(5-26-10): "Activist guilty in phone caper at senator's office" (Mary Foster, AP) James O'Keefe, conservative activist in ACORN pimp scandal

[Suzan]

Activist guilty in phone caper at senator's office

Four conservative activists accused of trying to tamper with the phones in Sen. Mary Landrieu's office pleaded guilty Wednesday to misdemeanor charges of entering federal property under false pretenses.

James O'Keefe, 25, famous for wearing a pimp costume in a video that embarrassed the community organizing group ACORN, was sentenced to three years probation, 100 hours of community service and a $1,500 fine.

The FBI has said O'Keefe used his cell phone to try to capture video of two others who posed as telephone repairmen and asked to see the phones at Landrieu's office. O'Keefe has said the group was trying to investigate complaints that constituents calling Landrieu's office couldn't get through to criticize the Democrat's support of a health care reform bill.

Protesters marched in front of Landrieu's office in Baton Rouge last December to criticize her support for the health care legislation and complained they couldn't get through on her office phones. Landrieu said at the time that her office was receiving a high volume of calls and apologized.

O'Keefe told the judge he regretted his actions and apologized for raising security concerns at the federal building. After the hearing, he said he would continue his undercover work.

"What I do is I stand up to power," O'Keefe said. "I expose corruption in the back rooms."

Magistrate Daniel Knowles III sentenced the three other suspects to two years probation, 75 hours of community service and $1,500 fines.

O'Keefe, Stan Dai, Joseph Basel and Robert Flanagan were arrested Jan. 25 on felony charges, but federal prosecutors later reduced the charges.

Knowles chided the defendants, saying they came from good backgrounds, all had undergraduate degrees or better, and should have used better judgment.

The judge told O'Keefe he was particularly concerned about his role as ringleader.

"One of the things involved in being a journalist is you're going to have to learn to draw the line," Knowles said. "In this instance, you drew it in the wrong spot."

Read the rest here (http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_SENATORS_OFFICE_ARRESTS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2010-05-26-12-23-53)

[Spang]

O'Keefe told the judge he regretted his actions and apologized for raising security concerns at the federal building.

He's full of shit.

[Valin]

Big Government: A Picture Worth a Thousand Words: Screenshots of the Government’s Admission That James O’Keefe Did Not Attempt to Tamper With Landrieu’s Phones (http://biggovernment.com/patterico/2010/05/28/a-picture-worth-a-thousand-words-screenshots-of-the-governments-admission-that-james-okeefe-did-not-attempt-to-tamper-with-landrieus-phones/)
Patterico
5/2810

http://bigjournalism.com/files/2010/05/Okeefe-grab-5-28.jpg


As I noted in a more detailed post (http://biggovernment.com/patterico/2010/05/28/court-document-reveals-governments-admission-that-it-lacked-evidence-okeefe-others-intended-to-commit-felony-at-landrieus-office/) below, the Government sought to bury this admission by omitting it from their press release, and attempting to avoid reading it aloud in court when setting forth the factual basis. I have updated that post to note that I have now obtained the filed version of the document, with the signature of the Government’s representative....(Snip)

[Suzan]

Big Government: A Picture Worth a Thousand Words: Screenshots of the Government’s Admission That James O’Keefe Did Not Attempt to Tamper With Landrieu’s Phones (http://biggovernment.com/patterico/2010/05/28/a-picture-worth-a-thousand-words-screenshots-of-the-governments-admission-that-james-okeefe-did-not-attempt-to-tamper-with-landrieus-phones/)
Patterico
5/2810

http://bigjournalism.com/files/2010/05/Okeefe-grab-5-28.jpg

He was convicted of misdemeanor charges, not felony charges. They acknowledge only that O'Keefe et al didn't intend to commit a felony, based on the evidence.

Four conservative activists accused of trying to tamper with the phones in Sen. Mary Landrieu's office pleaded guilty Wednesday to misdemeanor charges of entering federal property under false pretenses.

James O'Keefe, 25, famous for wearing a pimp costume in a video that embarrassed the community organizing group ACORN, was sentenced to three years probation, 100 hours of community service and a $1,500 fine.

[RichardMZhlubb]

It's a plea bargain. He agreed to plead guilty in exchange for a government agreement to reduce the charges. That's the way plea bargains worked. If he had refused the deal, then the government would probably have continued to prosecute him on the felony charges. Personally, I don't care what he's convicted of. This incident has shown that the guy's a clown and really not worth taking seriously.

[Suzan]

O'Keefe, Stan Dai, Joseph Basel and Robert Flanagan were arrested Jan. 25 on felony charges, but federal prosecutors later reduced the charges.

This is what tells you it was a plea bargain?

[RichardMZhlubb]

This is what tells you it was a plea bargain?

O'Keefe's signature on a document agreeing to plead guilty to a lesser charge is, by definition, a plea bargain.

[Suzan]

O'Keefe's signature on a document agreeing to plead guilty to a lesser charge is, by definition, a plea bargain.
Thanks for clarifying.

[foxyladi]

plea bargains are very popular:D

[hillary4change]

This incident has shown that the guy's a clown and really not worth taking seriously.

Some may feel he acted like a clown in this situation, but it does not absolve ACORN of their very shady behaviors. They were willing, on multiple occasions, to assist in defrauding the government and assisting in prostitution, as well as with under age girls. :eek:[-X:eek::itwasntme:
Inexcusible, no way around it. Like it or not, James O'Keefe exposed it! Kudos to O'Keefe.

[foxyladi]

Some may feel he acted like a clown in this situation, but it does not absolve ACORN of their very shady behaviors. They were willing, on multiple occasions, to assist in defrauding the government and assisting in prostitution, as well as with under age girls. :eek:[-X:eek::itwasntme:
Inexcusible, no way around it. Like it or not, James O'Keefe exposed it! Kudos to O'Keefe.

hillarystamp!our favorite stamp:thumbsup:

[hillary4change]

hillarystamp!our favorite stamp:thumbsup:

Yes, Foxy, it is our favorite stamp!! :)>-

[Spang]

Some may feel he acted like a clown in this situation, but it does not absolve ACORN of their very shady behaviors. They were willing, on multiple occasions, to assist in defrauding the government and assisting in prostitution, as well as with under age girls. :eek:[-X:eek::itwasntme:
Inexcusible, no way around it. Like it or not, James O'Keefe exposed it! Kudos to O'Keefe.

That shit was debunked months ago. He wasn't dressed as a pimp, nor was the woman that was with him dressed as a prostitute while they were filming inside the ACORN offices. The pimp and prostitute shit was filmed later for b-roll, and edited into the already edited ACORN footage to make ACORN look really bad. It was all made-up bullshit which the right-wing is notorious for.

[hillary4change]

That shit was debunked months ago. He wasn't dressed as a pimp, nor was the woman that was with him dressed as a prostitute while they were filming inside the ACORN offices. The pimp and prostitute shit was filmed later for b-roll, and edited into the already edited ACORN footage to make ACORN look really bad. It was all made-up bullshit which the right-wing is notorious for.

If it was, all I have to say is, see below: :)>- Godspeed.

Some may feel he acted like a clown in this situation, but it does not absolve ACORN of their very shady behaviors. They were willing, on multiple occasions, to assist in defrauding the government and assisting in prostitution, as well as with under age girls. :eek:[-X:eek::itwasntme:
Inexcusible, no way around it. Like it or not, James O'Keefe exposed it! Kudos to O'Keefe.

[Spang]

But new, unedited videotapes discovered through Brown's investigation, as well as other evidence, shed clearer light on interactions between O'Keefe and the now-defunct ACORN.

Videotapes secretly recorded last summer and severely edited by O'Keefe seemed to show ACORN employees encouraging a "pimp" (O'Keefe) and his "prostitute," actually a Florida college student named Hannah Giles, in conversations involving prostitution by underage girls, human trafficking and cheating on taxes. Those videos created a media sensation.

Evidence obtained by Brown tells a somewhat different story, however, as reflected in three videotapes made at ACORN locations in California. One ACORN worker in San Diego called the cops. Another ACORN worker in San Bernardino caught on to the scheme and played along with it, claiming among other things that she had murdered her abusive husband. Her two former husbands are alive and well, the Attorney General's report noted. At the beginning and end of the Internet videos, O'Keefe was dressed as a 1970s Superfly pimp, but in his actual taped sessions with ACORN workers, he was dressed in a shirt and tie, presented himself as a law student, and said he planned to use the prostitution proceeds to run for Congress. He never claimed he was a pimp.

"The evidence illustrates," Brown said, "that things are not always as partisan zealots portray them through highly selective editing of reality. Sometimes a fuller truth is found on the cutting room floor."

The original storm of publicity created by O'Keefe's videotapes was instrumental in ACORN's subsequent denunciation in Congress, a sudden tourniquet on its funding, and the organization's eventual collapse.

The Source (http://ag.ca.gov/newsalerts/release.php?id=1888)

[hillary4change]

The Source (http://ag.ca.gov/newsalerts/release.php?id=1888)

and said he planned to use the prostitution proceeds to run for Congress.
Also please note, the story said:
SAN DIEGO - California Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. today released a report, including newly obtained videotapes, that shows some members of the community organizing group ACORN engaged in "highly inappropriate behavior," but committed no violation of criminal laws.

Brown's report also uncovered "likely violations" of state law, including dumping 500 pages of confidential records into a dumpster, failure to file a 2007 tax return, and four instances of possible voter registration fraud by ACORN in San Diego in connection with the 2008 election, as well as other irregularities in the group's California operations. These irregularities have been referred to the appropriate authorities.

"A few ACORN members exhibited terrible judgment and highly inappropriate behavior in videotapes obtained in the investigation," Brown said. "But they didn't commit prosecutable crimes in California."
And this:
Brown's report found numerous faults with ACORN's activities in California, including:

- Failure to "recruit, train and monitor its employees to ensure compliance" with state law.

- Likely violation of state civil laws designed to protect personal information when employees of the San Diego office disposed of 20,000 pages of records in a dumpster. These violations could result in private litigation if any of the victims were injured by disclosure.

- Four instances of "possible voter registration fraud in San Diego in connection with the 2008 election."

- Failure to file a 2007 state tax return, an omission the Franchise Tax Board is pursuing.

- Sloppiness in its handling of charitable assets, although no misuse of those assets was found. The California Attorney General will monitor investigations into ACORN's overall finances by the IRS and Louisiana Attorney General.
Also note, this is a report of the California Chapter, not any of the gazillion (yes, I said gazillion) other offices.

[Spang]

Yup, but no criminality.

[hillary4change]

Yup, but no criminality.

In Ca. I have no idea what other charges or investigations are still pending in other states. If there was no guilt on the part of ACORN, why did they shut the whole organization down? I understand they re-opened with another name, but it is still ACORN in the minds of Americans.

[Spang]

If there was no guilt on the part of ACORN, why did they shut the whole organization down?

The right-wing smeared their name all to shit.

[hillary4change]

The right-wing smeared their name all to shit.

In my opinion, they did that to themselves. They should not have tried to help these undercover journalists, the subject was prostitution and child prostitution. Nothing can make those clips disappear. They exist.

I see you have no answer for this:
In Ca. I have no idea what other charges or investigations are still pending in other states.

[hillary4change]

I just found this video, where O'Keefe says he is using the monies for his campaign:

http://www.nypost.com/video?vxSiteId=a89dc16f-1771-485a-8c76-3ebbf3072361&vxChannel=PostUsFeed&vxClipId=1458_591618&vxBitrate=300

This is from a New York Post article dated 9/14/2009. The ACORN worker even discussed her attire and that she needed to dress differently in the future, O'Keefe says, "She just got off work an hour ago." So I think you are misreresenting how these tapes all went down.
Here is the link;

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/brooklyn/item_Js4YPEcsCcxLZhAEehLhmL

[Spang]

But new, unedited videotapes discovered through Brown's investigation, as well as other evidence, shed clearer light on interactions between O'Keefe and the now-defunct ACORN.

Videotapes secretly recorded last summer and severely edited by O'Keefe seemed to show ACORN employees encouraging a "pimp" (O'Keefe) and his "prostitute," actually a Florida college student named Hannah Giles, in conversations involving prostitution by underage girls, human trafficking and cheating on taxes. Those videos created a media sensation.

Evidence obtained by Brown tells a somewhat different story, however, as reflected in three videotapes made at ACORN locations in California. One ACORN worker in San Diego called the cops. Another ACORN worker in San Bernardino caught on to the scheme and played along with it, claiming among other things that she had murdered her abusive husband. Her two former husbands are alive and well, the Attorney General's report noted. At the beginning and end of the Internet videos, O'Keefe was dressed as a 1970s Superfly pimp, but in his actual taped sessions with ACORN workers, he was dressed in a shirt and tie, presented himself as a law student, and said he planned to use the prostitution proceeds to run for Congress. He never claimed he was a pimp.

"The evidence illustrates," Brown said, "that things are not always as partisan zealots portray them through highly selective editing of reality. Sometimes a fuller truth is found on the cutting room floor."

The original storm of publicity created by O'Keefe's videotapes was instrumental in ACORN's subsequent denunciation in Congress, a sudden tourniquet on its funding, and the organization's eventual collapse.

The Source (http://ag.ca.gov/newsalerts/release.php?id=1888)

[hillary4change]

said he planned to use the prostitution proceeds to run for Congress. He never claimed he was a pimp.

The video I provided shows him saying that she was a prostitute and he was running for political office. In the video the ACORN worker questions her attire and O'Keefe says "She just got off work an hour ago." The woman was trying to tell her how to present herself without looking like a prostitute.
Listen to the vid, it is all there and contrary to what you say. The only thing I can say that goes with your story, it does not show what he is wearing. But he clearly states he is her pimp and he is running for office in a couple years.
http://www.nypost.com/video?vxSiteId...&vxBitrate=300

[Spang]

http://www.nypost.com/video?vxSiteId...&vxBitrate=300

I don't give a **** what the New York Post reported last year. California Attorney General Edmund G. Brown released a report last month that debunked all that shit.

[hillary4change]

I don't give a **** what the New York Post reported last year. California Attorney General Edmund G. Brown released a report last month that debunks all that shit.

You just don't want to listen and hear that you are wrong. The video says what you say it doesn't. He may be speaking about videos in Ca. but he isn't talking about this one, cause I heard it and saw it. I know you won't have the guts to listen to it, but others here most likely will, then they will see for themselves.
Keep on those far left talking points though. :)>- Godspeed, my friend.
EDIT: Cussing gives you no more credibility, it makes you look hot headed and angry, maybe even unreasonable.

[Spang]

Keep on those far left talking points though.

I'm providing facts, not edited bullshit from last year. The O'Keefe-ACORN pimp tapes have been debunked. Next controversy, please.

[hillary4change]

I'm providing facts, not edited bullshit from last year. The O'Keefe-ACORN pimp tapes have been debunked. Next controversy, please.

I am going to move on, I have things to do with my life. I knew you wouldn't listen, I am not surprised....stay on those points though, you are good at it, unwavered in your misdirection. That is your right as an American. **==:)>-Godspeed.

[cindyb]

Some may feel he acted like a clown in this situation, but it does not absolve ACORN of their very shady behaviors. They were willing, on multiple occasions, to assist in defrauding the government and assisting in prostitution, as well as with under age girls. :eek:[-X:eek::itwasntme:
Inexcusible, no way around it. Like it or not, James O'Keefe exposed it! Kudos to O'Keefe.



:thumbsup: You got that right!

[cindyb]

Also please note, the story said:
And this:

Also note, this is a report of the California Chapter, not any of the gazillion (yes, I said gazillion) other offices.

SAN DIEGO - California Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. today released a report, including newly obtained videotapes, that shows some members of the community organizing group ACORN engaged in "highly inappropriate behavior," but committed no violation of criminal laws.

Brown's report also uncovered "likely violations" of state law, including dumping 500 pages of confidential records into a dumpster, failure to file a 2007 tax return, and four instances of possible voter registration fraud by ACORN in San Diego in connection with the 2008 election, as well as other irregularities in the group's California operations. These irregularities have been referred to the appropriate authorities.

"A few ACORN members exhibited terrible judgment and highly inappropriate behavior in videotapes obtained in the investigation," Brown said. "But they didn't commit prosecutable crimes in California."

And this:

Quote:
Brown's report found numerous faults with ACORN's activities in California, including:

- Failure to "recruit, train and monitor its employees to ensure compliance" with state law.

- Likely violation of state civil laws designed to protect personal information when employees of the San Diego office disposed of 20,000 pages of records in a dumpster. These violations could result in private litigation if any of the victims were injured by disclosure.

- Four instances of "possible voter registration fraud in San Diego in connection with the 2008 election."

- Failure to file a 2007 state tax return, an omission the Franchise Tax Board is pursuing.

- Sloppiness in its handling of charitable assets, although no misuse of those assets was found. The California Attorney General will monitor investigations into ACORN's overall finances by the IRS and Louisiana Attorney General.




ACORN was/is a very corrupt organization just like its' brother SEIU. When the Attorney General of CALIFORNIA, no less, says the above you know it is REALLY bad. California excuses mostly everything.

Yup, but no criminality.

So, I take that to mean you agree with ACORN and their underage child prostitute/kidnapping advice. I got it now. :rolleyes:

In Ca. I have no idea what other charges or investigations are still pending in other states. If there was no guilt on the part of ACORN, why did they shut the whole organization down? I understand they re-opened with another name, but it is still ACORN in the minds of Americans.

A rookie, O'Keefe, brought down a corrupt organization and many liberals just hate that SO much.

ACORN goes on trial here, this summer.

The right-wing smeared their name all to shit.

LOL, typical liberal, it is always someone else's fault. No surprise here.

The video I provided shows him saying that she was a prostitute and he was running for political office. In the video the ACORN worker questions her attire and O'Keefe says "She just got off work an hour ago." The woman was trying to tell her how to present herself without looking like a prostitute.
Listen to the vid, it is all there and contrary to what you say. The only thing I can say that goes with your story, it does not show what he is wearing. But he clearly states he is her pimp and he is running for office in a couple years.
http://www.nypost.com/video?vxSiteId...&vxBitrate=300

Spang thinks if he just repeats himself enough times, someone will believe him. Fat chance. ;)

[cindyb]

I'm providing facts, not edited bullshit from last year. The O'Keefe-ACORN pimp tapes have been debunked. Next controversy, please.



Your defense of the corrupt ACORN is making you look very foolish and naive and partisan. IMO.

[Spang]

Your defense of the corrupt ACORN is making you look very foolish and naive and partisan. IMO.

I'm not defending ACORN, I'm attacking the right-wing smear machine which loves to make shit up. For example, the other day a right-wing article was posted that was full of made-up bullshit. The article, written by Bob Barr, was attacking the Census, but none of it was ******* accurate.

I don't care what the **** you people attack, but use some Allah-damn facts when you do.

[mack20]

Your defense of the corrupt ACORN is making you look very foolish and naive and partisan. IMO.

Your defense of O'Keefe and those tapes is making you look just as foolish, naive and partisan.

[cindyb]

IMO, using the defense, "Yup, but no criminality" means nothing. Good grief, some idiot wrote a book, "How To Assasinate George Bush" while Bush was president and it was not a criminal offense.

Just because what ACORN did was not a criminal offense doesn't mean what they did wasn't wrong.

FTR, I am a LOT less partisan than Spang. lol

[Suzan]

Well, if you think about it, O'Keefe was found guilty (of misdemeanor charges in another incident) and ACORN wasn't found guilty of any criminality, so what does that say about who's operating within the law? If O'Keefe is to be applauded for exposing ACORN, but he showed questionable behavior in how he did it (editing the tape to misrepresent the situation, etc.) and later plea-bargained his way out of felony charges for the Mary Landrieu situation, then how is he any better than say the Watergate burglars?

I guess some might think he's a hero. I'm sure he does, but if he has no compunctions about breaking the law to achieve his ends how trustworthy a politician is he going to be?

[cindyb]

Who said O'Keefe was going to be a politician?

I don't think the object of the undercover tapes of ACORN were ever to get individulal ACORN employees brought up on criminal charges.

They, pretty much, achieved their objective with ACORN IMO.

[Suzan]

Who said O'Keefe was going to be a politician?

Evidence obtained by Brown tells a somewhat different story, however, as reflected in three videotapes made at ACORN locations in California. One ACORN worker in San Diego called the cops. Another ACORN worker in San Bernardino caught on to the scheme and played along with it, claiming among other things that she had murdered her abusive husband. Her two former husbands are alive and well, the Attorney General's report noted. At the beginning and end of the Internet videos, O'Keefe was dressed as a 1970s Superfly pimp, but in his actual taped sessions with ACORN workers, he was dressed in a shirt and tie, presented himself as a law student, and said he planned to use the prostitution proceeds to run for Congress. He never claimed he was a pimp.

I saw a couple references to this and thought he actually planned to run for congress. Apparently this was all part of the "story" to expose ACORN.

We can all breathe a sigh of relief now.

[foxyladi]

Who said O'Keefe was going to be a politician?

I don't think the object of the undercover tapes of ACORN were ever to get individulal ACORN employees brought up on criminal charges.

They, pretty much, achieved their objective with ACORN IMO.

oh yeah..:eek: