ï»¿TITLE:  James D. Guckert--Reprinting Government Press Releases as His Own Work, B-304829, June 6, 2005
BNUMBER:  B-304829
DATE:  June 6, 2005
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   B-304829

   June 6, 2005

   The Honorable Louise M. Slaughter

   Ranking Member

   Rules Committee

   U.S. House of Representatives

   The Honorable John Conyers, Jr.

   Ranking Member

   Judiciary Committee

   U.S. House of Representatives

   Subject: James D. Guckert--Reprinting Government Press Releases as His Own
Work

   This responds to your joint letter, dated February 23, 2005, asking us to
consider certain activities by Mr. James D. Guckert (also known as Jeff
Gannon).  Your letter notes that some recent press reports have claimed
that Mr. Guckert repeatedly incorporated substantial excerpts from White
House press releases into articles he published on the internet without
disclosing that this material was produced and distributed by the
government.[1]  Letter from Representative Slaughter and Representative
Conyers to David M. Walker, Comptroller General, Feb. 23, 2005.

   You believe that Mr. Guckert's verbatim reprinting of White House press
releases as his own work may have violated the prohibition on the use of
appropriated funds for publicity or propaganda purposes, as discussed in
our recent Circular Letter, B-304272, Feb. 17, 2005, and other opinions
which address the publicity or propaganda prohibition and the use of
appropriated funds for prepackaged news stories.[2]  You asked us to opine
on whether Mr. Guckert's activities amounted to a violation of that
prohibition. 

   On this record, and for the reasons given below, we have decided to take
no action on this matter.  Even if we assume that the allegations in the
press are true--that Mr. Guckert incorporated parts of press releases
without indicating their source--these allegations do not suggest a
violation of the publicity or propaganda prohibition.  The publicity or
propaganda prohibition bars, among other things, the government's  use of
appropriated funds to produce and distribute communications that conceal
or fail to disclose to the intended audience that they were produced and
distributed by the government.  E.g., B-304272, Feb. 17, 2005; B-303495,
Jan. 4, 2005; B-302710, May 19, 2004.  The press reports specifically
describe the government documents that Mr. Guckert used as "White House
press releases."  We understand the term, "White House press releases," to
refer to White House communications which clearly disclose on their face
that they were produced and distributed by a government office.  They are
provided to journalists covering the White House and are available to the
public at large at the White House website.[3]  The White House
distributes its press releases to all who request them and identifies the
White House as the source of the communication.

   The publicity or propaganda prohibition is a restriction on the
government's use of appropriated funds in disseminating information and
does not prescribe legal limitations upon subsequent use of that
information.  56 Comp. Gen. 889, 891 (1977) ("An essential prerequisite to
a violation . . . is the use of appropriated funds in connection with the
activities in question.")  The activity in question here is not the
issuing of press releases by the White House, which is a government
activity, but their subsequent use by a private citizen who used them
verbatim.  This activity is beyond the scope of the prohibition.

   In your letter, you liken this activity to activities found in earlier GAO
cases regarding agencies authoring newspaper articles and op-ed pieces. 
However, the fact situations giving rise to the earlier opinions differ
significantly from the issue of Mr. Guckert reprinting press releases. 
There the agencies did not issue press releases, but instead used
appropriated funds to write the editorials and news stories

   as the ostensible work or opinion of someone not connected with the
government.  B-223098, Oct. 10, 1986; B-229069, Sept. 30, 1987.  Mr.
Guckert's actions in reprinting press releases are not the actions of the
government. 

   If you have any questions regarding this matter, please contact Susan A.
Poling, Managing Associate General Counsel, at 202-512-2667, or Thomas H.
Armstrong, Assistant General Counsel, at 202-512-8257.

   Anthony H. Gamboa
General Counsel

   DIGEST

   B-304829

   Allegations that a private citizen, acting alone, reproduced in his own
work, without attribution, verbatim excerpts from "White House press
releases," even if true, do not suggest a violation of the prohibition in
the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2005, Pub. L. No. 108-447, div. H,
title VI, S 624, 118 Stat. 2809, 3278 (Dec. 8, 2004), regarding the use of
appropriated funds for publicity or propaganda.

   ------------------------

   [1] See, e.g., Dante Chinni, The Christian Science Monitor, Time for Bush
to define "independent press," at http://www.csmonitor.com/
2005/0222/p11s01-codc.html (Feb. 22, 2005) ("many of [Guckert's] stories
contained verbatim repeats of White House press releases"); Ron Brynaert,
Why Are We Back In Iraq? Jeff Gannon Likes To Plagiarize The Associated
Press, at http://whyareweback.blogspot.com/2005/03/
jeff-gannon-likes-to-plagiarize.html (Mar. 29, 2005); Media Matters for
America, Talon News "reporter"' lifts from GOP documents verbatim for
"news reports," at http:// mediamatters.org/items/ 200501280001 (Jan. 27,
2005).

   [2] The current publicity or propaganda prohibition states:  "No part of
any appropriation contained in this or any other Act shall be used for
publicity or propaganda purposes within the United States not heretofore
authorized by the Congress."  Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2005, Pub.
L. No. 108-447, div. H, title VI, S 624, 118 Stat. 2809, 3278 (Dec. 8,
2004).

   [3] White House, Presidential News and Speeches, at http://www.whitehouse.
gov/news/ (last visited May 20, 2005).