"Pimp Sting" Taints ACORN, Obama Supporters
Four employees fired after giving advice to a pimp and prostitute
By ASHA BEH
Updated 6:45 PM EDT, Fri, Sep 11, 2009
Two ACORN officials in Washington and another pair in Baltimore have been fired after allegedly going above and way beyond to help a man and a woman posing as a pimp and prostitute.
It could be called a case of four bad nuts misguidedly trying to "help" two people in their community. Except that advising someone to claim sex worker girls trafficked into the country illegally as dependents on one's tax returns might be considered a little much.
In the video taken in D.C., independent filmmaker and conservative activist James O'Keefe, 25, and Hannah Giles, 20, go the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now's offices posing as a pimp and a prostitute, respectively. When they ask about buying a house and how to account for the woman's income on tax forms, they are told:
"She's not going to put on (the loan application) that she's doing prostitution ... she doesn't have to," a now-fired ACORN staffer tells the pair. "You don't have to sit back and tell people what you do."
The ACORN official then suggests that the "law student"/pimp can buy a house and act as the landlord. Then, if he's questioned by the authorities about the illegal activities going on inside, he can feign innocence.
"[W]hen the police ask you, (tell them) you don't know where (the money is) coming from," the staffer says. "We are looking out for you."
The advice just gets better as the clock counter on the video ticks away.
Katzenberg also insists that the Baltimore employees did not know they were being videotaped and that O'Keefe and Giles misrepresented their intentions.
The videos, meanwhile, are being seen as a huge victory for conservatives, who have long targeted ACORN, especially during last year's presidential campaigns when ACORN was signing up unprecedented numbers of voters, presumably most of them to support Democrat Barack Obama, according to The Kansas City Star.
"Taxpayers should be outraged that their money has gone to an organization that, in addition to facing charges of voter fraud and tax violations, is willing to facilitate prostitution," said Rep. Steve King, an Iowa Republican.
Oh, the outrage! The horror! Every Republican with anything to say will be sure to be on FOX News to chop ACORN down to size. And judging by the employees' actions in these videos, they've got plenty to chew on.
First Published: Sep 11, 2009 5:16 PM EDT
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