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rulemylife -> RE: Now why isn't this surprising? (3/1/2010 7:15:04 PM)
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quote:
ORIGINAL: TheHeretic
So? What's your point? That complete amateurs couldn't get the ACORN folks to use the specific phrasing needed to secure a conviction? They were good enough to get the true colors out on display.
I see, so being exonerated legally just means they were still guilty but there just wasn't enough evidence to convict them.
In other words, guilty until proven innocent.
Report Finds Acorn Broke No Laws - The Caucus Blog - NYTimes.com
The controversial community organizing group Acorn has not broken any laws in the last five years, according to a Congrssional Research Service report released Tuesday evening.
The report, requested by Representative John Conyers, Democrat of Michigan, said that federal agencies, mainly the Departments of Justice and Housing and Urban Development, have awarded money to the group 48 times since 2005. But, in none of those instances did Acorn violate the terms of their funding, the report said.
Since the 2008 elections, the group, which works primarily to expand voter registration and affordable housing, has become a key Republican target.
A series of scandals brought to light by conservative activists led to multiple Congressional hearings and repeated attempts to deny it taxpayer funding. Acorn has been the subject of scores of investigations—a total of 46 inquiries by federal, state, and local agencies, including the FBI and the Treasury Department, and five by Congress as of October 2009, according to the report.
The report found no evidence that voters attempting to cast ballots at the polls had been improperly registered by Acorn, a chief Republican accusation.
The report also said that a sting-style effort to publicize the group’s allegedly illegal activities, may have broken state laws. Two conservative activists set off a firestorm in September when they posed as a pimp and a prostitute seeking financial advice and secretly videotaped Acorn employees offering advice on how the couple could hide their illicit activities and avoid paying taxes.
ACORN CRS Report
There were no instances of individuals who were allegedly registered to vote improperly by ACORN or its employees and who were reported "attempting to vote at the polls." Memorandum from the Congressional Research Service to the House Judiciary Committee, "ACORN Investigations" (December 22, 2009), at 1.
No instances were identified in which ACORN "violated the terms of federal funding in the last five years." "ACORN Investigations," at 1.
Concerning recent "sting" operations relating to ACORN, although state laws vary, two relevant states, Maryland and California, "appear to ban private recording of face to face conversations absent the consent of all the participants." Memorandum from the Congressional Research Service to the House Judiciary, "Allegations of Recording Conversations with Various ACORN Affiliated Individuals without Their Consent" (October 9, 2009), at 1.
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