04/25/2005
Jeff Gannon Press Room Records Revealed
Logs of Jeff Gannon's access to the White House that have been obtained by Reps Slaughter and Conyers through the Freedom of Information Act reveal that the former Talon news reporter made over 200 visits to the White House and more than two dozen of those visits were made when there were no scheduled briefings.
"Guckert made more than 200 appearances at the White House during his two-year tenure with the fledging conservative websites GOPUSA and Talon News, attending 155 of 196 White House press briefings. He had little to no previous journalism experience, previously worked as a male escort, and was refused a congressional press pass.
Perhaps more notable than the frequency of his attendance, however, is several distinct anomalies about his visits.
Guckert made more than two dozen excursions to the White House when there were no scheduled briefings. On many of these days, the Press Office held press gaggles aboard Air Force One—which raises questions about what Guckert was doing at the White House. On other days, the president held photo opportunities.
On at least fourteen occasions, Secret Service records show either the entry or exit time missing. Generally, the existing entry or exit times correlate with press conferences; on most of these days, the records show that Guckert checked in but was never processed out."
The records also show that Gannon applied under his real name James Guckert but provide no evidence as to who approved his day passes or why, on several occasions Guckert failed to check in or check out with the Secret Service and used various entry/exit points to the White House.
Secret Service records raise new questions about discredited conservative reporter [raw story]
Documents [raw story]
Posted 9:20 AM EST by Andy Towle in Current Affairs | Permalink
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Dig deeper! Dig deeper!
I smell something more than journalism going on here!!!
Did Karl Rove need a hot soldier?
Posted by: dig | Apr 25, 2005 10:17:18 AM
It's an interesting story, but I'm not sure what it means. Is this just a case of poor tracking or lax security? I'd be curious to see similar records for other White House reporters.
Posted by: Mike | Apr 25, 2005 10:36:15 AM
Yeah, sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.
Posted by: greg.org | Apr 25, 2005 11:43:49 AM
He paid 200 visits to the White House, but only 155 of them were for press briefings? Hmmm...
"On at least fourteen occasions, Secret Service records show either the entry or exit time missing....on most of these days, the records show that Guckert checked in but was never processed out." Hmmm... Maybe he slipped out the rear entry...
"Guckert sometimes stayed for an extended period of time before and after press conferences, particularly early in his tenure. This was especially common during his first few months, when he might be in the White House for as long as six hours." Hmmm... A six-hour coaching session...? Yes, SIR!
"Occasionally, the former Talon News reporter visited the White House twice on the same day." Hmmm... Maybe he went back for something he forgot. Like his watch. Or his jockstrap.
Posted by: Odyssey | Apr 25, 2005 12:00:30 PM
i have no idea how well they keep records, or how stringenet they are at making sure everyone signs in and out every time - BUT, it is rather humourous for those of us looking for dirt, to match up the "didn't sign out" to the "signed out, but didnt sign in" days - think he had a sleepover or two???
Posted by: bj | Apr 25, 2005 1:14:35 PM
I'm not surprised there's no record of some of his departures from the White House. Gannon is a well-known back-door man, is he not?
Posted by: Tom | Apr 25, 2005 3:14:50 PM
Oh man, BJ and Tom. Hilarious.
Posted by: Rob | Apr 25, 2005 4:12:56 PM
Cherchez la robe bleue.
Posted by: Lolly | Apr 25, 2005 10:22:07 PM
"Cherchez la robe bleue" is my favorite comment of all time on this site.
Posted by: Becky | Apr 25, 2005 11:13:43 PM