Dear Mr. President:
In light of the mounting evidence that your Administration has, on several occasions, paid members of the media to advocate in favor of Administration policies, I feel compelled to ask you to address a matter brought to my attention by the Niagara Falls Reporter (article attached), a local newspaper in my district, regarding James "JD" Guckert (AKA Jeff Gannon) of Talon News.
According to several credible reports, "Mr. Gannon" has been repeatedly credentialed as a member of the White House press corps by your office and has been regularly called upon in White House press briefings by your Press Secretary Scott McClellan, despite the fact evidence shows that "Mr. Gannon" is a Republican political operative, uses a false name, has phony or questionable journalistic credentials, is known for plagiarizing much of the "news" he reports, and according to several web reports, may have ties to the promotion of the prostitution of military personnel.
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Since that time, two more members of the media have been found to have received money from your Administration in exchange for their vocal, yet undisclosed support of Administration policies.
And just this morning we have learned that "Mr. Gannon" has resigned his post at the, so called, Talon News amid growing concerns over his controversial background and falsified qualifications. In fact, it appears that "Mr. Gannon's" presence in the White House press corps was merely as a tool of propaganda for your Administration.
Mr. President, I am sure we both agree the White House Press Corps is an honored institution in America that should be beyond the scope of partisan meddling, and that a free and independent media is the cornerstone of our success as a democracy. Likewise, I am sure we can both agree the American people have the right to expect that journalists who question their President everyday are experienced, independent, and perhaps most importantly, unbiased in their approach.
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Respectfully,
Louise M. Slaughter
Ranking Member, House Committee on Rules
Other Dem bloggers are all over this, but WTF (as usual) is dead on:
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Jebus. Moral clarity, huh? Never mind the fact that Rove and company used this guy like the gay prostitutes he pimps for, but they gave daily access to someone from a fake news service using a pseudonym and having no journalism credentials or qualifications, and called on him in press conferences almost every day. How very #ucking unethical.
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The brainwashing has begun. How come none of these 'investigative' reporters bit into this? I mean, this asshole was in the midst of them. They're a bunch of fucking cowards whose spines crumbled at the same time the Twin Towers did.
