From Yid with Lid…
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
STUNNING New ACORN Revelations: Shifting Public Money To Elect Progressives, NY Times Cover-up
People shouldn’t think that all ACORN does is help pimps and hookers buy houses, they serve the community in so many other ways, including embezzlement of donated funds, voter fraud, and using tax exempt dollars to help get liberal candidates elected.
Yesterday the Republicans on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform held a forum to discuss ACORN and urge the Attorney General to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the Democratic Party’s favorite criminal enterprise.
Congressmen Smith and Issa presented documentation indicating that ACORN already transferred many of its resources to several other left-wing advocacy and political groups including several chapters of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and possibly Data and Field Services, the Working Families Party, Change to Win and the Council for Unity,and others. Anita Moncrief, former ACORN employee told the panel the organization continually got federal block grants but did not use the grants for helping the poor as promised. Rather, ACORN “used the money to fund the political machine.. Poverty is big business for ACORN.
Keep in mind as the “housing end” of ACORN is a not for profit organization receiving federal funding, it is not allowed to engage in political operations. Moncrief tells of how ACORN shifted money from one to the other all with the intention of electing progressives elected, the direct connection from the Obama Campaign Committee and ACORN, and the NY Times cover-up of the scandal.
Below are some of the highlights of her incredible testimony outlining the way’s the non-profit arm of ACORN used public funds to get Democrats Elected.
She began talking about previous testimony she had made:
…My testimony in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania covered the following significant facts:
- November 2007 – Project Vote contacted by Obama presidential campaign
- Project Vote received Obama donor list from Obama campaign
- Project Vote solicited Obama donors to pay for voter registration and to “get out the vote”
- Project Vote received donor lists from other Democratic and labor union sources: John Kerry campaign, [Hillary] Clinton campaign, Barack Obama campaign, Democratic National Committee, America Coming Together (“ACT”)
- Project Vote development plan was to “approach maxed out presidential donors” and allegedly use the funds raised for voter registration drives
- ACORN “employees” were paid through Project Vote for partisan campaign activities, such as telling voters “don’t vote for Albert Wynn (sic) or vote for this person”
- In reality, there was no division between the staff of ACORN and Project Vote and persons working for one entity performed work for either or both organizations
- ACORN chose the states in which Project Vote would conduct voter registration drives, based on political considerations
- Registration drives (by Project Vote) conducted in ‘battleground states” where “by coming in and registering new voters, it could change the outcome of the election”
- The Obama campaign’s donor list was part of the evidence admitted into the hearing on the injunction in October 2008
- ACORN Political is the ‘strategic planning arm’ of ACORN, and it looks at contested congressional districts, ballot measures, initiatives like minimum wage, etc.
- Project Vote had a $28,000,000 budget which was funneled through Citizens Consulting Incorporated (“CCI”)
- CCI is an ACORN affiliated entity that receives and disburses all funds, including charitable contributions from the Rockefeller Fund, the Vanguard Charitable Endowment and other private foundations and donors, to over 175 affiliated ACORN entities
- In 2007, there was a $9,000,000 discrepancy in the ACORN affiliated accounts
- My testimony also shed light on a little known program within ACORN called “Muscle for the Money” and Heidelbaugh also summarized the lengthy court transcript to highlight this program:
- ACORN has official and unofficial programs called “Muscle for the Money”
- ACORN’s Official “Muscle for the Money” Program:
- The “official” program is the name for the ACORN voter registration drives.
- The Obama campaign paid ACORN affiliate Citizens Services International (“CSI”) almost $900,000 for voter registration, voter identification, turnout and get-out-the-vote services.
- Obama campaign reported to the FEC that the expenditure was for “sound and lighting equipment,” which does not exist.
- ACORN/CSI markets its programs to campaigns, which pay ACORN/CSI for the “services”
- ACORN is paid not only to register voters, but to also convert those voter registrations into votes at the polls for specific candidates.
- ACORN is supposed to get the voters to the polls by bus or to make sure the voters get an absentee ballot and to make sure the votes are cast.
- CSI used the political canvassers and others employed by ACORN for its voter turnout programs.
- ACORN’s Unofficial “Muscle for the Money” Program:
- This is an “unofficial” corporate directed program for donations
- Payments from SEIU were made to ACORN’s DC office to harass The Carlyle Group and, specifically, Mr. David Rubenstein, a founder of the company
- Even though DC ACORN had no interest in The Carlyle Group, they were paid by SEIU to go break up a banquet and protest at his house.
- It was called “Muscle for Money” because they would go intimidate people and protest.
- Targets of the paid protests included Sherwin-Williams, H&R Block, Jackson Hewitt and Money Mart, among others
- The purpose was to get money from the targeted entities for ACORN, to force the companies to “negotiate”
In addition to my prior testimony, I can provide information regarding the following:
1) Project Vote may have violated its 501(c)(3) status since its inception by using government and private grants that ultimately go directly or indirectly to ACORN:
- The internal accounting system Navision could be used to prove that Project Vote acted as part of ACORN political operations while purporting to be a 501(c)(3) organization to better promote ACORN’s political agenda.
- Staffing lists would illustrate the overlap in staff and name several employees from the Project Vote payroll who were part of ACORN Political Operations.
2) ACORN, Project Vote and Citizen Services Inc (CSI) are the same organization with different tax designations that are used to facilitate the transfer of money among the organizations:
- Documents may show what the functions of CSI are and would then tie those activities back to Project Vote.
- Documents may also show that CSI is intricately involved in the donor management system, DonorPerfect, which is used by ACORN and its affiliates.
3) ACORN has promoted a culture of dishonesty motivated by a desire to reach target Voter Registration goals and senior staff portrayed an attitude that allowed for some “bad” cards in order to reach these goals
- ACORN hires canvassers to conduct voter registrations. Some canvassers are employed as paid political canvassers on salary.
- ACORN does have a “quota system” for their voter registration canvassers that required each canvasser to turn in at least 20 cards per day.
- Evidence supports the allegation that canvassers who did not turn in the minimum of 20 cards per day were fired.
- Evidence also supports that in order to meet the daily quota, ACORN pressured contractual employees, the part-time, temporary employees to perform.
- Contractual employees must sign a document agreeing to prosecution if fraudulent cards are found but in some instances supervisors appeared to be encouraging filling out incomplete cards.
- I have knowledge of employees being paid in cash, in some instances.
- ACORN had several hiring frenzies during the voter registration drives and the “ramp-up” period and ACORN was aware of the problems associated with this period
4) Karyn Gillette, Project Vote Development Director, Jeff Robinson, senior Project Vote “money man” and Nathan Henderson James, Project Vote Research and Political Director are all employed by CSI (Citizens Services Inc.) and may have worked directly with anyone seeking the services of CSI. Money paid to CSI would have obvious ACORN ties.
- Facts exist that may tie Project Vote staff back to the payroll of CSI.
- Jeffrey Robinson is listed as CSI Executive Vice President and the national deputy political
New York Times Cover UP
In July of 2008, I contacted New York Times reporter Stephanie Strom after reading her article, “Funds Misappropriated at 2 Nonprofit Groups” (July 9, 2008). I provided information and documents about the inner workings of ACORN and Project Vote to Strom and passed information from ACORN board member Marcel Reid to Strom.In the late summer of 2007, I reported to Strom that the Obama Presidential Campaign had sent its entire second quarter 2007 donor list to Project Vote Development Director, Karyn Gillette. Gillette instructed me to work from the list to identify maxed out Obama donors and to separate the lists by states for fundraising for Project Vote’s voter registration drive and Get Out the Vote efforts run by ACORN.
On October 21, 2009, Strom was set to come to Washington to meet me and to receive from me proof of contact between ACORN and staff of the Obama campaign. By this time, I no longer trusted her as I had earlier and would only give the proof to her in person. I had provided Strom with the list of donors from the Obama and Clinton second quarter donor list as well a DNC, DSCC and Kerry donor lists prior to her scheduled visit. That day, Strom reported to me via a voice mail that her editors at the New York Times told her to “stand down.” In a subsequent telephone conversation that day Strom told me that it was not the policy of the New York Times to print a story that close to the election that could be considered a “game changer” for either side.
These revelation are not unexpected but still shocking. If these allegations are true ACORN is an organized crime organization and should be prosecuted under the RICO statutes. Attorney General Holder should be naming special prosecutor to investigate the group, instead he tells the federal government to pay them money. To promote a transparent political process, the government should be cutting off all involvement with this group and conduct hearings into their operations, but because they help DEMOCRATS get elected don’t expect to see anything soon.
UPDATE: Anita Moncrief, the ACORN whistle blower needs our Help
As a whistle blower, Anita MonCrief made a very bold and patriotic move. In 2008, after years of working for the organization as an employee, she revealed ACORN’s (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now) secrets that have damaged the United State’s election process and public integrity for decades. But now, she faces a pending legal battle with ACORN that will cost her millions of dollars if ACORN gets its way.
Your contribution to Anita’s Defense Fund will help send a message that Americans are tired of corrupt organizations that steal taxpayer dollars. Please consider giving a generous contribution of $100, $50, $25, $10 or even $5 today.
