THey busted ACORN...now they are busted?
By lilwonders
@lilwonders456 (8214)
United States
January 28, 2010 3:03pm CST
It seems the people responsible for busting some (I want to make that clear..some..not all) unethical ACORN employees just got themselves busted..big time.
Seems they pretended to be phone repairmen and got into Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La office and tried to tapp her phones. Well they got busted and are in BIG trouble now. We are talking felonies and the FBI.
What do you think they were up to? I know they did the whole ACORN thing because they wanted to show that some in the organization were completely unethical. What did they know about Landrieu that they were willing to risk this kind of legal trouble to get on tape? And why her? ANyone know the whole story?
Tell me what you think. PErsonally they were stupid enough to do the crime so they will do the time...but I would LOVE to know why they did it. Do they know something we don't know? LA politicans are know for being corrupt...they could even put IL politicans to shame at times. So I am sure this is something big.
2 people like this
5 responses
@thegreatdebater (7316)
• United States
28 Jan 10
The nice thing about the law is that it doesn't matter your intent, your actions are all that matters. These men SHOULD be put in jail for a long time, they tried to tap the phones in a federal building (Who do these guys think they are: News Corp. employees?). I think it would be very interesting to see where the equipment came from, and look at their bank records to see if someone was paying them to do this. The equipment to tap a phone isn't cheap, and I am sure there are many people in the RNC that would love to tap the phone of a Senator.
I would like to know why they did it as well, and like I said, who is the person (I put my money on someone in the RNC) that funded this Watergate like crime. Either way, I think that there is more to this then we all know right now.
@lilwonders456 (8214)
• United States
29 Jan 10
I don't know how much that stuff costs. But if you are right and it is expensive than ya they had a backer....who will go down with them.
There is a lot we don't know right now....we will have to wait to find out. But if the RNC wanted a tap on someone I would think it would Reid or Pelosi or someone bigger in the party than the one these kids picked.
1 person likes this
@xfahctor (14118)
• Lancaster, New Hampshire
29 Jan 10
it is not at all certain what they were doing, the guy in the car had a "listening device", but they never said what specificly it was, that could just as well be part of another device on one of the guys who tricked their way in, to monitor things from outside...it doesn't mean they were tapping phones, they weren't even charged with tapping, it was tampering, which is pretty generalized. This is going to be an interesting story though, I really would like to know what they were up to. I think there is alot more to this story than it seems and I think it is going to turn out a lot different than most people might think.
1 person likes this
@thegreatdebater (7316)
• United States
29 Jan 10
Lil, you can buy a basic kit at radio shack for very little money, but from the sound of this, it wasn't a basic kit. You are talking about thousands of dollars, if not more to do what they wanted to do. I agree that they probably wanted to go higher, but like you said, LA politics is about as dirty as it comes.
1 person likes this
@anniepa (27955)
• United States
29 Jan 10
OK...it almost seems like you're blaming the victim, lil, like you're assuming Senator Landrieu must have done something wrong for these crooks to want to do this! Then there's the "they're just kids" defense I've heard. The facts are ACORN sting pimp impersonator and hero of the right James O'Keefe and three of his buddies are adults who have allegedly committed a federal felony. They entered a federal office under false pretenses. It doesn't matter that they didn't actually tap Senator Landrieu's phones or if that wasn't their intent, they're in HUGE trouble and could go away for a long time.
The story I've been hearing now is that they claim conservatives had been angered because attempts to call Mary Landrieu's office following her vote for the Senate health care plan and the so-called "Louisiana Purchase" had been unsuccessful. They were unable to get through, often taken directly to voice mail boxes that were full. The claim is the men were hoping the staff would have a reaction of not caring that their constituents couldn't get through after being told the phones weren't working. It seems that it's being portrayed as some kind of a harmless prank. What I'D like to know is who else may be behind this and what other dirty tricks do they have up their sleeves.
I also say so much for the credibility of the ACORN investigation!
Annie
@Taskr36 (13963)
• United States
29 Jan 10
"I also say so much for the credibility of the ACORN investigation!"
Annie, there are VIDEOS of ACORN's illegal actions, several videos in fact, and ACORN has a long record of illegal activity throughout this country. I'm not surprised though to see you jump at the opportunity to act like their innocent just because this kid tried to tap a wire at Landrieu's office. It's not related to ACORN in the least.
@anniepa (27955)
• United States
30 Jan 10
I guess there were probably some people who wondered what the Watergate burglars were looking for. If you believe them they told what they were looking to do. It's known as political "dirty tricks" and these "kids" are learning from the same group of peple who taught the likes of Karl Rove.
Taskr, has ACORN been charged with any crime in this case? I understand they've claimed the videos had been doctored, something you seem to think is an easy thing to do when it's a liberal doing it. Also, aren't you the guy who claims that Sarah Palin has never done anything wrong since some people or groups have made up things about her and that Rush Limbaugh isn't a racist, even though he's said things FOR SURE that indicate he is, because some people have attributed quotes to him without proof? Here we have the guy responsible for the exposure of some dishonest ACORN workers being exposed to be a CROOK.
Annie
@lilwonders456 (8214)
• United States
29 Jan 10
Annie I am not making excuses for them. THey did something very illegal. They will be held accountable for it. And they should be. No one is above the law. I am just trying to understand WHY they did it. What made them take that kind of a risk? What made them decide that it was worth it to take the risk of committing a HUGE crime? What did they think they were going to get that would make it worth it?
Does whatever they thought they were going to find out make it ok to do what they did? No. But I do want to know the motive.
As for blaming the victim...well I don't blame her for what happened. But I do wonder what was going on at her office that they did that.
I do think it was youth and stupidity to some extent that was involved in their decision. No mature or smart person would have done what they did. If they thought something illegal was going on...well you don't break the law to find out what it is. THey were young and like most young people they probly thought they would not get caught. Well I guess they just learned otherwise. Hope they learn from this.
As for the credibility of the ACORN investigation...well the tapes speak for themselves. Are all ACORN employees unethical? No. But some of them certainly are and they were caught on tape. It is hard for ACRON to deny they have an problem with SOME of their employees when their employees are caught on tape.
There is a lot I want to know about this situation. I am hoping more comes out as the investigation goes on.
@Taskr36 (13963)
• United States
29 Jan 10
I've been waiting to post about this until more details come out, but so far, there's been nothing beyond the initial report that really didn't give me much to work with. As far as I can tell, the guys dressed as repairmen never actually succeeded in attaching anything to the phone lines and O'Keefe was just sitting in the lobby with a camera phone. If that's really how it went down, this kid is a moron. He has to know how out of place he looks in a place like that and he's a pretty recognizable person after his ACORN videos.
I'm also wondering why they would waste their time with Landrieu. She's pretty low profile and nobody even knew who she was before she took the bribe. He certainly could have gotten more dirt tapping someone like Pelosi or Reid.
@lilwonders456 (8214)
• United States
29 Jan 10
I agree. I am having a hard time trying to figure out why they went after her and not Reid or Pelosi. It must be they KNEW something about her or something going on at her office. I don't know. But I definately want to find out. I will be keeping an eye on this story.
I can tell you this will be their last stupid stunt for a while. I think they will be "guests" of the federal government for a while after this one.
@Rollo1 (16679)
• Boston, Massachusetts
28 Jan 10
James O'Keefe was the "pimp" in the ACORN videos. He was in Landrieu's office per the reports. The two men who posed as telephone repairment were friends of his, one of whom is the son of the Attorney General in Louisiana. What caused the three of them to risk getting caught committing a crime is a mystery to me. However, they are all young, in their early 20s, when risk-taking is not unknown.
I think it was
A. Bad judgment
B. The thrill of the risk
C. The possibility of fame that would come when they broke whatever big story they thought they were going to find.
I don't know if there is a particular reason they felt they could get a big story in Landrieu's office, perhaps it is something to do with the bribe offered to get her to vote for healthcare. But it could be something completely different. I wish I knew what it was.
I don't think they actually managed to tap any phones, so at least the charges will not include wiretapping. But they are serious charges as it is, and these young men will all mostly likely do time.
@lilwonders456 (8214)
• United States
28 Jan 10
oh I definately think they will do jail time. I just wonder what was sooo major for them to take such a risk. YOu may be right...they are young and therefore took more risk than they should have. Stupid kids.
I am hoping that during investigation it comes out what they thought they were going to find at her office.
@lilnono (228)
• United States
29 Jan 10
It sounds to me like these guys will go after anybody just to get a story. Anybody who thinks Acorn is newsworthy is just misinformed.
Whatever they though they were going to get on the senator was probably not that earth shattering.
@Taskr36 (13963)
• United States
14 Feb 10
ACORN's newsworthy because they get billions of taxpayer dollars and have been guilty of the largest cases of voter registration fraud in the country. Any criminal organization that gets taxpayer dollars is a big story, especially since they were going to be tasked with gathering US Census information before those videos came out.
