The Harshbarger investigation is getting a lot of attention this week; and rightly so. ACORN hired former Massachusetts Attorney General Scott Harshbarger to conduct an “independent” review of the organization in an effort to provide ACORN some cover to show that they were serious about reform. The Harshbarger report concludes that ACORN was not at fault, rather the blame should rest with its founder Wade Rathke, the intrepid aspiring journalists Hannah Giles and James O’Keefe who revealed ACORN’s most recent corruption, and the low level ACORN employees and members who were featured in the videos.

This attempt to whitewash ACORN and its employees’ wrongdoing has been appropriately decried by Representative Darrell Issa, the Republican National Lawyers Association, and contributors to Biggovernment.com.
ACORN’s pending litigation against the federal government has received less attention. Last week, unbeknownst to all but avid court or ACORN watchers a pivotal moment occurred in the lawsuit. Peter D. Leary, an attorney at the Department of Justice filed a brief defending the Congressional efforts to defund ACORN. His brief defended the defunding, while severely narrowing its scope and application.
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