Second Anti-Gay Commentator Paid Off By White House
Article by Paul JohnsonWashington - Syndicated conservative columnist Maggie Gallagher who testified before the Senate in support of a constitutional ban on gay marriage was paid by the Bush Administration it was revealed on Wednesday.
The Washington Post reports that Gallagher received more than $40,000 from the White House and from the Department of Health and Human Services to help promote the president's program promoting heterosexual marriage as a means of strengthening families. She neglected to mention she was on the Administration's payroll when she testified in 2003 before the Senate subcommittee on the Constitution.
Just months before her appearance before the subcommittee she wrote in the National Review that "Polygamy is not worse than gay marriage, it is better."
Interviewed for a Wednesday column by the Post's Howard Kurtz, Gallagher said, "Did I violate journalistic ethics by not disclosing it? I don't know. You tell me." She also told Kurtz she would have "been happy to tell anyone who called me" about the contract but that "frankly, it never occurred to me" to disclose it.
After Kurtz told her Tuesday that he was working on a story about the payoff, Gallagher filed a column in which she said that "I should have disclosed a government contract when I later wrote about the Bush marriage initiative. I would have, if I had remembered it. My apologies to my readers."
Earlier this month is was disclosed that another prominent conservative columnist was also paid by the Bush Administration to promote the President's agenda in his columns.
Armstrong Williams who regularly attacks gays was paid nearly a quarter million dollars to promote the No Child Left Behind law according to documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act by USA Today.
Tribune Media Services dropped Williams's column after his administration contract was disclosed. Universal Press Syndicate, which distributes Gallagher's column, said it plans no such action.
The nation's largest LGBT civil rights organization Wednesday called on the Acting Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services to investigate whether Gallagher violated federal law by not disclosing the funding to the public or Congress.
"The public deserves to know if there are other 'pay-to-sway' columnists and opinion leaders on the Bush Administration payroll," said HRC Political Director Winnie Stachelberg.
In the letter, Stachelberg wrote, "The failure to disclose a financial conflict-of-interest seems to us to be a clear violation of the public's trust in journalist integrity. We would like to know whether federal law or congressional rules were violated when Gallagher testified before Congress, testimony that to our knowledge was not preceded by disclosures of these financial contracts and interests. ... In an era of pinched funding, where critical health care and social service programs are experiencing severe budget cuts, we find the use of government funds for political advocacy to be deeply troubling."
National Stonewall Democrats also criticized Gallagher.
"Maggie Gallagher is perhaps the best know advocate for marriage discrimination against gay families," said Dave Noble, NSD Executive Director. "The White House should not be shadow funding her activities while Republicans call on her to testify before Congress as an independent voice on such matters."
During a scheduled news conference Wednesday the President was asked about paying journalists for promoting Administration policy.
"It's wrong," Bush said, adding he has instructed his cabinet not to allow it to occur again.
"We value our reputation with the press, Bush said, "And the press must remain independent."