Reply #5: "Go ahead, Jeff." [View All]

[Octafish]

The chimpministration used Gannon as a stooge to link Saddam and WMDs and smear Joe Wilson. From MediaMatters and a Monkey House transcript:

"Go ahead, Jeff": Talon News "reporter" Jeff Gannon is McClellan's lifeline during briefings

EXCERPT...

From the White House website's transcript of the August 9, 2004, briefing:

MR. McCLELLAN: Go ahead, Jeff.

Q: Thank you. The imam that was arrested in New York last week was discovered because his name appeared in a Rolodex in a terrorist training camp in Iraq before the war. The book was found after, by U.S. troops, but he was in Iraq before the war. Is this another piece of evidence showing the direct terror ties between Iraq and al Qaeda?

MR. McCLELLAN: One, that's an ongoing investigation. I think the questions related to those particular individuals are best directed to the Department of Justice. And so that's -- I would refer any questions about that investigation to the Department of Justice. We are continuing to wage the war on terrorism on many fronts, both abroad and at home. And I think you're seeing that through the actions that we are taking.

Q: Let me follow up with a second question. How damaging was the revelation of the deepest mole that we've ever had in al Qaeda? The publication of that man's name by The New York Times -- how damaging is that to our war on terror?

MR. McCLELLAN: I'm sorry -- which specific instance are you referring to?

Q: The New York Times published the name of Muhammad Naeem Noor Khan, who was described by intelligence officials as the only deep mole we've ever had within al Qaeda.

MR. McCLELLAN: I'm not sure where it was published, first. Obviously, it was published recently -- the capture of this individual. It is important that we recognize that sometimes there are ongoing operations underway. And as we move forward on capturing or bringing to justice al Qaeda members, we need to keep that in mind. And sometimes we aren't able to go into as much detail we would like to because of those ongoing operations. And I think everybody has a responsibility to keep that in mind.

"Doesn't (former Ambassador) Joe Wilson owe the President and America an apology?"

During a July 15, 2004, press conference, McClellan again turned to Gannon following questions from reporters about the president's position on the Federal Marriage Amendment; the president's opinion of fundraising consultant Mike Rogers's campaign (detailed in a Washington Post article) to disclose the sexual orientation of gay staffers working for senators and representatives who supported the amendment; and whether Lynne Cheney's opposition to the amendment constituted the first time a vice president's wife had ever publicly opposed the president's policies. After responding, McClellan accepted questions from Gannon, who promptly shifted the focus.

From the White House transcript:

MR. McCLELLAN: Two questions a day. Go ahead, Jeff.

<...>

Q: Last Friday, the Senate Intelligence Committee released a report that shows that Ambassador Joe Wilson lied when he said his wife didn't put him up for the mission to Niger. The British inquiry into their own prewar intelligence yesterday concluded that the President's 16 words ("The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa") were "well-founded." Doesn't Joe Wilson owe the President and America an apology for his deception and his own intelligence failure?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, one, let me point out that I think those reports speak for themselves on that issue. And I think if you have questions about that, you can direct that to Mr. Wilson.

CONTINUED...

http://mediamatters.org/items/200502020014

The worst? That's yet to come. Who knows what Gannon discovered behind closed doors?