TPMMuckraker

Judge Halts Ban On ACORN Funding — For Now

Judge Halts Ban On ACORN Funding — For Now

A judge has put an injunction on Congress’s ban on ACORN funding.

U.S. District Judge Nina Gershon today ruled to put a preliminary injunction on the Congressional resolution that barred ACORN or its affiliates from receiving federal funds, according to a press release from Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), who blasted the move.
Congress had acted in the wake of the scandal in which ACORN employees were caught on camera giving advice on how to break the law to two people posing as a pimp and a prostitute.

ACORN has sought to overturn the ban, arguing that it’s a Bill of Attainder — a bill designed to penalize a specific person or entity — and therefore unconstitutional.

Issa, who has led a congressional investigation into ACORN, responded to the ruling by questioning the integrity of the judge, who he noted was appointed to the bench by President Clinton.

Said Issa:

This left-wing activist Judge is setting a dangerous precedent that left-wing political organizations plagued by criminal accusations have a constitutional entitlement to taxpayer dollars. The Obama Administration should immediately move to appeal this injunction.


A report that was commissioned by ACORN and conducted by an independent investigator was released this week, and found that ACORN employees had not broken the law in connection with the video scandal, but suggested nine steps for the organization to regain the public’s trust.

Top Stories From TPM

Oklahoma GOP Sen. Tom Coburn Will Seek To Offset Tornado Aid

Ohio Republicans Push Law To Penalize Colleges For Helping Students Vote

Secret Service Looking Into Radio Host’s Graphic Violent Comments About Obama, Hillary Clinton

VA GOP's Attorney General Nominee Wanted Women To Report Miscarriages To Police Or Face Jail Time

What Republicans Already Knew About The White House Benghazi Emails

The NRA Thinks These Are The ‘Coolest Gun Movies’ Ever

Disqus Conversations

Click here to read the Disqus Commenting FAQ.

Editor & Publisher

Josh Marshall

Managing Editor

David Kurtz

Associate Editor

Nick Martin

Assistant Editor

Igor Bobic

Reporters

Brian Beutler

Sahil Kapur

Eric Lach

Hunter Walker

Frontpage Editor

Zoë Schlanger

News Writers

Tom Kludt

Video Editor

Michael Lester

General Manager & General Counsel

Millet Israeli

VP, Ad Sales

Bruce Ellerstein

Associate Publisher

Kyle Leighton

Assistant To The Publisher

Joe Ragazzo

Designer/Developer

Matthew Wozniak

Design Associate

Christopher O’Driscoll