DID Jeff Gannon have a HARD PASS for W.H. press briefings? (photos)

[latteromden]

Ladydawg at DKos brought this up in the comments in this thread: http://www.dailykos.com/comments/2005/2/16/155840/912/29

In the March 3, 2003 press briefing, a woman is called on to ask a question. Behind her sits a man who looks spetacularly like Jeff Gannon, with... oh, what's that? Well, it certainly LOOKS like a laminated, permanent pass with his picture on it. There are two photos at the link provided, and I took some screencaps of my own, too (forgive the random effects - I was trying to get the pass to show up more clearly):













I can't say I've ever seen a hard pass, so I don't know about the validity of this, but DEFINITELY something we need to look into. If you want to check the video out (it seems even more clear that it's Gannon on the video), it's the 3/3/2003 briefing, about 35:10 in.

Edit: photos from DailyKos discussion!

[Oreo]

1. Bingo!

I really doubt daily passes would have a photo id. I'm sure this would be easy to find out.

Can everybody email this to KO, Maureen Dowd, and anybody else that's covering this?

I just sent this to KO, Dowd, Today, Hardball. Eventually they may see this is their opportunity to break out of the regime's control.

[Renew Deal]

7. Everything needs a photo ID

You need a photo ID to get a day pass for the building I work in. I'm sure it's even stricter at the WH.

[MADem]

42. No photos on day passes, not at the WH, not at State, not at the Pentagon,

...not at ANY of the Federal Office Buildings (FOBs) in DC. I know--I've gotten day passes at many of these places.

[bossfish]

62. I was just at a DOE site TODAY...

and I had a hard daily pass with my picture on it. They took my pic in the morning and I turned the pass in when I left.

[libertypirate]

23. Day pass or Perm pass --- descriptions of what they look like

From E&P
http://199.249.170.220/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000807442

But Milbank affirmed, in an interview posted today at the popular blog Daily Kos, “A hard pass has your photo and news org and name on it. A daily pass is just a brown and white striped pass that says, ‘Press,’ on it and comes on a dog-tag style chain. Note that the one Gannon wears in the footage on TV is a blue lanyard - not the sort of thing a day pass comes on.”

lp

[Beetwasher]

2. Cool! Link to Other Discussion! RECOMMENDED!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x3129327

Also, you had posted some other clearer pics, can you post those as well! Thanks for your great work!

[Norquist Nemesis]

3. We'd really need to see both types

(the new each day and the "hard" pass) before we make judgements. Then we can take a more detailed look at passes Gannon was sporting...maybe he got a promotion in January as well!

[paineinthearse]

4. Devil's advocate

Just because it is laminated and has a photo does not make it a "regular" credential.

I've visited companies that take a photo for a day pass.

Sorry.

......BUT DEFINATELY WORTH PURSUING....send to Louise Slaughter.

[Beetwasher]

8. True, Which Is Why We Are Asking

and still digging. We need to get pics of the day and hard passes and compare them to what he's wearing.

Dana Milbank claims he saw Gannon's pass and he and others believed it to be a hard pass. Milbank would know the difference.

[latteromden]

22. Yep - if it's a hard pass, GOOD stuff. If not, we tried, and this is from

early 2003, so it's pretty much hit or miss looking back at this period of time.

[Webster Green]

5. Looks like it has a photo on it...

There is a clear enough image there to compare it to the actual hard passes in use. It shouldn't be too hard to find a clear image of the hard pass worn by a legitimate reporter.

[gasperc]

6. he was only sucking dick back then

not quite fucking for money yet, so one can not say that this rises to the level of scandal worthy of the MSM


so let us summarize, lying about intern giving blow job BAD.

Gay prostitute using fake name to get past secret service and gain press access OK

[shraby]

10. I don't see any passes on the others. n/t

[Beetwasher]

14. I Do

But they are not as clear. I see the string on the woman asking the question and the guys to left and right of here clearly have passes though they are somewhat obscured.

[11cents]

9. Buh?

If there's someone there that looks like Guckert it certainly isn't evident from these stills!

And we don't know what hard passes/soft passes look like. It only takes a second to make a laminated card with picture if you have a digitalized picture available.

[Beetwasher]

11. But OTHER Reporters Have Said They Thought He Had A Hard Pass

For example, Dana Milbank, whou would know the difference. Milbank said OTHER had ALSO thought he had a hard pass. That's why this issue came to light in the first place.

[11cents]

15. Fine, that's evidence

It's just that these blurry faceless stills and suppositions about what hard passes look like aren't.

[Beetwasher]

19. DANA MILBANK ON THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HARD AND DAILY PASSES

You've stated that you think you've seen Gannon with a "hard press" pass. What is the visual difference between a hard pass and a daily pass?

A hard pass has your photo and news org and name on it. A daily pass is just a brown and white striped pass that says, "Press," on it and comes on a dog-tag style chain. Note that the one Gannon wears in the footage on TV is a blue lanyard - not the sort of thing a day pass comes on.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/2/17/10515/0631

[Stephanie]

26. Woot! That's it!

Scotty is lying, lying, lying again.

[ultraist]

17. Yes, but it 's easy to find out what a day pass & regular pass looks like

[Botany]

12. Nice Catch

HMMMMMM???????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Question, Jeff?


:bounce:

[Stephanie]

13. I asked this question last week WRT the LIES of Scotty McClellan >

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...

Milbank thinks he saw a hard pass. Is Scotty lying about this too?
___________________


http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6947877 /

Feb. 9.

OLBERMANN: Was he—it‘s been reported that he was issued daily passes rather than the proverbial hard pass, the permanent one that admitted him. Is that correct, to your knowledge?

MILBANK: Well, we don‘t know. I‘ve seen him with something that looked an awful lot like a permanent White House pass, with his face, name and organization on it. Others have seen the same thing. We don‘t know for sure. But either way, it‘s clear that Scott Mcclellan knew that it wasn‘t his real name. He had to provide his real name to get into the White House. So, here you have the press secretary to the United States, playing along addressing this guy by his pseudo name. So there was some degree of complicity, even if he was not granted, against White House rules, an actually hard past.

___________________


http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/02/20050210-6.html#4

Q Jeff Gannon. How did he get a White House pass, or what kind of credentials did he have?

MR. McCLELLAN: Just like anyone else who comes to the White House.

Q Hard pass?

MR. McCLELLAN: No, he had never applied for a hard pass. He had a daily pass.I think he's been coming for --

Q Was he coming for --

MR. McCLELLAN: Hang on. I think he's been coming for more than two years now.

* * * * *

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, like I said -- what do I think about it? Well, let me explain a few things. First, as the press secretary, I don't think it's the role of the Press Secretary to get into picking or choosing who gets press credentials. Also, I don't think it's the role of the Press Secretary to get into being a media critic, and I think there are very good reasons for that. I've never inserted myself into the process. He, like anyone else, showed that he was representing a news organization that published regularly, and so he was cleared two years ago to receive daily passes, just like many others are. The issue comes up -- it becomes, in this day and age, when you have a changing media, it's not an easy issue to decide or try to pick and choose who is a journalist. And there -- it gets into the issue of advocacy journalism. Where do you draw the line? There are a number of people who cross that line in the briefing room.

* * * * *
Q But just to make it clear, the only criteria, from the White House perspective is, someone can pass the Secret Service background check

MR. McCLELLAN: No, no, that's not -- first of all, I don't involve myself in that process, it's handled at a staff level. Like I said, if the White House Correspondents Association ever wants to talk about issues, I welcome that. But it becomes an issue -- it becomes an issue of where do you draw the line? Do you draw the line at advocacy journalism because there are a number of people that crossed that line, as I said? But there's hard -- there's hard passes and there's daily passes, as you are well aware. For a hard pass, you have to have a House and Senate credential, you have to regularly cover the White House, you have to apply for it, you have to go through a detailed FBI background check.

___________________

[KC21304]

24. So what sense does it make to have

hard pass standards tougher if they let someone in everyday for 2 years with a phony name representing a phony news outfit ?

[Stephanie]

27. Someone who would not survive a background check by the FBI

So it seems he was given the hard pass without the background check? How could that be?

[Beetwasher]

28. Or He WAS Given The Background Check

and somehow was STILL given access! Which is worse? :shrug:

[lawladyprof]

45. "For a hard pass, you have to have a House and Senate credential"

But we already know he was turned down for a House credential (date?) so. . . . Was WH/Scottie aware he hadn't passed the smell test (assuming they turned him down over his lack of legitimacy rather than knowing about his other "profession") over at the Capitol?

[ClintonTyree]

50. Correctamundo................

He was denied a Congressional Pass because "Talon News" wasn't a real news agency. And if one of the criteria for getting a permanent pass is having the Congressional Pass, then someone KNOWINGLY allowed "Bulldog" to get a permanent pass, sidestepping the security measures in place. Not to mention that "Talon News" isn't a legitimate news organization, and if the Secret Service vetting didn't turn up ANY dirt on this asshat BEFORE credentials were given, I'll eat my fricking hat!

This stinks right to the top, folks. Someone is going to have to be held accountable for this. The questions is; Who has the POWER to circumvent the entire process for the likes of "Bulldog"?

[Blue Gardener]

58. I would think Bush* has the power

He is the one who is supposed to be in charge. I seems like all it would take is his word for Gannon/Guckert to get a hard pass.

[gademocrat7]

64. Yes,shrub has the power

and good buddies in Texas that front Talon News.. Hope this will finally wake up the sheeple.

[Beetwasher]

16. DANA MILBANK ON THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HARD AND DAILY PASSES

You've stated that you think you've seen Gannon with a "hard press" pass. What is the visual difference between a hard pass and a daily pass?

A hard pass has your photo and news org and name on it. A daily pass is just a brown and white striped pass that says, "Press," on it and comes on a dog-tag style chain. Note that the one Gannon wears in the footage on TV is a blue lanyard - not the sort of thing a day pass comes on.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/2/17/10515/0631

That is NOT a daily pass Gannon is wearing according to Milbank who would know!

[Oreo]

21. You rock

:yourock:
:kick:

[latteromden]

31. Yes! Thank you!

[Oreo]

18. If his pass is visible

How hard would it be for someone to go through the video and find another reporter that we know has a hardpass and compare them

[Walt Starr]

29. I think that's being done right now by some people

:evilgrin:

[latteromden]

34. Trying right now - maaan, there are a lot of briefings. So much time for

lying.

[merh]

20. Great work.

thanks

[pleft]

25. Is this today's top story

Earlier this week we cleared up his past.

Yesterday we found that he was attending press briefings before Talon was a 'news organization'

Today's headline is that he had a "hard pass". We now need a journalist to get a White House reaction to these discoveries. And we need someone to ask HOW he got the pass. That is the next step...right?

[BurtWorm]

30. That sure does look like a photograph.

I have some questions about what these passes look like out to some WH reporters who might have answers. I hope they answer me, in which case I'll share what they say here.

[Beetwasher]

32. Dana Milbank Already Has Addressed It:

You've stated that you think you've seen Gannon with a "hard press" pass. What is the visual difference between a hard pass and a daily pass?

A hard pass has your photo and news org and name on it. A daily pass is just a brown and white striped pass that says, "Press," on it and comes on a dog-tag style chain. Note that the one Gannon wears in the footage on TV is a blue lanyard - not the sort of thing a day pass comes on.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/2/17/10515/0631

[BurtWorm]

35. I just saw that.

Very interesting indeed.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

44. Do you know anyone who could contact Maureen Dowd?

I've emailed her with this question. She's very upset and I have a feeling she'll be of assistance.

Have you read her editorial?
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/17/opinion/17dowd.html?hp

[BurtWorm]

47. I did.

I thought it was irrelevant until I saw this photo of Gannon's pass. I've got an e-mail into Dana Milbank, but I don't know if I'll be lucky enough to get an answer.

[DU GrovelBot]

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[Al-CIAda]

36. Fantastic job!

[seventythree]

37. thanks for your work

[MadAsHellNewYorker]

38. amazing work!

scottys a big liar...but we knew that already...

[Roland99]

39. Good eye and good work!!

[Fuzz]

40. So it's obvious they are hiding something. Now to find out what.

We can speculate, and it seems obvious that there was some collusion, but somehow there needs to be a smoking gun of some sort for there to be some major media coverage.

The propaganda administration at it again.

[Spazito]

41. Kick!

:kick:

[MADem]

43. They need to find out if he was issued a HARD PASS

...that did NOT originate from the WHITE HOUSE PRESS OFFICE. It's entirely possible that he was authorized a WH Pass from ANOTHER office, NOT THE PRESS OFFICE. Housekeeping staff, secretarial staff, gardeners, chefs, all sorts of office workers get these passes--and these are NOT granted by the PRESS OFFICE.

The lame stream "reporters" need to TUG THAT STRING, HARD....and see what they reel in. I think they'll be surprised at what they may find out. Who signed the paper that got him the pass? Wonder if Special Prosecutor Fitzgerald, or one of the Feebs, has asked JimmyJeff this question yet????

[Walt Starr]

46. Kos is calling this one done. He had a hard pass before Talon News existed

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/2/17/125328/435

[crispini]

48. Brilliant!

:kick:

[Toucano]

49. Excellent!

Beyond any doubt, that's a photo.

That's a hard pass, no doubt!

[Ganja Ninja]

51. I knew this would happen sooner or later.

There has to be pictures of Gannon with his hard pass swinging from his neck. Sure enough here it is. There's got to be more of these showing up soon.

[Beetwasher]

52. Kick!

n/t

[icehenge]

53. Approving passes

Scott McClelland, Bush's Press Secretary, says he doesn't
put his hand in approving press credentials.

Is there a someone we can talk to to verify or disprove this?
Like a reporter or employee?

And if McClelland isn't in charge of approving passes who
is? Names? Are they connected with this?

[SeattleRob]

54. Awesome work!

:kick:

[Walt Starr]

55. Closeup of somebody in second row

And the photo of Guckert:



I don't know. Based upon the angle, they could be the same type of ID card.

[pixelthief]

56. Slightly enhanced...

No doubt that's a photo.

[Us vs Them]

57. Well done, well done.

This story is the gift that keeps on giving.

[obiwan]

59. Note to 2 Unemployed Democrats, Evolve Fish, etc.:

I smell BUMPER STICKER OPPORTUNITY!

(Gannongate)

Hard to smell the shit when you are wallowing in it.

[bpilgrim]

60. (WAVING BOTH ARMS) has WP seen this yet?

would love to hear his thoughts on this.

it's certainly a PHOTO ID...

peace

[dhinojosa]

61. DEVIL'S ADVOCATE PLEASE...

what does a hard pass look like?

[bpilgrim]

63. a photo ID

maybe someone from the M$M will post theirs :evilgrin:

WP time to use your connections ;->

peace

[La Femme]

65. Please read Bossfish post

From Bossfish:
" I was just at a DOE site TODAY and I had a HARD DAILY PASS with my picture on it. They took my pic in the morning and I turned the pass in when I left."