http://www.prwatch.org/forum/showthread.php?t=5358
Credit to El Gringo for finding this. I think we can say with near-certanity this is Gannon.
This was a November, 13th, 2002 press conference on the 100th anniversary of the West Wing.
Why's that so important... that's a couple months BEFORE Gannon even started writing for GOPUSA.com according to our timeline!
My theory is that perhaps, someone in the WH asked Bobby Eberle to take Gannon on as a reporter, not Eberle asking the WH for day passes.
Why do I say that... because Bobby Eberle claimed to the Standing Committee of Correspondents Gannon wasn't getting PAID by Talon News/GOPUSA on Feb 27, 2004!
How did this guy get into the White House? Who went to Bobby Eberle and got him involved in dressing up Gannon as a "reporter"?
Recall in 2004, Talon News tried to get in the Congressional Press Pool (http://mediachannel.org/mc/gannondoc.pdf):
"Talon News is an on-line news service owned by Bobby Eberle. He said Mr. Eberle told him Talon News is an all-volunteer news service, though since Mr. Guckert's application was submitted, a stipend was arranged that would provide more than half of Mr. Guckerts [sic] income in an effort to comply with the gallery's requirement that
correspondents be paid, full time employees of the organization for which they are applying. Mr. Keenan said Talon News is the primary news supplier for GOPUSA, also owned by Mr. Eberle, and provides its news service at no charge to other organizations."
Remember, Eberle claims that Talon News wasn't Gannon/Guckert's primary means of income from 2002-2004. Since Gannon's request was denied, I doubt Gannon was getting most of his income from Eberle. Eberle appears to claim that Gannon is a VOLUNTEER REPORTER.
What was Gannon doing for money? Were "clients" in the White House paying him for "male escort services" and who knows what else? Did some folks get suspicious as to what this guy was doing at the WH all the time and then they set up this cover? Or did they plan on bringing him in as a ringer all along? Or was it both?
And who was paying him, if Eberle wasn't?