yet to reveal its credentialing standards or details surrounding the scandal, including: specific dates when Guckert was admitted to the briefing room, how many passes he was issued, as well as how he cleared a Secret Service background check while owing the state of Delaware over $20,000 in back taxes (penalties and interest) and possibly engaging in prostitution, as revealed by Americablog.org.
Guckert has also been implicated in a leak of federal classified information that revealed the identity of CIA undercover agent Valerie Plame. Revealing the identity of an undercover agent is a federal crime.
White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan has insisted that President Bush will do anything he can to assist the Plame investigation. But the White House has not answered questions about the role of Guckert in the Plame investigation or his inexplicable access to White House Press Corps briefings.
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