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James O'Keefe

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James E. O'Keefe III (born June 28, 1984) is an American investigative journalist and activist-filmmaker from Westwood, New Jersey.[1][2][3][4] He was the Founder and Editor in chief of the The Centurion while attending Rutgers University.[5] O'Keefe describes himself as a "progressive radical" who follows Saul Alinsky, while most media outlets label him a conservative.[1][6][7] Exposés on what O'Keefe considers corrupt organizations have resulted in significant media coverage, most notably the 2009 undercover videos filmed in Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) offices.[1][6][4][8] O'Keefe was arrested by the FBI on January 25, 2010 for alleged involvement in a plot to wiretap the office of Senator Mary Landrieu[9][10][11]

Planned Parenthood controversy

In 2006, O'Keefe began working with UCLA student and pro-life activist Lila Rose. He came up with the idea to have her pose as an underaged pregnant teenager, walk into Planned Parenthood clinics, and tape the conversations that followed. In the first video, accompanied by O'Keefe, Rose was told to "figure out a birthdate that works" and lie about her age to be eligible for an abortion.[12] Later videos of the exchanges led to Tennessee lawmakers seeking to end a $721,000 contract with Planned Parenthood, and the Orange County Board of Supervisors in California voting to suspend a grant worth nearly $300,000 to Planned Parenthood.[2]

During the summer of 2007, O'Keefe posed as a donor to Planned Parenthood. He specified his gift should go to fund abortions of minorities because "the less black kids out there the better."[13][14] On two occasions, Planned Parenthood staffers agreed to his request.[6] After audio recordings of the conversations were made public in 2008, Planned Parenthood issued an apology for the behavior of the staff members on the phone, calling it inappropriate.[13][14] Planned Parenthood Vice President Autumn Kersey was suspended after audio recordings reported to show her laughing, saying, “understandable, understandable," and continuing, "Excuse my hesitation, this is the first time I've had a donor call and make this kind of request, so I'm excited and want to make sure I don't leave anything out." [15][16] [17]

ACORN video controversy

Main article: ACORN 2009 undercover videos controversy

In July and August 2009, O'Keefe collaborated with Hannah Giles to collect hidden camera videos that captured ACORN staffers giving housing advice to persons posing as a prostitute and her pimp seeking advice on how to run their illegal business.[18] The ACORN workers were also told that the pimp intended to smuggle underage girls from El Salvador for use in the sex trade. O'Keefe and Giles were given advice on how to avoid paying taxes on the girls' income.[19] That video, the first of a series, was published to BigGovernment.com on September 10, 2009.[20][21] Video excerpts were frequently aired on the Fox News Channel, but largely ignored by other major media outlets.[22] As of September 16, 2009, there have been five exposé videos released set in ACORN offices in five cities: Baltimore, Maryland, Washington, D.C., Brooklyn, New York, San Bernardino, California, and San Diego, California.[1] O'Keefe said, "None of the facilities kicked us out. That's a lie."[23][24] However, an ACORN spokesperson claims that O'Keefe had no success with "this sham" at ACORN's New York, Philadelphia and Los Angeles offices.[25] ACORN gave CNN a copy of the police complaint filed against the filmmakers In Philadelphia.[26] O'Keefe said, "Why does ACORN apparently think that making and publishing an after-the-fact police complaint would cover up its willingness to help our 'prostitution business' and its lies about what happened when we visited?"[27] In San Diego, former ACORN employee Juan Carlos Vera told O'Keefe in the video he had "contacts" in "Tijuana" to help get the underage girls across the border.[28] Vera later reported what he thought was an attempt by O'Keefe at human smuggling to a police detective.[29] Vera was fired because of what ACORN called "unacceptable conduct", although Vera said he initially wanted to help the fake prostitute because she said that she needed to escape her controlling pimp.[30] ACORN worker Tresa Kaelke, who talked with the filmmakers, said they were "Somewhat entertaining, but they weren't even good actors."[31] According to CNN, the filmmakers released a transcript of their discussion with Kaelke that included a comment left out of the tape in which Kaelke said that ACORN would have nothing to do with their prostitution business.[32]

After the videos were made public, ACORN's partnership in the 2010 United States Census was terminated.[33][34][35] In a letter written by Robert Groves, director of the U.S. Census, ACORN's president was told the organization "had become a distraction."[33] The videos led to a bipartisan U.S. Senate vote to end Housing and Urban Development funding to ACORN.[36][37] The following day, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to end all federal funding to ACORN.[37] President Barack Obama, who once acted as an attorney for ACORN,[3][38] stated the video content was "certainly inappropriate and deserves to be investigated."[39] The Internal Revenue Service later removed ACORN from its Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program due to the scandal.[40] On September 28, Bank of America suspended business dealings with ACORN's housing affiliate in response to the video controversy.[41]

On September 16, Bertha Lewis, ACORN's chief executive officer, froze admission to all of ACORN's service programs and instituted a review committee to implement organizational reforms.[42][43] Lewis stated that ACORN would be taking legal action against the film makers, Fox News, and Breitbart.com, claiming the videos had been doctored and edited.[44][45] Asked by Fox News about the possibility of a lawsuit, O'Keefe said "Bring it on."[46] On September 23, 2009, ACORN filed suit in a Baltimore court against O'Keefe, Giles, and Breitbart.com, on the grounds that the filming was a felony under Maryland law, which requires two-party consent to electronic surveillance.[47][48]

2010 Arrest

O'Keefe was arrested by the FBI on January 25, 2010 for alleged involvement in a plot to wiretap the office of Senator Mary Landrieu.[9][10][11] The Senator's office is located in the Hale Boggs Federal Building in downtown New Orleans. All four suspects have been charged with "entering federal property under false pretenses with the intent of committing a felony." O'Keefe's bond has been set at $10,000 by U.S. Magistrate Judge Louis Moore.

References

  1. ^ a b c d Fears, Darryl (September 18, 2009). "The $1,300 Mission to Fell ACORN". The Washington Post. washingtonpost.com. pp. A01. Retrieved September 20, 2009. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  2. ^ a b Abcarian, Robin (April 26, 2009). "Anti-abortion movement gets a new-media twist". Los Angeles Times. latimes.com. Retrieved September 15, 2009.
  3. ^ a b Pritchard, Justin (September 23, 2009). "How the ACORN 'pimp and hooker' videos came to be". Associated Press. washingtonpost.com. Retrieved September 25, 2009.
  4. ^ a b Miller, Joshua Rhett (September 23, 2009). "ACORN Vows 'Serious' Internal Probe, Sues Filmmakers". Fox News. foxnews.com. Retrieved September 29, 2009. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  5. ^ "Inaugural Issue: What is Conservatism?" (PDF). The Centurion. rucenturion.com. November 1, 2004. p. 20. Retrieved September 15, 2009.
  6. ^ a b c Shane, Scott (September 18, 2009). "A Political Gadfly Lampoons the Left via YouTube". The New York Times. nytimes.com. pp. A9. Retrieved September 20, 2009.
  7. ^ Whittell, Giles (September 18, 2009). "Anti-poverty group that helped Obama 'advises prostitutes'". The Times. timesonline.co.uk. Retrieved September 29, 2009.
  8. ^ Weigel, David (September 24, 2009). "HuffPo Cofounder Takes On 'Democrat-Media Complex'". The Washington Independent. washingtonindependent.com. Retrieved September 29, 2009.
  9. ^ a b "ACORN gotcha man among four arrested for attempting to bug Mary Landrieu's office". The Times-Picayune. January 26, 2010. Retrieved January 26, 2010. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  10. ^ a b "Activist filmmaker arrested in senator's office". MSNBC. January 26, 2010. Retrieved January 26, 2010. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  11. ^ a b "Filmmaker Who Targeted ACORN Arrested in Alleged Senate Phone Scheme". Fox News Channel. January 26, 2010. Retrieved January 26, 2010. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  12. ^ CNSNews.com, May 16, 2007, Nathan Burchfiel, [1]
  13. ^ a b Jones, Susan (March 18, 2008). "Planned Parenthood Apologizes for Its Handling of 'Offensive Call'". Cybercast News Service. cnsnews.com. Retrieved September 15, 2009.
  14. ^ a b "UCLA student paper exposes more racism at Planned Parenthood". Catholic News Agency. catholicnewsagency.com. March 28, 2008. Retrieved September 15, 2009.
  15. ^ Meyer, Jon (March 1, 2008). "Groups Hold Planned Parenthood Protest". Idaho Press-Tribune. idahopress.com. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Unknown parameter |urlhttp://www.idahopress.com/news/?id= ignored (help)
  16. ^ "Planned Parenthood Agreed to Accept Race-Motivated Donations". Catholic News Agency. CNSNews.com. February 28, 2008. Retrieved October 17, 2009.
  17. ^ Forester, Sandra (2008-02-28). "Response to caller 'a serious mistake,' says Planned Parenthood of Idaho". Idaho Statesman. The McClatchy Company. Retrieved October 17, 2009.
  18. ^ Fessler, Pam (September 17, 2009). "ACORN Grapples With Fallout Of Damaging Videos". National Public Radio. npr.org. Retrieved September 20, 2009.
  19. ^ Taylor, Andrew (September 14, 2009). "Senate votes to deny funds to ACORN". Associated Press. seattletimes.nwsource.com. Retrieved September 20, 2009.
  20. ^ Bykowicz, Julie (September 20, 2009). "ACORN's record of abrupt advocacy". The Baltimore Sun. baltimoresun.com. Retrieved September 20, 2009.
  21. ^ Theimer, Sharon (September 17, 2009). "ACORN plans probe amid stir over video". Associated Press. philly.com. Retrieved September 20, 2009.
  22. ^ "Divide between right, mainstream media". The Politico. politico.com. September 15, 2009. Retrieved September 20, 2009.
  23. ^ September 16 edition of Fox News' Hannity
  24. ^ Police report filed by ACORN exposes false claims by individuals behind videos
  25. ^ ACORN Workers Fired Over Video
  26. ^ CNN, September 11, 2009, Lou Dobbs, TRANSCRIPTS
  27. ^ October 21, 2009, Breitbart, Unsolved Mysteries and Irreconcilable Differences
  28. ^ September 22, 2009, FOX, ACORN Worker fired over video sting
  29. ^ September 22, 2009, FOX, ACORN Worker in Video Reported Duo to Police
  30. ^ 10 News, San Diego News, September 17, 2009, ACORN Worker Fired After Appearance In Undercover Video
  31. ^ FOX, September 16, 2009, Fourth Videotape Reveals ACORN Advising 'Pimp,' 'Prostitute' in California
  32. ^ CNN, September 17, 2009, Lou Dobbs, TRANSCRIPTS
  33. ^ a b Sherman, Jake (September 12, 2009). "Census Bureau Cuts Its Ties With Acorn". The Wall Street Journal. online.wsj.com. pp. A4. Retrieved September 20, 2009.
  34. ^ Tapper, Jake (September 16, 2009). "White House Calls ACORN Employees' Behavior 'Unacceptable'". ABC News. blogs.abcnews.com. Retrieved September 20, 2009.
  35. ^ West, Paul. "End to all U.S. funds to ACORN sought". The Baltimore Sun. baltimoresun.com. Retrieved September 20, 2009.
  36. ^ Oliphant, James (September 18, 2009). "House and Senate take action against ACORN". Los Angeles Times. latimes.com. Retrieved September 20, 2009.
  37. ^ a b Hulse, Carl (September 17, 2009). "House Prohibits Federal Money to Acorn". The New York Times. nytimes.com. Retrieved September 20, 2009.
  38. ^ McGreal, Chris (September 21, 2009). "Congress cuts funding to embattled anti-poverty group Acorn". The Guardian. guardian.co.uk. Retrieved September 22, 2009.
  39. ^ "Obama favors investigation into ACORN's activities". Associated Press. news.yahoo.com. September 20, 2009. Retrieved September 20, 2009.
  40. ^ "I.R.S. Severs Acorn Ties; Group Sues Over Video". Associated Press. nytimes.com. September 23, 2009. pp. A23. Retrieved September 24, 2009.
  41. ^ Hagerty, James R. (September 28, 2009). "Bank Pulls Back From Acorn Work". The Wall Street Journal. online.wsj.com. pp. A6. Retrieved September 29, 2009.
  42. ^ "ACORN Suspends Key Services Amid Probe". WRC-TV. nbcwashington.com. September 16, 2009. Retrieved September 20, 2009.
  43. ^ "ACORN Announces Reforms After 'Pimp,' 'Prostitute' Videos". Fox News. foxnews.com. September 16, 2009. Retrieved September 20, 2009.
  44. ^ Falcone, Michael (September 14, 2009). "ACORN mulls suit against Fox News". The Politico. politico.com. Retrieved September 20, 2009.
  45. ^ "ACORN CEO 'Outraged' by Behavior of Employees in Prostitute Tapes". Fox News. foxnews.com. September 20, 2009. Retrieved September 20, 2009.
  46. ^ Nuckols, Ben (September 23, 2009). "ACORN Sues Filmmakers". Associated Press. wjz.com. Retrieved September 24, 2009.
  47. ^ Franke-Ruta, Garance (September 23, 2009). "ACORN Sues O'Keefe, Giles, and Breitbart.com". The Washington Post. voices.washingtonpost.com. Retrieved September 24, 2009.
  48. ^ "ACORN v O'Keefe". Circuit Court for Baltimore City. (politico.com). September 23, 2009. Retrieved September 25, 2009.
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