ACORN Sues Feds Over Funding Cut
by PubliusFrom Politico:
A non-profit organization filed a lawsuit against the federal government Thursday morning, seeking to overturn a law stopping the flow of federal funds to ACORN.
The suit, filed in federal court in New York, claims that bills passed by the House and Senate to defund the group qualify as bills of attainder, legislation that unfairly targets one group. Such bills are unconstitutional.
The suit will seek to restore funding and roll-back the ban, which was passed as part of the legislative branch appropriations bill in September.
ACORN claims that the legislation was of “malicious and punitive intent.” The suit also claims Congress violated the Fifth Amendment by skirting due process before doling out the punishment of the funding cut. OMB Director Peter Orszag and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner are listed as co-defendants in the suit.
Efforts to defund ACORN became popular among Democrats and Republicans after conservative activists caught the organization’s employees in several offices advising actors posing as a politician and his prostitute girlfriend on how to evade taxes and set up a brothel.
Sen. Mike Johanns (R-Neb.) and others in Congress quickly moved to ensure no federal funds were steered to the group – measures that got support from even the most ardent liberals like Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.).
The lawsuit, which was brought by the Center for Constitutional Rights, says that ACORN has been subject to “heavily funded and orchestrated political campaigns.”
But this effort represents a complete reversal from ACORN, which emphasized to reporters and the public that the money it received from the federal government was not essential to its existence.
Now the group is taking a bold step to restore its federal funding by accusing Congress of violating the Constitution.
Read the whole article here.
Leaving aside the legal issues raised here, who in God’s name is giving ACORN PR advice? The Apple-Dumpling Gang?
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45 Comments
Pass the popcorn, this is too good not to watch.
I love the smell of desperation in the morning.
OK, this is going to be FUN!
hahahaha.
even if public funding is essential to ACORN's survival, its still public money. A bill of attainder is the legislature passing a bill aimed at a specific individual or group, convicting them of a crime or punishing the group or individual by taking private property. Public money is public money, and there is no right to that money. Its a privilege to obtain public money, and denying a specific group access to public money is not a bill of attainder, its smart stewardship of public funds.
A W E S O M E ! Keep it up Acorn! The congress has disrespected your authoratttaahh!
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Patty A, DNC Fail!. DNC Fail! said: #tcot #sgp #orca ACORN Sues Feds Over Funding Cut http://url4.eu/k3n5 [...]
Ok, just to verify: It is NOT ok for congress to target ACORN as a group, but it IS ok for the Salary czar to go and reduce salaries of employees of companies?
Just trying to get my thinking right according to liberal ideology. Sometimes it is hard to know which side of the double-standards to support. Liberals can't be asleep for a moment!
Discovery should be illuminating!
I was worried about how the bill was written since it specifically mentioned ACORN several times in it. That is, unfortunately, the ace up the sleeve that ACORN will use to get the courts to restore their funding. If the bill just mentioned non-profit groups in general rather than naming the group, they would have a much harder time restoring the funding.
I think it is time to just end all Federal funding to all groups. Funding the non-profits isn't part of the Federal government's duties to start with. Just end the funding completely across the board and the problem is solved.
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Scott and The Beefboy, Patrick Henry. Patrick Henry said: ACORN Sues Feds Over Funding Cut: From Politico: A non-profit organization filed a lawsuit against the fed.. http://bit.ly/4BHNrC [...]
Time for Hannah and James to release another video?
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Partisan Media Group, Big Tweeting. Big Tweeting said: BigGovt: ACORN Sues Feds Over Funding Cut: From Politico: A non-profit organization filed a.. http://bit.ly/48K73J #BigTweet [...]
Brilliantly put!
There was no bill; it was an amendment to another bill.
So if the court rules in ACORN's favor, it will nullify the whole bill. Anyone remember what bill it was attached to?
This was the one I was aware of. I might have missed something somewhere though…
http://johanns.senate.gov/public/?a=Files.Serve&a...
ACON = Corupt Organization. Mis-use of Tax Payer funds, Embezzlement, Money Laundering, Conspiring to Commit, Prostitution, Child Slavery, Human Traffiking, Tax Evasion….A long list of charges that could be filed against ACON! Where is the DOJ? Come on Eric………Get off your Arse and file some charges!
I thought Acorn claimed they didn't need the money! I stead of watching wirte every congress and senate member and demand they not fund Acorn regardless of any courts decission. Acorn has a long reach they are that intwined thru corruption that they have judges in their pocket and will do their best to egt this in fron to fo one of those judges. Then claim that the law has spoken. We need top get loud and demand that all books of this crimal enterprise be made public and that an independent audit be mnade prior to any consideration of their claims. Wake up America! this is an end run around the will of the people thru an activist judge to steal our money.
[...] “ACORN Sues Feds Over Funding Cut,” Publius, Big Government [...]
I wouldn't be laughing. Activist judges are running rampant and they may have shopped for exactly who they want to rule on this case.
Just saying…
Renee,
I'll bring the butter!
To those judges that re fund ACORN, they will be the next to be looking for a new job. Keep up the “heat” on these corrupt people. To those in our congress-whomever votes to refund ACORN, YOU WILL BE VOTED OUT! 2010 elections are just about here. And, while were at it-let’s start investigating SEIU and their corrupt doings.
From a Libertarian point of view I would cut off federal funds to all nonprofit organization, ACORN, Freddy, Fanny, Amtract…you get the point. We the people have no idea how any of these nonprofits, feeding at the public trough, are using or misusing OUR monies.
Here here. I second that motion.
I can't beleive the arrogance of these people. APORN has no right to public funds. And BTW, why no RICO on these theives yet? Oh ya, forgot. Tax cheat geitner is AG.
Oh it's easy Hypocrisy, much like racism, can only be attributed to a non-progressive.
I was just thinking the same thing, let them shred and burn all they want, it's darn near impossible to get rid of every smoking gun, and just trying to do it often makes you look more guilty than you might have been.
Although in this case that's hard to imagine
I agree we should just end funding, that's not the role of the government, or it shouldn't be anyway.
I don't think a bill of attainder argument works here, but I am no attorney or constitutional scholar (but I seem to know more than the average politician)
And exactly where are the audited financial statements that track where their money WAS spent?
This is crazy to discuss until an audit is done. a real one. Not a glossing over by defensive board members.
So…
ACORN's illegal political work is ok (per ACORN)
Cutting funds to a group that performs illegal activities is not ok (per ACORN)
Video taping illegal activities is not ok (per ACORN)
It's ok for SEIU to blow millions of worker's $$ to get Obama elected
It's ok for union thugs to attack innocent people on the streets without repercussion
It's ok for Obama to be inbed with SEUI and ACORN while he himself has yet to prove he is legally allowed to be president.
Didn't Hitler get his start from a political movement?
Didn't he have thugs roaming the streets attacking people that opposed him?
Didn't Hitler take control of the media?
Didn't Hitler bring in his socialist/radical/violent thugs to surround him when he took control of Nazi Germany?
Didn't Hitler have GREAT speaking skills?
Wasn't Hitler's birthplace outside the country he became leader of?
Didn't hitler go after those with money (Jews)?
Did Hitler play a lot of golf?
Seem to be a lot of sililarities to me. Just sayin….
I wonder if ACORN will be using tax payers dollars to sue the tax payer.
The only difference so far, they haven't taken away our firearms yet. There's a reason the second amendment is there in the constitution. Bless our founding fathers.
I hope one of you is right and that the fact that it is public money matters. However, I thought the bill of attainder prohibition referred to any kind of law singling out a particular person or group for some kind of punishment, and thus the distinction would be moot. I hope I am wrong. Any lawyers out there?
[...] More at Big Government [...]
The AG needs to investigate this voter fraud, tax cheating, worthless SCUM of an organization. It won't happen though, he's too busy trying to prosecute CIA interrogators. The people in acorn that are found guilty from the top down need to go to JAIL! To all the SPINELESS representatives on Capital Hill, hear this: NO TAXPAYER MONEY FOR ACORN! UNDERSTAND? We will monitor who votes to fund this worthless fraud ridden organization when the defunding bill expires in early December. To those representatives who even think about refunding these frauds, one more time: NO TAXPAYER MONEY FOR ACORN! GOT IT?
Wonder if AG Holder is advising ACORN how to get around the system?? It wouldn't surprise me.
I think you have to look to the original use of bills of attainder, and it almost exclusively dealt with private property. The idea, i believe, is to protect private property, and eliminate the possibility that a legislature could take private property without due process. I think the distinction between public funding and private property is relevant. The right to private property is protected, and there is no fundamental right to public money.
Cool. I hope you are right. Of course, if it goes to court, who knows if the "judge" will actually give a rip about the law or its origins.
i hope im right on this one, too!
and you make a great point- if it goes to court, who knows what the judge will do.
Another angle for Acorn to get stolen funds.
[...] by Publius A non-profit organization filed a lawsuit against the federal government Thursday morning, seeking to overturn a law stopping the flow of federal funds to ACORN. The suit, filed in federal court in New York, claims that bills passed by the …Read Original Story: ACORN Sues Feds Over Funding Cut – Big Government (blog) [...]
They're working on it tho…
The more time goes on the more similarities I see…
WHAT COMES AROUND GOES AROUND…i GUESS IT'S THAT TIMMMMMMME TO SAY hahahahahah''''yOU GOT WHAT WAS COMING TO YOU….hOPEFUL YOU STILL DON'T GO VISIT YOUR FRIEND tHE PRESIDENT…YOU SOPPORTED HIM AND BY GETTING IN. SUPPORTING DEM. PARTY. nOW YOU WANT TO SUE???wHAT'S UP WITH THAT????
Someone from another post referred me to a site called http://www.Dearpolitician.org to write my politicians. The site is really cool in the fact that it automates everything and you can write your President, Vice President, Senators, and Congressman. The really interesting parts are that you can write complete Senate and Congressional committees. After you write what you want to say in the body of the template, you can print them off and mail them yourself or you can have Dearpolitician.org fax them to their offices instantly for FREE. If you want your letters delivered today, go to that site! Just passing along a cool site!
This filth that held the banks hostage and rigged elections have got to go.
Maybe we can get that Columbia U. Professor to punch Bertha and the Ratke bros in the face.
That would be worth a ticket price.
The filth that they is…
The attorney general is appointed by Obama and doesn't want anything related to ACORN to get out since Obama was closely linked to them
[...] ACORN would like to “move on.” Of course, part of their “moving on” is suing the federal government to get its hand back in the taxpayers’ piggy-bank. And it is nice ACORN is fighting to [...]