Where is Gannon's Pulitzer?

Rep. Slaughter on today's Gannon Development

Washington, DC - Rep. Louise M. Slaughter (NY-28), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Rules, responded today to news that Jeff Gannon may have leaked mul.

"We must shine the light of day on this issue.  The White House's refusal to be forthcoming on the matter only underscores the need for these hearings," said Rep. Slaughter.  "Day after day we learn more about Mr. Gannon's special relationship with this White House and day after day the Administration.

The letters follow:

The Honorable F. James Sensenbrenner

Chairman

Committee on the Judiciary

2138 Rayburn House Office Building

Washington, DC 20515

Dear Mr. Chairman:

            We write you to request that the Judiciary Committee hold hearings and investigate the vital issue of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Secret Service's role in performing security clearances for the White House press corps.  In particular, we are concerned that rules were bent in allowing a fraudulent reporter to gain access to the White House briefing room and to a classified Central Intelligence Agency memo.  We think it is incumbent upon the Judiciary Committee to ascertain how these agencies were used to perpetuate this abuse.

            It is now widely known that James D. Guckert, a Republican activist, gained access to the White House press briefing room and Presidential press conferences and was allowed to work under an assumed name, "Jeff Gannon."  He received this approval on an unusually expedited, if not immediate, basis considering that his news agency was not even in existence for more than a month after he first began attending White House briefings.  This appears to contradict the strict standards Secret Service sets for protecting the president in the past and have applied to others seeking access to the White House or the President. 

            We are also deeply concerned that Mr. Guckert has claimed to have access a classified CIA memo containing the identity of undercover agent, Valerie Plame.  Many have asserted that the White House was so focused on smearing the reputation of Ambassador Joseph Wilson, that it knowingly leaked his wife's identity to a Republican activist posing as a journalist.

            We have repeatedly expressed these concerns to the Department of Homeland Security and specifically the United States Secret Service.  Unfortunately, we have not received any responses to the above inquiries. 

            In our view, this course of events is not consistent with the strict standards and security policies purportedly set by the Secret Service and we need to investigate this matter.  We look forward to full and open hearings concerning this misapplication of security policies.

Sincerely,

Louise Slaughter                      John Conyers, Jr.

Ranking Member,                    Ranking Member,

Committee on Rules                Committee on Judiciary