ACORN

DOJ Inspector General: NY Organization Was An ACORN Front

Ryan J. Reilly | November 30, 2011, 9:55AM

The New York Agency for Community Affairs worked as a front group for the Association of Community Organizers for Reform Now (ACORN) and used federal grant funds to make ACORN's payroll back in 2005 and 2006, according to a new report by the Justice Department's Inspector General.

Investigators questioned $138,129 in grant money spent by NYACA. They found that the organization "did not have any paid employees at the time it received the grant or at any time during the life of the grant-funded project." From the report:

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ACORN

Anti-Voter Fraud Tea Party Group Hosts Author Who Thinks Poor Shouldn't Vote

Ryan J. Reilly | November 14, 2011, 6:00AM

The King Street Patriots are a Texas Tea Party group with an anti-voter fraud spin off organization that is plotting a nationwide poll watching movement and advocates for voter ID laws. Matthew Vadum is a conservative columnist who thinks that registering poor people to vote is un-American and "like handing out burglary tools to criminals." On Monday, the King Street Patriots will be hosting him for lunch in Houston.

For $100, guests of the King Street Patriots can dine at Maggiano's for a four-course meal and a signed copy of Vadum's Subversion Inc.: How Obama's ACORN Red Shirts are Still Terrorizing and Ripping Off American Taxpayers. They'll learn all about how a group with "such an innocent sounding name and endearing logo" is really "a criminal organization with the goal of the destruction of America and the installation of a totalitarian government."

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ACORN

Issa Wants Feds To Probe ACORN Role In Occupy Wall Street

Ryan J. Reilly | November 7, 2011, 5:05PM

House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) wants federal prosecutors in New York to probe media reports alleging that New York Communities for Change (NYCC) -- "an organization with close tied [sic] to the now-defunct New York chapter of The Association of Community (ACORN) -- engaged in fraud through its participation in the Occupy Wall Street protests."

In a letter to U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Loretta Lynch, Issa writes that it is "alleged that NYCC solicited donations from union members under false pretenses and misappropriated those funds to support the protesters. I hope that your office will investigate these allegations to determine if they have any merit and prosecute any wrongdoing accordingly."

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James O'Keefe

We May Find Out How Much Andrew Breitbart Paid James O'Keefe For One Of His ACORN Videos

Ryan J. Reilly | September 28, 2011, 12:40PM

Conservative Activists Hannah Giles and James O'Keefe

A federal judge handling a federal lawsuit filed by a former ACORN employee against James O'Keefe has ordered the conservative provocateur and filmmaker to disclose video footage and payments he received from Andrew Breitbart in relation to one of his sting operations.

"The Court believes that it may be relevant that Defendant was paid for the video of
Plaintiff," wrote U.S. Magistrate Judge Mitchell D. Dembin. "Such a payment may inform the intent of the Defendant in engaging in the alleged illegal activity and Plaintiff must prove that the actions were intentional."

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Matthew Vadum

Vadum: Obama's Jobs Bill Could Give 'Un-American' ACORN $15 Billion To Help Poor People Vote

Ryan J. Reilly | September 15, 2011, 4:50PM

Matthew Vadum of the American Spectator

A non-existent organization that previously helped poor people "destroy the country" by voting could get up $15 billion in taxpayer money under Obama's jobs bill, according to conservative columnist Matthew Vadum.

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ACORN

Obama Campaign's 'Project Vote' Name Choice Could Fuel Voter Fraud Charges

Ryan J. Reilly | August 25, 2011, 2:32PM

If part of the Obama campaign's strategy is to feed conservative conspiracy theories that Democrats will steal the 2012 election through voter fraud, the name they gave their new get-out-the-vote project is perfect. Otherwise, not so much.

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James O'Keefe

O'Keefe Hits Up Supporters For Cash, Mingles With D.C. Conservatives

Ryan J. Reilly | April 5, 2011, 8:35AM

James O'Keefe

Conservative provocateur James O'Keefe, who asked supporters for donations a few weeks back to help him and his friends pay off the major credit card debt they racked up when they targeted National Public Radio, is hitting up his email list one again.

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James O'Keefe

Lawyer For Ex-ACORN Employee To James O'Keefe: You're No Ashton Kutcher

Ryan J. Reilly | March 30, 2011, 5:51PM

James O'Keefe

A lawyer for a former employee of the Association of Community Organizers for Reform Now (ACORN) who was secretly recorded by James O'Keefe is calling bull on O'Keefe's claims that the First Amendment protected his actions.

Four lawyers representing O'Keefe on a pro bono basis cited everything from the writings of James Madison to Ashton Kutcher's MTV show "Punk'd" to claim that O'Keefe's tactics were protected by the First Amendment.

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James O'Keefe

James O'Keefe Doesn't Want To Be Videotaped: 'He's Got Lawsuits Up The Gazoo' (VIDEO)

Ryan J. Reilly | March 18, 2011, 4:40PM

James O'Keefe, the conservative activist who made his name with a string of undercover video sting operations, doesn't like it so much when the camera is turned on him.

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James O'Keefe

Citing 'Punk'd,' James O'Keefe Questions Calif. Recording Law In ACORN Sting Suit

Ryan J. Reilly | March 17, 2011, 7:00AM

Conservative Activists James O'Keefe and Hannah Giles

James O'Keefe has been all over the news this month for his sting operation targeting National Public Radio. His undercover videos have strengthened House Republicans efforts to defund NPR.

Meanwhile, the fallout from one of O'Keefe's previous sting operations targeting the Association of Community Organizers for Reform Now (ACORN) is still playing out in federal court, where lawyers for the conservative provocateur are claiming a California law banning audio recordings without the consent of the other party is unconstitutional.

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Steve King

Steve King Digs In: Congress Will Investigate 'Reparations' Settlement For Black Farmers

Eric Kleefeld | December 30, 2010, 9:56AM

Rep. Steve King (R-IA)

Rep. Steve King (R-IA) is continuing to blast the government's recent discrimination settlement with African-American farmers as "reparations" -- and even predicting that the new Republican-led House will investigate it.

In an interview with local western Iowa radio station KCIM, King discussed the oversight efforts that the new GOP House would undertake. First and foremost, he said, would be his pet cause of investigating ACORN -- which no longer exists as a national organization, but whose activists at the state level could be targeted.

"And there'll be other investigations looking into the Pigford farms issue," King added, "which I think is full of fraud, that's -- what it amounts to is paying reparations to black farmers in America. We don't do reparations in America."

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New York

A Grand Jury Begins Investigating Potential 2009 Voter Fraud

Rachel Slajda | December 10, 2010, 1:43PM

Troy, New York.

A grand jury in Troy, N.Y., is investigating allegations that city officials blatantly colluded to commit voter fraud by forging ballots in the 2009 Working Families Party primary for local and county elections.

The grand jury has subpoenaed some 14 witnesses, according to local news reports. The witnesses, who testified this week, included residents whose names were used on absentee ballots in the primary but who say they never requested an absentee ballot nor voted.

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ACORN

Issa: We're Interested In ACORN, But We'll Look At Jobs First (VIDEO)

Ryan J. Reilly | November 3, 2010, 11:40AM

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) -- the chairman-in-waiting of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and one of the new thorns in the Obama administration's side -- said on MSNBC this morning that he's still interested in investigating ACORN, which filed for bankruptcy yesterday.

"I think it's very important that we look at ACORN as something that occurred, it was criminal activity and it used government money and nonprofit money both to do politics. There's certainly going to be other examples on the left and on the right where we at least have to deny them nonprofit status and government money if what they're doing is being overtly political," Issa said. "I want to continue on that on the nonpartisan basis with my ranking member."

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ACORN

ACORN Files For Chapter 7 Bankruptcy

Rachel Slajda | November 2, 2010, 6:00PM

ACORN CEO Bertha Lewis

Two years after becoming perhaps the most vocally maligned organization in the country, ACORN announced today it is filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

The community organizing group has been in the process of dissolving for the better part of the year. In March, it announced it was folding as a national entity.

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ACORN

GOP Lawyers Group Warns Newsmax Of 'Epidemic' Voter Fraud (VIDEO)

Ryan J. Reilly | October 25, 2010, 4:30PM

Chairman of the Republican National Lawyers Association David Norcross

The community-organizing group ACORN has "absolutely" re-emerged since it was disbanded in the spring and there could be an "epidemic" of voter fraud problems this year to change the outcome of the midterm elections, David Norcross, the chairman of the Republican National Lawyers Association, told Newsmax.

Newsmax, a conservative website, compared ACORN to "the mythological hydra that grew two heads for every one cut off."

Norcross -- whose group hosted a panel on ACORN at the Conservative Political Action Conference entitled "Saving Freedom From Vote Fraud" -- lamented that Democrats were using the anti-voter fraud initiatives launched by conservatives to rally their base.

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Michelle Malkin

Michelle Malkin: 'We Are All Voter Fraud Police Now' (VIDEO)

Ryan J. Reilly | October 25, 2010, 2:30PM

Conservative pundit Michelle Malkin appeared on Fox News on Monday alongside anchor Megyn Kelly to discuss what Kelly called reports of "voter fraud on a massive scale with the intention of keeping Democrats in office."

Malkin seemed to be throwing her support behind anti-voter fraud efforts like the one started by the conservative website Pajamas Media and the effort by the website Election Journal, which includes an iPhone app.

"We are all voter fraud police now, and I think that the confluence between social media, citizen media and outlets like Fox News of course are making it more difficult for them to operate, but they are doing it any way because after all the modus operandi of these groups is by any means necessary," Malkin said.

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John Fund

Republican Lawyers Group Panel Featured ACORN 'Whistleblower,' John Fund

Ryan J. Reilly | October 18, 2010, 3:03PM

Anita Moncrief and John Fund

The Republican National Lawyers Association hosted a panel at the Conservative Political Action Conference this year which featured John Fund, a conservative Wall Street Journal columnist who focuses on voter fraud allegations, and Anita MonCrief, the ACORN "whistleblower," who was actually reportedly fired by the organization over the misuse of a company credit card.

Cleta Mitchell, the co-chair of the RNLA, introduced the February panel, titled "Saving Freedom From Vote Fraud," but, she said, "We might have entitled it saving freedom from those who would steal it whose name is ACORN."

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Minnesota Majority

Tea Party, Conservative Groups In Minn. Put $500 Bounty On Voter Fraud Convictions (VIDEO)

Ryan J. Reilly | October 15, 2010, 1:27PM

A button from ElectionIntegrityWatch.com

Conservative groups in Minnesota are offering a $500 reward for tips leading to voter fraud convictions.

Minnesota Majority, Minnesota Voters Alliance and the Northstar Tea Party Patriots have teamed up on a project they call Election Integrity Watch and are running radio ads promoting what they say is a program to train "thousands of citizens of what to look for at the polls."

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voter fraud

Despite Dearth Of Evidence, Right Wing Voter Fraud Fear Machine Carries On

Ryan J. Reilly and Rachel Slajda | September 30, 2010, 8:30AM

Remember the dire warnings and shrill allegations of voter fraud surrounding the 2008 election? That ACORN would steal it, that the New Black Panthers were intimidating voters, that fraud across the county would be "rampant?"

They never panned out. ACORN no longer exists. (Although that hasn't stopped 20 percent of the American public from believing they'll try to steal the election.) The DOJ found that the New Black Panthers incident was isolated -- although that case found new life in allegations against the Justice Department itself (more on that below). A five-year effort by the Bush DOJ to weed out fraud, an effort the Obama team said was designed to suppress minority voter turnout, turned up "virtually no evidence."

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Darrell Issa

Darrell Issa's Subpoena Gameplan For 2011: Investigate ACORN, Climate-Gate And The U.S. Postal Service

Ryan J. Reilly | September 28, 2010, 10:01AM

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA)

After ACORN's demise, you might have thought that if if the GOP takes the House and Rep. Darrell Issa becomes the new chair of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, the California Republican would have better things to worry about. You'd be wrong.

Last week, Issa issued a blueprint for his agenda titled "A Constitutional Obligation: Congressional Oversight of the Executive Branch." Among the issues he chastised the Democratic leadership for not addressing: the fraud he says was committed by the community organizing group ACORN.

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Tea Parties

In Hot Political Climate, Election Experts Want 'Voter Fraud' Watchdogs To Be Clear On Rules

Ryan J. Reilly | September 20, 2010, 9:56AM

As Tea Party groups take up the torch of voter fraud ahead of the midterm elections, a new poll shows that campaigns in prior elections to exaggerate the voter fraud issue have had an effect on public opinion. Meanwhile, advocates for low-income and minority voters are voicing concerns that the individuals planning to show up at polling stations to keep an eye out for those they think are illegitimate voters might be unclear on election law.

While the much-maligned ACORN no longer exists, a recent Public Policy Poll finds that one in five Americans thinks that it "will steal the election to keep Democrats in control of Congress this fall," concerns which Steve Benen dubbed "zombie fears."

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Anita MonCrief

ACORN Employee Turned Conservative Activist Tells Tea Partiers To Crack Down On Voter Fraud (VIDEO)

Ryan J. Reilly | September 13, 2010, 8:34AM

Anita MonCrief

Anita MonCrief, a self-described whistleblower who previously worked for the community organizing group ACORN, told tea party activists in D.C. on Friday to get involved in their local elections to prevent progressive organizations from stealing the races through voter fraud.

Tea Party groups, as TPM has reported, have raised the issue of voter fraud ahead of the midterm elections, but most voting experts say such claims of voter fraud are inflated and can lead to policies which suppress the turnout of legitimate voters.

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Bertha Lewis

Muckraker Favorites Star On Time's Least Influential List

Zachary Roth | April 30, 2010, 2:55PM

Clockwise from top-left: Former lobbyist Jack Abramoff, South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, Sen. John Ensign (R-NV), and former AIG Financial Products chief Joseph Cassano

Much more entertaining than Time's 100 Most Influential People list is its 100 Least Influential -- juvenilely titled the "Bum Hundred."

And that's only partly because it contains a handful of TPMmuckraker favorites. For instance:

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Darrell Issa

No Let Up: Darrell Issa's Tireless Quest For Scandal

Zachary Roth | April 23, 2010, 8:35AM

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA)

Remember the 1990s, when Newt Gingrich, Dan Burton and co. managed to create a steady stream of outrage by playing up every Clinton administration "scandal," no matter how minor? Or how about the last years of the Bush administration, when Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) seemed to function as a one-man investigative machine, making sure that no Bush administration wrong-doing went unexamined?

Today that role is being played by Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), the ranking Republican on the House Oversight committee. But despite the steady stream of made-to-order conspiracy theories coming from Fox News and the Tea Party crowd, it's a much harder job. That's largely because Issa's party is in the minority, so he doesn't have the power to compel testimony or subpoena documents. And it's perhaps also because, though the Obama administration is far from squeaky clean, Issa just hasn't had the kind of material to work with that his predecessors did.

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ACORN

ACORN Folds As National Organization

Zachary Roth | March 22, 2010, 4:08PM

ACORN CEO Bertha Lewis

Via Politico's Ben Smith:

ACORN's national organization is folding in the wake of the conservative-led attacks against it, most prominently James O'Keefe's undercover videos.

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Pay-Day Lenders

In The Loop: The Pay-Day Lenders' Ties To Powerful Beltway Influence-Peddlers

Zachary Roth | March 22, 2010, 10:32AM

Rick Berman, Mike Flynn and Dick Armey

We told you last week about the sophisticated Washington lobbying and PR operation that has helped the $42 billion-a-year pay-day lending industry water down provisions in the financial reform bill currently before Congress. But it looks like the industry's ties to a host of heavy-hitting, and sometimes controversial, Beltway players are even more extensive.

Those players, it appears, include a prominent and well-regarded DC consulting firm founded by top former Clinton administration staffers, a key editor at the Andrew-Breitbart-created website that hosted James O'Keefe's ACORN "exposes," Dick Armey's FreedomWorks, and a notorious corporate lobbyist known as "Dr. Evil." Taken together, the pay-day lenders' connections in the capital make clear that the industry has quietly -- and in a remarkably short time -- enmeshed itself into a network of Washington influence-peddlers skilled at putting a favorable sheen on a host of corporate causes.

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ACORN

ACORN: We're Still Around ... But Maybe Not For Long

Zachary Roth | February 23, 2010, 2:02PM

ACORN CEO Bertha Lewis

ACORN is pushing back against reports that it's on the verge of collapse as a national organization, in the wake of last year's hidden camera scandal. But it's not making any long-term predictions about its future.

Yesterday, City Hall News of New York City reported that ACORN "has been forced to suspend most operations as of today." It also reported that the organization's New York branch had morphed into a new group, New York Communities for Change, but was still being led by many of the same people as previously. The California branch of ACORN also recently split off.

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Landrieu Phone-Tampering Scandal

ACORN Comes Out Swinging In Wake Of Landrieu Phone-Tamper Scandal

Justin Elliott | February 10, 2010, 2:16PM

A screenshot of ACORN's "Sting the Stinger" fundraising e-mail.

After a tough 2009 in which ACORN's reputation sustained considerable damage, the community organizing group is suddenly on a public relations offensive.

Things started to turn around two weeks ago the day that James O'Keefe, the young filmmaker behind the undercover stings that brought national scrutiny to ACORN, was arrested at Sen. Mary Landrieu's New Orleans office. He is charged with entering a federal office under false pretenses for the purpose of committing a felony -- tampering with the phones.

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Landrieu Phone-Tampering Scandal

Chastened O'Keefe: I'll Be 'A Little More Thoughtful' In The Future (VIDEO)

Justin Elliott | February 2, 2010, 8:51AM

James O'Keefe and Sean Hannity

In a 12-minute interview with Fox's Sean Hannity last night, a subdued James O'Keefe said he is cooperating with the U.S. Attorney in Louisiana and that in the future he will "try to be a little more thoughtful about how I approach these things."

"This is a huge misunderstanding," said O'Keefe, who is criminally charged with three other men in the Landrieu phone tampering case.

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Pelican Institute

Conservative Group With Ties To Alleged Landrieu Phone Tamperers Went After ACORN

Zachary Roth | January 27, 2010, 11:55AM

Kevin Kane

The conservative think tank to which James O'Keefe and at least one of his alleged co-plotters have ties enjoys a prominent voice in Louisiana politics -- and has lately gone hard after ACORN.

O'Keefe -- who gained national notoriety last fall for his ACORN sting -- and three other men were arrested Monday after allegedly trying to tamper with phones in the New Orleans office of Sen. Mary Landrieu. O'Keefe, was scheduled to give a speech last week on investigative journalism to the Pelican Institute. Robert Flanagan, who was arrested with O'Keefe, works at Pelican, according to his lawyer, and has written blog posts on policy issues on Pelican's website.

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James O'Keefe

Filmmaker Behind ACORN Stings Arrested For Attempted Phone Tampering At Landrieu's Office

Justin Elliott | January 26, 2010, 3:38PM

Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA), James O'Keefe

James O'Keefe, the young conservative filmmaker who was behind the undercover operations that led to the ACORN scandal last year, was arrested with three others for allegedly trying to tamper with the phones at the New Orleans office of Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) yesterday.

The FBI announced today the foursome have been charged with entering federal property under false pretenses for the purpose of committing a felony.

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voter fraud

Conservative Recall Effort Leads To Voter Fraud Charges

Zachary Roth | January 5, 2010, 5:47PM

Not all voter fraud can be pinned on ACORN.

Two Michigan men were recently charged with voter fraud. The men, Michael Bastianelli and Harvey Robinson, allegedly faked signatures that were used to get a recall petition on the ballot.

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ACORN

Report Finds No Recent Funding Violations By ACORN

Nick Pinto | December 22, 2009, 5:31PM

ACORN has been investigated 46 times by federal, state, and local agencies as of October 2009, and 11 of those probes are still pending, according to a report by the Congressional Research Service released today. But the report finds no cases in which ACORN violated the terms of federal funding in the last five years.

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ACORN

Justice Department Defends ACORN Funding Ban

Zachary Roth | December 17, 2009, 6:46PM

The Justice Department is seeking to reverse a judge's ruling last week that the law to defund ACORN is unconstitutional.

Federal District Judge Nina Gershon last week put a preliminary injunction on the funding ban, which was pushed by Republicans in Congress in the wake of the hidden camera scandal that embarrassed ACORN. Gershon agreed with a claim by ACORN that the bill was unconstitutional because it singled out a specific entity for punishment. Today, the Justice Department filed papers in federal court arguing for a reversal of that decision, according to a press release from Rep. Darrel Issa (R-CA) trumpeting the news.

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ACORN

GOP Lawyers Slam Ruling On ACORN Funding

Zachary Roth | December 14, 2009, 9:30AM

Surprising no one, a Republican lawyer's group is slamming a court's decision Friday that ACORN can continue to receive federal funds for now.

In a statement, the Republican National Lawyers Association (RNLA) also criticized the Justice Department on the issue, comparing its stance to its decision not to prosecute members of the New Black Panthers party for voter intimidation. Both positions, said the RNLA, show that "politics can thwart the rule of law."

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ACORN

Judge Halts Ban On ACORN Funding -- For Now

Zachary Roth | December 11, 2009, 6:30PM

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.

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ACORN

ACORN Report Finds No Illegal Conduct

Zachary Roth | December 7, 2009, 1:51PM

ACORN employees caught in those undercover videos advising a couple posing as a pimp and a prostitute on how to break the law acted unprofessionally and inappropriately, but did nothing illegal, a report commissioned by ACORN and conducted by an independent investigator has found.

The report, by former Massachusetts Attorney General Scott Harshbarger, recommends nine steps for ACORN to take in order to regain public trust in the wake of the scandal, including that it return to its "core competency - community organizing and citizen engagement empowerment, with related services."

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ACORN

ACORN Suing U.S. Over "Unconstitutional" Defunding Bill

Zachary Roth | November 12, 2009, 10:22AM

ACORN is suing the U.S. government over a law passed recently by Congress that bars the controversial community group from receiving federal money.

In a complaint filed this morning in U.S. District Court in New York, ACORN charges that the law is unconstitutional, because it's a bill of attainder -- that is, it targets a specific individual or group for punishment.

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ACORN

ACORN: We're Not Even Working In New Jersey

Zachary Roth | November 3, 2009, 6:09PM

John Fund

OK, here's what should be the nail in the coffin for conservative claims that ACORN is poised to steal the New Jersey governor's race through rampant voter fraud.

Brian Kettenring, an ACORN spokesman, tells TPMmuckraker that the much-maligned group has conducted absolutely no political or voter registration activity in the state during the 2009 cycle. And Kettenring added that ACORN had done very little such work during the 2008 cycle.

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