A man called Jeff

WARNING: A number of the links and images in this story are to x-rated photographs, and some of those might prove shocking to some people. Please exercise your own discretion when clicking. (And, as you read, please forgive the necessary typos – I’m going for rock-solid facts, rather than spelling.) Also, note that the appropriately placed black boxes on some of the photos were added by me – in the original photos, he’s nude.

BACKGROUND: The story below was written for those who already have a rudimentary knowledge of this scandal. If you’re coming to this cold, you might want to start with a few of these links (NY Daily News and video of NBC Nightly News covering the Gannon story). Then read the story below for the real details…

WOLF BLITZER: Because one of the things, as you know, that were said is that you had some sexually explicit Web sites that you were working on. I don’t understand what that is, but maybe you could explain that.

JEFF GANNON: Well, several years ago, before I came to Washington, I had registered various domain names for a private client. I was doing Web site development. Those sites were never hosted. There’s — nothing ever went up on them. And the client went on to do something else. – CNN, 2/10/05

Site 1

The Web site reflects the era in which it was built.

A simple black background, white text, lots of kitschy images and bad puns. The theme is decidedly military. The logo at the top is borrowed from the US Marine Corps, an eagle standing atop an anchor. The letters USMCPT run across the logo, written in the colors of the flag. Below the strange acronym are four words: “Personal Trainer, Bodyguard, Escort.” Above it stands a muscular and headless man in black military boots, white socks, buck naked.

In 1999, Paul Leddy, a Web designer and photographer from Los Angeles, says he received an email from a man named Jeff from Wilmington, Delaware. Jeff wanted Paul to build him a new Web site for his business. Paul accepted the job, provided Jeff mailed him a check with half the money up front (Jeff had not provided a last name, and Paul wanted to make sure he was for real). Jeff sent the check, it cleared, and Paul built the site and launched it online for Jeff.

Paul didn’t think about Jeff much until last week when he heard about a breaking scandal involving a man named Jeff who owned several military escort service Web addresses. “I saw the name Jeff Gannon, knew our Jeff, saw the militarystud.com Web address, and thought ‘hmmm, everything was military, that sounds like Jeff who we did the site for.’”

Paul searched the Internet WhoIs director for militarystud.com and saw that the owner was Bedrock Corp of Wilmington, Delaware. “That’s definitely him,” Paul said. (Paul and a second source both recall Jeff paying with a check in the name of Bedrock Corp. The name stuck in their heads at the time because they asked Jeff why “Bedrock”? He replied something about the Flintstones, they recall.) This is relevant because a Bedrock Corp in Wilmington, Delaware also owns former White House reporter Jeff Gannon’s personal Web site and a series of Web addresses apparently dealing with military male escorts.

Paul then went and checked his files. He found five invoices to Jeff from August 31, 1999 to March 30, 2000. (The file properties say they were created on those dates by Paul Leddy.)

The invoices are from BELDesigns for “Website Design”and “hosting.” The billing address?

Bedrock Corp
5721 Kennett Pike
Centreville, DE 19807

(Paul Leddy’s address, phone number and email were removed from this invoice by me before publishing, at Paul’s request. I am happy to show the full invoice to journalists.)

According to the date the html files were created for the USMCPT Web site – files Paul still has – Paul built the site for Jeff in September 1999. Paul says he launched it within a matter of weeks. The site was eventually migrated to its own URL, USMCPT.com. While the site is no longer live on the Internet, archived copies of it were available up until around February 23, 2005 (someone had them deleted after this story broke on February 14, 2005 – you can see the home page below – note that the home page had a black background which doesn’t pick in this file:

Those archives showed that the site was live at the USMCPT.com address at least from October 31, 2001 until May 8, 2003. (This date is relevant since Gannon reportedly entered the White House the first time as a “journalist” in February, 2003.) When asked what USMCPT meant, Paul said he asked Jeff that very question. The answer: United States Marine Corps, Part Time. Paul recalls Jeff telling him he was still in the Marines, but only part time. Paul also recalls Jeff being around 40 years old, even though the Web site said he was 32.

The military theme continues at USMCPT.com. The “Ammunition” section contains the description of the escort. It reads: White, 200 pounds, hair “high and tight,” chest “46’ Usually Shaved or Clipped,” and under “Weapon” it says “8 inches cut.” The escort mentions that he takes clients in the Washington, DC, Virginia and Maryland area, and that he prefers to “travel to your location or travel with you.”

The USMCPT home page never speci
fically mentions sex, though it’s clear this is not your run-of-the-mill personal trainer or bodyguard. Under a section entitled “Mission,” it says:

Ex-USMC Jock: Available for hourly, overnight, weekend or longer travel – OUT ONLY!

Personal Trainer: Safe-Sane-Strenuous-Satisfying workouts, Sports training, and competition, especially wrestling….

Big SPORTS Fan: Will go to the game with you, then take you home and….

“AGGRESIVE, VERBAL, DOMINANT TOP”
I DON’T LEAVE MARKS….ONLY IMPRESSIONS

Further on down the page, on at least the early versions of the Web site (several versions over the span of a year and a half are cached online), you can see the logo for BELDesigns, Paul’s Web design business. There’s also a button that says “SEE MORE OF ME.”

This brings you to a page comprising 43 or so thumbnail-sized pictures of “Jeff,” in various states of undress.

In one photo he’s lounging spread eagle on some pillows, fully erect.

In another he’s bent over, naked, apparently checking something on his nightstand (while revealing a great set of lats)…

…and in a third set of photos he is urinating.

If you click on the thumbnail photos, you can see larger-sized versions (though not for all the photos, the archive is incomplete). If you look at the html source on this page, you will see that numerous of the photos are named “Jeff.” In several of the photos you will see Jeff wearing a distinctive silver watch with a solid black band. He likes to wear it on his left hand, slightly above the wrist joint.

The site also contains a third page, called “Bulldog.htm.” (The bulldog is recurring theme on the site.) On this page we learn that Jeff is available as a travel companion, a workout partner/trainer, an event companion (“Want to see the Orioles, Caps, Wizards, or ‘Skins?”), tour guide, and bodyguard. Jeff then provides his email address, [email protected]

The USMCPT site has a link on its home page that, depending on which version in time of the home page you’re examining, says either “See more of me and my buddies at: Male Corps” or “Featured on Studfiles.”

Site 2

The Male Corps link takes you to another of Jeff’s escort pages, housed on a different escort service Web site called MaleCorps.com. The page contains the same spread-eagle picture that was on Jeff’s personal site, notes that his branch of service is “United States Marine Corps,” provides more personal information, and the email address for contact is [email protected] There’s also a link to see 30 more “x-pics” of Jeff, including “full bod, dick shots, jocks.” The link appears to be no longer accessible.

Site 3

The StudFiles link on Jeff’s USMCPT site takes you to an escort Web site that is still live today. It’s for an escort named “Bulldog.” On the page there’s a picture of Bulldog’s torso, shirtless, wearing dog tags. He’s 32 years old, lives in Washington, DC, is “5’9”, 200 pounds, brown high and tight haircut, green eyes, 8+cut!” Under “position” it says “Top!” For an email – or “emale,” as it says – contact it gives [email protected] There is also a link to visit “the Adult Photos” in Gallery 16. In order to access those photos, you need to buy an electronic Web ID that proves you are over the age of consent…

Site 4

Once you buy the ID, for $20 a year (it’s a write-off), you enter the WorkingBoys.net Web site. You click on Gallery 16 and arrive on Bulldog’s adult page. It’s not unlike the PG-rated page except that Bulldog is now wearing a pair of dog tags, sitting spread eagle, and hard as a rock. The profile also has as link “Visit Bulldog on the Net!” – it links back to http://www.USMCPT.com

The WorkingBoys.net escort profile is still live today. Interestingly, the name of the html file for the page is “DC007.”

Site 5

A bit more Internet sleuthing turned up even more escort profiles for apparently the same escort on various other sites. Meetlocalmen.com contains a profile with the same spread-eagle picture as was on the other sites. This site includes the escort’s name as Jeff
/Bulldog. His location, DC. His Internet address is yet another Web site that is no longer active. His rates, $1200/weekend. (While the profile is still live at MeetLocalMen.com, it takes a bit of hunting to find it. You need to click on “Meet Local Escorts,” then click on DC, then skip through 16 pages or so until you find Jeff in DC, then click on that picture.)

Sites 6 and 7

A search for USMCPT on Google turns up two more escort sites for Bulldog, one in DC and one in Philly (both are still online, but in inactive status). One mentions the weekend rate of $1200/weekend, the other an hourly rate, $200. The sites also include feedback from satisfied customers. The most recent review is from 11/12/2002, from a man named Spaceman. An earlier review, dated 7/11/2000, is from a man who says he’s an active duty senior officer in the US Army. He notes that Jeff has a Marine background.

There’s much more. Paul has additional photos that Jeff provided him. Some of the photos are exact copies of those on the USMCPT.com Web site, and then some. The buck naked photo on the logo, for example. Paul provided me with the entire complete photo. The head of the man in question looks remarkably like Jeff Gannon.

Regarding the photo of “Jeff” urinating (it’s actually a series of photos). Paul provided the entire photo of a man who looks remarkably like Jeff Gannon, even wearing the signature Gannon watch. Paul provided several more photos that he says Jeff gave him. Each photo looks remarkably like Jeff Gannon:

Compare the above photos from the Web developers with photos, below, that we KNOW are of Gannon:

Even more photos show Jeff wearing the same silver watch with a black band that Jeff Gannon is known to sport. Some show that Jeff and Jeff Gannon have the same short and pointed eyebrows, same ears, same face structure, chest structure and nipples. Same wrinkles/creases in their stomachs when they bend forward. The resemblance is astonishing.

Jeff Gannon was contacted and asked to comment on the specific allegations that he is the owner of USMCPT.com and several other profiles that offer his services as an escort. He did not respond to this request.

Why does this matter?

So in the end, why does this matter? Why does it matter that Jeff Gannon may have been a gay hooker named James Guckert with a $20,000 defaulted court judgment against him? So he somehow got a job lobbing softball questions to the White House. Big deal. If he was already a prostitute, why not be one in the White House briefing room as well?

This is the Conservative Republican Bush White House we’re talking about. It’s looking increasingly like they made a decision to allow a hooker to ask the President of the United States questions. They made a decision to give a man with an alias and no journalistic experience access to the West Wing of the White House on a “daily basis.” They reportedly made a decision to give him – one of only six – access to documents, or information in those documents, that exposed a clandestine CIA operative. Say what you will about Monika Lewinsky – a tasteless episode, “inappropriate,” whatever. Monika wasn’t a gay prostitute running around the West Wing. What kind of leadership would let prostitutes roam the halls of the West Wing? What kind of war-time leadership can’t find the same information that took bloggers only days to find?

None of this is by accident.

Someone had to make a decision to let all this happen. Who? Someone committed a crime in exposing Valerie Plame and now it appears a gay hooker may be right in the middle of all of it? Who?

Ultimately, it is the hypocrisy that is such a challenge to grasp in this story. This is the same White House that ran for office on a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage. While they are surrounded by gay hookers? While they use a gay hooker to write articles for their gay hating political base? While they use a gay hooker to destroy a political enemy? Not to mention the hypocrisy of a “reporter” who chooses to publish article after article defending the ant-gay religious-right point of view on gay civil rights issue.

Who in the White House is at the center of all of this? Who allowed this to go on in the People’s House? Who committed the crime of exposing Valerie Plame? Jeff Gannon has the answers to these questions, and boy we know he loves to talk.

Let him talk to Patrick Fitzgerald.

[Please use this URL to link to this story, sorry, it kept changing with blogger:
http://americablog.blogspot.com/2005/02/man-called-jeff.html ]

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