Filmmaker James O'Keefe dressed as a pimp before entering ACORN offices last year.
From NOLA.com:
Alleging a plot to tamper with phones in Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu's office in the Hale Boggs Federal Building in downtown New Orleans, the FBI arrested four people Monday, including James O'Keefe, a conservative filmmaker whose undercover videos at ACORN field offices severely damaged the advocacy group's credibility.
Also arrested were Joseph Basel, Stan Dai and Robert Flanagan, all 24. Flanagan is the son of William Flanagan, who is the acting U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Louisiana, the office confirmed. All four were charged with entering federal property under false pretenses with the intent of committing a felony.
....
ACORN spokesman Kevin Whelan said the arrest calls O'Keefe's credibility into question, and used the opportunity to point out that he "edited (ACORN videos) to make things look as bad as possible."
But he also acknowledged that O'Keefe's undercover ACORN footage showed truly improper conduct by ACORN staff.
"ACORN's leadership and grassroots leaders have taken a whole series of steps, including commissioning an independent report that shows actually there wasn't illegal conduct by any of the ACORN employees involved, although we fired people involved for improper conduct," Whelan said.
....
The four men appeared in federal magistrate court this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Louis Moore wearing red inmate jumpstuits from St. Bernard Parish Prison, where they are being held. Moore is allowing the men to be released on $10,000 bond.
Robert Flanagan's attorney, J. Garrison Jordan, said he believes his client works for the Pelican Institute. Asked the motivation for the alleged wiretap plot, he said: "I think it was poor judgment. I don't think there was any intent or motive to commit a crime."
What does David Vitter (LA-R) think about all this? We won't know, because he will claim that due to the federal investigation, he can't comment.
On occasion, the passionate GOPers tend to overreach.
Thanks to Ann for the tip to the story.
No comment!
ReplyDeleteWV=defisheu. I defisheu to make something like this up.
Amelia, I take Vitter's vendetta against ACORN personally, because a group of us gutted a house in the Gentilly area in New Orleans under the auspices of ACORN. The organization was responsible for the gutting and renovation of 1400 houses.
ReplyDeleteNo, no, Amelia! I didn't think you were being snippy. I simply wanted to make the point that ACORN has done a lot of good work in NOLA, and that a few bad employees don't erase all the good they've done. In fact, I may add an update with more information.
ReplyDeleteWhen I first heard about it, I though good enough for them. They finally got too smart for their own good. What were they thinking, tampering with phones in a federal office buinding? Total idiots!
ReplyDeleteJune, you need to put the kool-aid down. Logic time: these 4 guys get caught this time. Does that cancel out all of the corruption that is rife in ACORN? Of course, not.
ReplyDeleteWhat i s this? Seriously...
ReplyDeletevw is sycontes...
The corruption in ACORN -- such that it is since it turns out that this young go-getter's "evidence" was heavily doctored and cooked -- is tiny potatoes compared to those criminal syndicates that call themselves banks and financial corporations, and keep both political parties on their payrolls. After the Reagan and Clinton administrations repealed the Glass-Steagall Act and fired all the regulatory cops, why are we so surprised that the robbers ran riot and looted the economy and public treasury?
ReplyDeleteThe magic of the marketplace!
I suppose you could blame the usual lazy undeserving brown people, but who made all those bad loans available in the first place, white man? Who went into these neighborhoods with the intention of screwing these folks out of their savings? And would the total amount of money lost in poor neighborhoods (where houses rarely exceed $50,000 in value) really add up to something big enough to wreck the global economy? I don't think so.
Here is more on O'Keefe and his backers cooking the evidence against ACORN:
ReplyDeletehttp://mediamatters.org/press/releases/200909220034
Before yesterday, he was facing 2 lawsuits from ACORN employees claiming they were framed. Now he's facing felony charges. I predict that his stooges will sing like canaries and they will all turn on each other to avoid prison time.
Perhaps during the trial, we'll find out if these guys had financial backing, and if they did, from whom.
Back again, Jim in GA! Do you work for David Vitter?
ReplyDeleteGöran, the story is true - not a joke.
Counterlight, thanks for the additional information. I'm not done with the story. I know the good ACORN did in New Orleans. People like Jim are unhappy with the organization because they encourage voter registration amongst folks who may not vote Republican - you know, poor people, dark people.
What were they thinking, tampering with phones in a federal office buinding? Total idiots!
ReplyDeleteBoocat, careful there. You may be talking about Jim's friends.
Thing is, I sort of know these guys. One of them founded the VERY CONSERVATIVE magazine at Rutgers (the Centurion)where I did my masters.
ReplyDeleteThat cast of characters are such caricatures, and are so blind to reality that I don't consider what they did to actually relate to ACORN just what assholes can do when they set their minds to it.
The reports on the ACORN incident didn't mention that ALMOST ALL the offices the two visited turned them away. If we judged the Red Cross by the standards we are judging ACORN they would be long gone.
Glad to hear these two got what was coming to them.
Allie, thank you for your input. As I said, I'm not done with the story. And I'm not done with David Vitter's vendetta against ACORN, the same David Vitter who patronized the DC madam's establishment.
ReplyDeleteStill don't see much logic here. ACORN is purely innocent because O'Keefe, big bankers, etc. are not and because folks don't like Sen. Vitter. Hmmm.....I see the grade of "F" in critical thinking skills. . . .and many broken arms from ideological feel-good pats on the back.
ReplyDelete...and many broken arms from ideological feel-good pats on the back.
ReplyDeleteNot entirely, Jim. How's your arm? Recovered yet from the break from patting Vitter on the back?
Don't know the dude. . .so I don't care to pat him on the back. Just know that ACORN has been indicted in numerous states. . .despite some folks pretending not to know that. So by all counts, ACORN has been indicted by grand juries in more places than Sen. Vitter. Reality Time!
ReplyDeleteDamn, Jim, if you don't remind me of my cousin! I'm still not convinced that you are not my cousin. I've had a visitor to my blog from Atlanta, but that doesn't prove anything. Are you from Atlanta, Jim?
ReplyDeleteAnd you know my real name! You and hundreds of others. My name is not exactly a secret.
PS to Jim in GA: I've also had more than one visitor from New Orleans. Is you is, or is you ain't my cousin?
ReplyDeleteI know the various Peachtree Streets and Piedmont Ave. better than Bourbon St. and Canal St. Anyway, whatever you think of Vitter, that does not clear ACORN. As to the "editing" of the O'Keefe tapes. . .there is editing and then there is voice dubbing, voice-overs, photo-splicing, etc. Whatever was cut out, nothing was dubbed in. . . .so, many ACORN employess are bottom feeders after all, despite desperate "Media Matters" and other left-wing efforts to clear them. Oh yeah, I guess they are clear of the voter registration fraud charges in Nevada as well? NOT!
ReplyDelete...whatever you think of Vitter, that does not clear ACORN.
ReplyDeleteDid you read the post, Jim? Did you read the statement from Kevin Whelan?
"...whatever you think of Vitter, that does not clear ACORN."
ReplyDeleteI doubt that the Southern Baptist Church could survive a similar "investigation."
I also think the establishments of both political parties better qualify for "mafia" status than ACORN.
ReplyDeleteWhat about David (zero tolerance) Vitter? Why does he get off with no consequences? Why doesn't that bother you, Jim?
ReplyDeleteThe charges brought against ACORN in the state of Nevada are unrelated to O'Keefe or Vitter. . . .and relate more to ACORN's standing practice of hiring unscreened canvassers to register voters. The Nevada authorities actually raided the ACORN offices there to obtain records. No film editing there. Further, ACORN employees at several venues freely offered to engage in illegal activities while on film. . .these were not actors, nor was the film spliced to introduce folks not affiliated with ACORN. Sure film can be edited. . .but ACORN is still rife with corruption. If you think the Senate Ethics Committee should go after Vitter for his dangerous liaisons, suggest this to Sen. Landrieu. Otherwise, I suppose the matter is up to the voters of Louisiana, who might see the issue a bit differently than do you. In fact, I would most likely count on it.
ReplyDeleteRead Kevin Whelan's statement? Of course it is in his interest to do all he can to question the "credibility" of anyone who shines a light on the corrupt nature of ACORN. So, O'Keefe edited the tapes to makes things look as "bad" as possible. . .ahhh....an admission that bad was there. . . oh, ACORN fired the culprits who offered that they were willing to engage in illegal practices. Now, isn't that simply marvelous.
ReplyDeleteJim, I've read the story of the Nevada investigation.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, you are right about the voters in Louisiana, who do not vote according to their own best interests, who do not realize that without health care reform that they will never get another raise in salary, because every raise will be eaten up by an increase in their health insurance premiums.
And you and I have had dead-end discussions before, and I'm now bored, so I'm done.
Diaper Dave finally did comment.
ReplyDelete"I've seen the news reports and it's obvious this is a very serious matter. We're blessed with an extremely competent U.S. attorney's office in New Orleans, and I know they'll handle this as aggressively as they have other serious cases.”
We know how seriously Senator Vitter takes the word serious, so I'm sure he'll be be running from this just as he ran from his 'serious' sin . . .
Hi Jim from LA. Sen. Vitter is amazingly serious. We all know that. Look how serious he was about zero tolerance in straying from his marriage vows.
ReplyDeleteNevada alone shows that ACORN is corrupt. The employees who Whelan admitted where fired as a result of O'Keefe's tapes that were "edited" to make the "bad" at ACORN look "really bad," further shows its corruption. Critical thinking is required here.
ReplyDeleteThe current proposals in Congress on health care are not "reform." They will not contain the rising cost of medical treatment or of health insurance premiums. You are dealing with a wish fulfillment fueled by ideological nonsense and self-righteousness. Same old garbage that leads voters away from the left in droves. . . it always has when held up to the light.
It's sad what the Republican Party has become; it's the bitter old man of politics. Bitching and moaning about everyone else, writing letters to the editor, engaging with reality just long enough to yell, "You poor people get off my lawn!", harboring paranoid little grudges without offering one idea or way forward - a great, stagnant bog in the political landscape.
ReplyDelete