Neither report says the interviews on the ACORN undercover operation tapes didn't happen or were false. The Brooklyn DA investigated three ACORN employees who were taped.

The report by House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.), which was requested by House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank, (imagine that) found no instances of ACORN illegally registering individuals to vote, no instances where ACORN violated the terms of federal funding in the last five years, and:

"Concerning recent "sting" operations relating to ACORN, although state laws vary, two relevant states, Maryland and California, "appear to ban private recording of face to face conversations absent the consent of all the participants." Memorandum from the Congressional Research Service to the House Judiciary, "Allegations of Recording Conversations with Various ACORN Affiliated Individuals without Their Consent" (October 9, 2009), at 1."

http://judiciary.house.gov/news/091222.html

"....Congressional Research Service in December, where ACORN’s actions were determined to be less legally objectionable than the actions of O’Keefe and Giles, who likely violated laws in two states banning surreptitious face to face recording."

http://coloradoindependent.com/48555...l-then-and-now

"Less legally objectionable..." The legal objectionable thing that the undercover operations by OKeefe and Giles were taping without consent of all parties in two states."

ACORN Statement by Brooklyn DA Charles Hynes"

Brooklyn, March 1, 2010 - Kings County District Attorney Charles J. Hynes today released the following statement:

“On September 15, 2009, my office began an investigation into possible criminality on the part of three ACORN employees. The three had been secretly videotaped by two people posing as a pimp and prostitute, who came to ACORN’S Brooklyn office, seeking advice about how to purchase a house with money generated by their ‘business.’ The ‘couple’ later made the recording public. That investigation is now concluded and no criminality has been found.”

http://www.brooklynda.org/



Nothing I read says the tapes were false and the Congressional review doesn't mention anything about editing by OKeefe.

On the same site you provided previously waynet, The Colorado Independent, I saw this article about the recent California Attorney General's report on the ACORN investigation by OKeefe. The Colorado Indepentent's version is a little misleading. Their article emphasis the misdeads of OKeefe and Giles.


I looked up the actual report on the California AG's website. It is very different than what the Colorado Independent site says.

According to the first three paragraphs of the California AG's press release: "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."

http://ag.ca.gov/newsalerts/release.php?id=1888

No offense, but consider the source when using The Colorado Independent as a source. Don't take it at face value. Use it as a springboard to study the subjects they cover and look to other sources as well. It is a spinoff of the controversial Independent Media Center who has "anti-capitalist views." It is basically Internet bloggers.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independent_Media_Center