White House reporter quits over false identity

Security is tight at the White House, even for the media. Just ask Jeff Gannon - or better still, James Guckert.

Mr Guckert has resigned as correspondent with the online Talon News after revelations that he was using a false identity to obtain White House credentials. The right-wing reporter, whose former employer is funded by a Texas Republican, was notorious among the press corps for asking soft questions of the press secretary Scott McClellan - quite a feat given the usual asinine fare.

But in an effort to dig up information on Mr Guckert, liberal bloggers found he was linked to several websites with seemingly homoerotic domain names. And his credentials were fake. In a message posted on his own website, Mr Guckert said he had resigned because of all the attention.