THERE ONCE WAS A MAN NAMED JIM GUCKERT...

I haven't posted anything about the Jim Guckert/"Jeff Gannon" scandal yet because I haven't come up with a cohesive framework from which to address the whole thing yet. But I do have a laundry list of questions that ought to be asked of various parties by those attempting to move this story forward.

To the White House (whether Scott McClellan in the daily, or George Bush himself):

  • Why was a two-day-old news organization granted entry into the pool, especially in light of their correspondent's near-total lack of reporting experience?
  • Did the Secret Service know Jim Guckert's real name? Did the Secret Service know that he was a current or former prostitute? If not, why not? If so, did they inform the White House?
  • How did Jim Guckert, after only a few months working as a journalist, come to see an internal memo containing unverified information later used to smear Joseph Wilson, at just the time that the outing of Valerie Plame, Wilson's wife, as a CIA agent was gaining attention?
  • Given the recent revelations of three columnists being in the employ of the executive branch, as well as these discoveries about Jim Guckert, will the White House categorically deny that it is paying any other supposedly independent members of the press?

To Jim Guckert:

  • Given that it now appears your claims regarding the "never activated" prostitution sites were flat-out lies, can you produce any of the so-called death threats you claim to have received?
  • Given that all the information gathered about you was placed on the public Internet by you, how do you support your claim that your privacy is being violated by the people investigating you?
  • Why did Talon News purge your stories from its site after you were outed as a GOPUSA stooge?
  • Did Talon News know that you were a prostitute when you were hired? What about when you were assigned to the White House?
  • What were the circumstances under which you came to see the Plame memo?
  • What kind of background check did you have to undergo to enter the press pool? At any point did you lie to the Secret Service about your prostitution?
  • What personal or professional relationship did you have with Scott McClellan before joining the press pool?

To Howard Kurtz, Glenn Reynolds, etc.:

  • Now that you know what it takes to be a real media whore, don't you feel kind of inadequate?

Posted by Aaron S. Veenstra ::: 2005:02:15:17:19

2 Comments

mom said:

So why isn't he facing a subpoena like Cooper and Miller? And why isn't Novak being dragged in front of the GJ?

http://www.forbes.com/business/services/2005/02/16/cx_da_0216topnews.html

Grand juries are sealed, which leads me to believe that Novak has been subpeonaed, but hasn't talked about it in public and has cooperated, thus avoiding jail time.

As for Guckert, I'm sure he'll find his way onto the witness list sooner or later. Patrick Fitzgerald's not doing what I would call a bang-up job with this case, but the pressure from Congress about Guckert will be too much to ignore.

Leave a comment