Commentaries, Global Warming, Opinions   Cover   •   Commentary   •   Books & Reviews   •   Climate Change   •   Site Links   •   Feedback
"And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." - John 8:32
WEBCommentary Contributor
Author:  Michael J. Gaynor
Bio: Michael J. Gaynor
Date:  November 25, 2009
Print article - Printer friendly version

Email article link to friend(s) - Email a link to this article to friends

Facebook - Facebook

Topic category:  Government/Politics

Sean Hannity v. Doug Giles: Carrie Prejean Now Dividing Conservatives

The representation required is that the participant had not engaged in such activities, not that she believed that her engagement in them never would become public knowledge.

Earlier this year former Miss California and almost Miss USA Carrie Prejean was viciously persecuted for expressing her support of traditional marriage when questioned about it by Perez Hilton at the Miss USA Pageant.

Understandably, conservatives like Sean Hannity and Doug Giles (father of Hannah Giles, the "Pro" in the "Pimp and Pro" ACORN videos) strongly defended Ms. Prejean for strongly defending traditional marriage.

Both Ms. Prejean and Ms. Giles are beautiful young women and Hannity favorites.

Hannity wrote the foreword to Ms. Prejean's book, Still Standing, and had her on his television show yet again when her book was released this month and commiserated with her over the humiliating release of a private video she said that she had made solely for a boyfriend. (Apparently the book was titled in the expectation that the video would not become public.)

Huffington Post, November 9, 2009:

"Carrie Prejean, the former Miss California USA who became a darling among conservatives when she refused to support same-sex marriage during the Miss USA Pageant, went on Sean Hannity's show tonight to promote her book and confirm TMZ's report that she made some kind of sex tape when she was a teenager.

"Making the tape was the 'worst mistake of my life,' Prejean repeatedly said. 'I was all by myself. I was sending my boyfriend at the time, who I loved and cared about, you know, video of me. I was a teenager at the time and never did I ever think it would come out.'

"Prejean told Hannity that she is 'taking total responsibility for it.'"

Hannity was sympathic and supportive. He acknowledged that he had made mistakes himself when he was much younger.

It now appears clear that Ms. Prejean participated in the pageant under false pretenses and Perez Hilton should have been questioning someone else.

Breast implants are allowed under pageant rules, but those rules do require this kind of representation from participants: "I represent that I have not and will not engage in any activities which, if disclosed to the public, would bring, or tend to bring, myself, my state director, the MISS WASHINGTON USA® / TEEN USA® Pageants, Pageants NW, NW Productions LLC, Miss Universe L.P., LLLP, Trump Pageants, Inc., The Trump Organization, NBC Universal, Inc. or any of their subsidiaries, affiliated or related companies into disrepute, ridicule or contempt not limited to, but to include any type of use of illegal drugs, any other illegal behavior or activity, professional or amateur nude or semi-nude dancing or modeling in any sexually oriented business or club, any type of nude or semi-nude photographs or video tapes, prostitution, any felony conviction, probation or misdemeanor involving moral turpitude."

The representation required is that the participant had not engaged in such activities, not that she believed that her engagement in them never would become public knowledge.

Doug Giles and his daughter Hannah watched Hannity interview Ms. Prejean and of course agree with them about the sanctity of traditional marriage and the invalidity of "gay marriage."

The truth turned out to be much more scandalous that Ms. Prejean admitted, however. The Radaronline.com report that Ms. Prejean had made many "big mistakes" prompted Giles to declare on his radio show (www.clashradio.com) on November 16, 2009 essentially that he felt used and to suggest that Ms. Prejean would benefit from a year out of the public spot and weekly sessions with a minister instead of regular appearances with Hannity.

http://www.radaronline.com/exclusives/2009/11/exclusive-30-nude-photos-8-sex-tapes-carrie-prejean-surface:

"There are 30 nude photos and eight sex tapes of former Miss California Carrie Prejean, RadarOnline.com has learned exclusively.

"It’s the most shocking turn yet in a scandal that has continued to follow the woman whose anti-gay marriage stance led to a national controversy and pitted her against pageant organizers.

"Stripped of her crown, Prejean sued the Miss California USA pageant but reportedly settled after the sex tape surfaced. She called the sex tape the biggest mistake of her life.

"Now a RadarOnline.com investigation has uncovered that there are SEVEN more “biggest mistakes” of her life – all of them solo performances, just like the one sex tape that the religious beauty queen has admitted to. And there are 30 photos of Carrie, most topless, some showing everything, and most taken by Carrie using her reflection in a mirror.

"On one tape Carrie is wearing just a flowing white blouse as she touches her own body in an alluring manner. Carrie can be heard moaning on a few of the tapes.

"In her newly released book Carrie wrote, 'God gave us our bodies, and it’s perfectly right that we use them in ways where we can give glory to God by making our bodies, our temples of the Holy Spirit, strong and fast.'"

Even with a Hannity foreword, it does not seem that Giles will be buying a copy of Ms. Prejean's book.

Doug Giles, in "No, It Wasn’t My Idea for Hannah Giles to Dress Like a Hooker and Infiltrate ACORN" (September 19, 2009): "Giles’ radical, ultra-conservative Christian dad put her up to it. I believe that’s how someone on one of those unwatched news shows has been bending it. Well, I can tell you as her dad that I did not. As much as me no likey the nefarious underpinnings and corrupt acts of ACORN, having my kid dress like a hooker and infiltrate such a place is not in my repertoire. That was Hannah’s baby from start to finish. I simply told her to be careful because we all know how dangerous sweet community organizers can be."

Fortunately, Ms. Giles, 20, was old enough to play the "Pro" this summer and make life for ACORN since the release of the first videotape last September a bummer.

Doug Giles: "One wizard said Hannah and James had been doing this since 2005, which would have made Hannah, oh, let’s see, about 14 or 15. Hello! I’m a cool dad—but not that cool."

Having his daughter dress like a prostitute in the hope of exposing ACORN corruption and criminality is not an idea for which Doug Giles claimed credit, but he did acknowledge advance knowledge and it that appears that Ms. Giles went about as far as he thinks his Christian conservative activist daughter should go for the cause.

Will Hannity continue to stand by the beauty queen...or conclude that he too was "used" by her?

Time will tell.

Bottom line: Defending Ms. Prejean against the Perez Hilton and other vicious gay activists for giving the answer she gave was the right thing to do, but putting a personal stamp of approval on her turned out to be foolish.

Lesson: whether it's Hannity, or an ACORN housing employee, or anyone elae, don't assume or be superficial. Instead, look beyond the surface, including a beautiful surface, or else you may be embarrassed by your gullibility.

Michael J. Gaynor

Send email feedback to Michael J. Gaynor


Biography - Michael J. Gaynor

Michael J. Gaynor has been practicing law in New York since 1973. A former partner at Fulton, Duncombe & Rowe and Gaynor & Bass, he is a solo practitioner admitted to practice in New York state and federal courts and an Association of the Bar of the City of New York member.

Gaynor graduated magna cum laude, with Honors in Social Science, from Hofstra University's New College, and received his J.D. degree from St. John's Law School, where he won the American Jurisprudence Award in Evidence and served as an editor of the Law Review and the St. Thomas More Institute for Legal Research. He wrote on the Pentagon Papers case for the Review and obscenity law for The Catholic Lawyer and edited the Law Review's commentary on significant developments in New York law.

The day after graduating, Gaynor joined the Fulton firm, where he focused on litigation and corporate law. In 1997 Gaynor and Emily Bass formed Gaynor & Bass and then conducted a general legal practice, emphasizing litigation, and represented corporations, individuals and a New York City labor union. Notably, Gaynor & Bass prevailed in the Second Circuit in a seminal copyright infringement case, Tasini v. New York Times, against newspaper and magazine publishers and Lexis-Nexis. The U.S. Supreme Court affirmed, 7 to 2, holding that the copyrights of freelance writers had been infringed when their work was put online without permission or compensation.

Gaynor currently contributes regularly to www.MichNews.com, www.RenewAmerica.com, www.WebCommentary.com, www.PostChronicle.com and www.therealitycheck.org and has contributed to many other websites. He has written extensively on political and religious issues, notably the Terry Schiavo case, the Duke "no rape" case, ACORN and canon law, and appeared as a guest on television and radio. He was acknowledged in Until Proven Innocent, by Stuart Taylor and KC Johnson, and Culture of Corruption, by Michelle Malkin. He appeared on "Your World With Cavuto" to promote an eBay boycott that he initiated and "The World Over With Raymond Arroyo" (EWTN) to discuss the legal implications of the Schiavo case. On October 22, 2008, Gaynor was the first to report that The New York Times had killed an Obama/ACORN expose on which a Times reporter had been working with ACORN whistleblower Anita MonCrief.

Gaynor's email address is gaynormike@aol.com.


Read other commentaries by Michael J. Gaynor.

Copyright © 2009 by Michael J. Gaynor
All Rights Reserved.

[ Back ]


© 2004-2024 by WEBCommentary(tm), All Rights Reserved