Jeff Gannon is the pseudonym of James Dale Guckert (born May 22, 1957), an American conservative columnist who obtained White House press credentials between 2003 and 2005. He was employed by the conservative website Talon News during this period.
Background and Education
Guckert was born on May 22, 1957, and attended West Chester University of Pennsylvania. He later stated on his resume that he graduated from the Leadership Institute Broadcast School of Journalism, a two-day seminar for conservatives seeking careers in journalism.
White House Press Credentials
Gannon first attended a White House press conference on February 28, 2003, asking a question of then-Press Secretary Ari Fleischer. At that time, he had never published an article and was not affiliated with any news organization. He obtained daily one-day press passes for nearly two years, thereby avoiding the extensive background checks required for permanent passes. He was denied a Congressional press pass in April 2004 by the Standing Committee of Correspondents, which ruled that Talon News did not qualify as a legitimate independent news service.
National Attention
Gannon gained national attention on January 26, 2005, during a presidential press conference when he asked President George W. Bush: "How are you going to work with people who seem to have divorced themselves from reality?" — a question widely criticized as excessively deferential. The question contained a factually inaccurate assertion: comments about "soup lines" attributed to Senator Harry Reid had actually been satirically attributed to him by conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh.
Controversy and Scrutiny
Following the January 2005 press conference, scrutiny into Gannon's background revealed that he had been involved with gay escort service websites using the professional name "Bulldog," and that naked pictures of him had appeared on such sites. Gannon acknowledged having "regrets" about his past but stated that White House officials were unaware of these activities. He resigned from Talon News on February 8, 2005.
Connection to the Valerie Plame Investigation
Gannon was questioned by the Justice Department in relation to the criminal investigation into the Valerie Plame affair. In October 2003, Talon News published a three-part interview Gannon conducted with Ambassador Joseph C. Wilson, in which Gannon asked about an internal government memo suggesting that Wilson's wife, Valerie Plame, had recommended him for a mission to Niger. The FBI spoke to Gannon about who had leaked the classified memo.
Later Work
In July 2005, Gannon began writing for the Washington Blade, a Washington, D.C.-area gay publication. He was fired from that position in September 2006 by the new editorial team, with editor Kevin Naff citing Gannon's "huge credibility problem." In 2007, Gannon self-published a book titled The Great Media War. He also operated a blog, JeffGannon.com, which has since been taken offline.
House Judiciary Committee
On March 16, 2005, the House Judiciary Committee voted against a resolution that would have directed the Attorney General and the Secretary of Homeland Security to transmit documents related to the security investigations involved in granting Gannon access to the White House. The Secret Service stated that it had investigated the matter and found "no deviation from Secret Service standards and procedures."
