‘The People United Will Never be Defeated’: Inside ACORN’s Community Organizing Model

As ACORN pretends to “dissolve” around the country, internally, there appears to be a mad dash to get out ahead of prosecution. Not surprisingly, ACORN has a history of shutting offices down when an investigation gets too close. For example, in 2004 ACORN’s affiliate Project Vote abruptly closed its national office in Ohio and shipped boxes stuffed with un-cashed checks and paperwork to Washington, DC.

ACORN appears to have honed these tricks and has now decided to re-brand on a national scale. However, given its history, many are skeptical:

“If you want to see whether ACORN is really changing its ways, check to see whether the signatories to those local ACORN bank accounts are changing. When it comes to ACORN, the money is the organization, and the name is just the name.”

In order to operate effectively, ACORN requires little public scrutiny and a lot of lore and misdirection (think registering Mickey Mouse to vote). For 40 years ACORN’s organizing model has survived social revolutions and political upheavals and to understand ACORN a review of the 1970’s “manifesto” of ACORN founder Wade Rathke is essential.

Acorn Organizing Model
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Tags: ACORN, ACORN organizing, community organizing, Project Vote, Wade Rathke
Posted Feb 26th 2010 at 9:13 am in ACORN, Culture, Politics | 8107871 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/amoncrief/2010/02/26/the-people-united-will-never-be-defeated-inside-acorns-community-organizing-model/%27The+People+United+Will+Never+be+Defeated%27%3A+Inside+ACORN%27s+Community+Organizing+Model2010-02-26+17%3A13%3A28Anita+MonCrief

ACORN’s Attorneys Stole $450,000 From Missouri Taxpayers

In July 2005, the United States Justice Department began investigating Missouri for non-compliance under the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA).  Justice was not investigating for failure to register voters; rather the problem was too many voters.  About 1/3 of Missouri’s counties had registered voters that exceeded the number of eligible voters.  One county’s ratio was upwards of 150%.  Justice found that the Missouri Secretary of State (SoS) failed to conduct a general program that made reasonable efforts to clean the voter rolls, and filed a lawsuit.

We would presume that Project Vote conducted a study, found that a nefarious plan to dilute the vote of low-income voters was taking place, and filed an amicus brief in support of the government’s lawsuit.  We would be wrong.  Government suits do not generate attorney’s fees under NVRA, but more importantly, SoS Robin Carnahan (D) has close ties to the legions of progressive groups.  And the government did not stand a chance with Judge Nanette Laughrey (appointed during the governorship of Robin’s father, Mel Carnahan, and a former Carnahan aide-de-camp), who, despite her left-leaning tendencies, managed to deliver a summary judgment that would make any strict constructionist proud.  Judge Laughrey writes that Carnahan had no responsibility to actually do anything, other than “coordinate,” which is left up to Carnahan.

Despite the amusement of a liberal judge mimicking a Scalia or Thomas, the district court ruling went too far; even for a panel of judges on the 8th Circuit, composed entirely of W appointees.  There are definitely flaws in the NVRA.  Former Ohio SoS J. Kenneth Blackwell pointed them out rather deftly, and Project Vote has utilized these flaws to further a progressive agenda with ACORN.  The problem with district court ruling is that it clearly was meant to provide cover for Secretary Carnahan.  Even after the 8th Circuit found that SoS Carnahan was still responsible for conducting “reasonable efforts” to comply with the various NVRA provisions, Judge Laughrey white-washed the efforts of Carnahan, belittled the government’s minimal expectations regarding compliance under NVRA, and established a target for Project Vote and ACORN that would be easy prey in later suits.

(more…)

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Tags: ACORN, michael slater, Missouri, nanette lauughrey, Project Vote
Posted Feb 23rd 2010 at 7:01 am in ACORN, Justice/Legal | 7822657 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/jwales/2010/02/23/acorns-attorneys-stole-450000-from-missouri-taxpayers/ACORN%27s+Attorneys+Stole+%24450%2C000+From+Missouri+Taxpayers2010-02-23+15%3A01%3A53Josie+Wales

Project Vote In Ohio: It Ain’t The Voting, It’s The Counting

“Congress should address the need for both national standards and a more robust enforcing authority.  If not, more decision making will fall to the states,” said Miles Rapoport, President of Dēmos, an umbrella corporation for the myriad of progressive groups attacking our state electoral processes.  Progressives, realizing the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA) left much of the implementation to states, began their National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA) assault in 2006.

The first battle over compliance with the NVRA occurred in Ohio in 2006.  Coincidentally, the Secretary of State Project (SoSP) focused much of its efforts on seizing the open-seat for Ohio Secretary of State that same year.  Seeing an opportunity to de-legitimize Ohio’s electoral process and to create an atmosphere favorable to a progressive candidate, ACORN filed a suit a little over a month before the 2006 elections.  Sound familiar?  It was the strategy in Michigan in 2004.  But Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell (R) was not going to leave office without a resolute fight in defense of Ohio.

At issue was NVRA § 7: Voter Registration Agencies.  Any state agency providing public assistance received designation as a voter registration agency.  Public assistance agencies were supposed to follow a set of procedures providing mail voter registration, assisting applicants in completion of those forms, and accepting completed voter registration forms.  Each state designates a “chief state election official” to coordinate state responsibilities for compliance with the NVRA.

The procedures for compliance are rather straight-forward, so Project Vote had an easier job alleging non-compliance.  Catch any agency on a day after it has run out of forms.  Seek assistance from any personnel unfamiliar with NVRA requirements.  Find any individual receiving public assistance that has moved, and was formerly registered to vote.  Compare the number of individuals registered in the first year under NVRA to the number of individuals registered now (because every year should see the same amount of people receiving public assistance, the same amount of people unregistered, and they will always be new or moved people, right?)  Send a letter to the chief state election official alleging non-compliance through “scientific” studies.  Demand a plan to remedy violations.  Offer “help” to the state.  Then sue to “protect” the voters (and more importantly, recoup expenses).  Brilliant!

(more…)

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Tags: ACORN, DEMO's, kenneth blackwell, ohio jennifer brunner, Project Vote
Posted Feb 19th 2010 at 5:50 am in ACORN, Featured Story, Justice/Legal | 7476688 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/jwales/2010/02/19/project-vote-in-ohio-it-aint-the-voting-its-the-counting/Project+Vote+In+Ohio%3A+It+Ain%27t+The+Voting%2C+It%27s+The+Counting2010-02-19+13%3A50%3A57Josie+Wales

Michigan And ACORN: When At First You Don’t Succeed

Project Vote has been causing mischief in the Midwest since before President Obama was their community organizer, but this last decade has seen an evolution in the number and sophistication of state cases.  We start in Michigan, where  The Secretary of State Project (SoSP) has endorsed progressive Jocelyn Benson for Michigan Secretary of State.  The following is how the endorsement should read:

“Progressive scholar and DNC organizer Jocelyn Benson is running for an open seat to replace Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land, who prevented us from adding unsupervised provisional ballots to your elections.  In 2004, Benson ran a voter ‘protection’ campaign in 21 states for the DNC, deploying 17,000 starving lawyers at minimum wage to coerce low-income voters.  In Michigan in 2008, Benson helped lead the progressive fight to stop Secretary of State Land from cleaning the voter rolls.  We plan to sue the state of Michigan no matter who wins, but it will hurt less if she is elected.”

At least that is how I read their endorsement, but maybe I am getting ahead of myself.  Let us go back to June 16, 2004.

A directive issued by the Michigan Director of Elections established provisional ballots would not be counted for (1) first-time voters who register by mail and who cannot provide identification on election-day, and (2) voters who vote at the wrong polling place.  Provisional voting is required by the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA), and applies to an individual that does not appear on the official list of eligible voters for the precinct in which that individual wants to vote.  HAVA allows for “voter registration procedures established under applicable State law,” in regards to compliance.  In fact, much of HAVA allows for states to establish the procedures necessary to implement the policies.

Of course, we know that progressive contempt for state law and practice is only surpassed by progressive contempt for well-run elections.

(more…)

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Tags: ACORN, ACORN voter fraud, Barack Obama, Chuck Schumer, david lawson
Posted Feb 11th 2010 at 11:13 am in ACORN, Justice/Legal | 7150651 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/jwales/2010/02/11/michigan-and-acorn-when-at-first-you-dont-succeed/Michigan+And+ACORN%3A+When+At+First+You+Don%27t+Succeed2010-02-11+19%3A13%3A21Josie+Wales

My Name Is Legion: The Secretary Of State Project(s)

The progressive movement is often difficult to pin down because allied groups use multiple names and organizations to spread confusion and give the appearance of both overwhelming numbers and independent expenditure.  We should not be fooled by this host of political malcontents attempting to co-opt state and local politics in the name of a national agenda. Examining the tactics of these groups gives us the key to understanding the purpose of organizations like the Secretary of State Project, ACORN, and Project Vote.  Our states are under concerted judicial assault from progressive lawyers, and they are many.

Let us first address the networks of influence.  Project Vote is the legal arm of ACORN, and in the cases we’ll study, conducted all of the informational build-up to bring suits against potential swing states.  It works like this: Project Vote files state versions of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, gathers relevant data, conducts studies, and contacts various state officials to coordinate these activities.  Once Project Vote gathers the minimal amount of information needed,  ACORN then files a complaint in federal district court.  A rotating pinwheel of other progressive groups join the suit and, often, The Brennan Center for Justice provides additional help through legal counsel.

The lawsuits at issue all involve violations of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA) and the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA).  The NVRA requires states to conduct voter registration through (1) motor vehicle registration agencies, (2) mail, and (3) public assistance agencies.  HAVA (1) provides funds to states to improve election administration, (2) establishes minimum election administration standards for states, and (3) creates the Election Assistance Commission (EAC).  NVRA and HAVA require states to designate a “chief state elections official” to coordinate and implement state responsibilities under the acts.  Most states have designated their secretary of state as the chief state elections official.  Project Vote directs information-gathering to the secretary of state for each targeted state.  If the secretary of state becomes a stumbling-block to the efforts of Project Vote, SoSP targets that secretary of state for removal.  If the secretary of state aids and abets Project Vote, SoSP supports that secretary of state for re-election.

We start with a look at the past suits brought against the states.

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Tags: Project Vote, secretary of state project
Posted Feb 7th 2010 at 6:37 am in ACORN, Justice/Legal | 6821080 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/jwales/2010/02/07/my-name-is-legion-the-secretary-of-state-projects/My+Name+Is+Legion%3A+The+Secretary+Of+State+Project%28s%292010-02-07+14%3A37%3A49Josie+Wales

Project Vote Pillaged The State Of Missouri, And I’ve Had Enough

Do you remember Katherine Harris?   It is an article of faith for those on the Far Left that in the 2000 presidential campaign, a relatively minor state official “ruined” the hopes and dreams of the progressive movement and ushered in the “worst decade ever.”  The Secretary of State Project ostensibly was started to address the issue of a future Katherine Harris.  Their website states its goal is “to provide an easy-to-use, low-cost vehicle for online donations to reform-minded Secretary of State candidates and incumbents in key battleground states.”  They’re pretending to be a funding vehicle, but this is only one piece of the puzzle.  Only when we examine the broader picture, a combination of the Secretary of State Project, Project Vote, ACORN, The Brennan Institute, etc., do we begin to understand the underlying goals of the progressive movement: a fundamental change in the electoral process to establish the dominance of progressive politics.

It is easy to miss the forest for the trees.  SOS Project’s website is cluttered with information on donations and the various state candidates for secretary of state endorsed by the group.  But when you look at the details of what the project actually does, you begin to see that the group is only one cog of the progressive plan to alter elections prior to the vote.  Whether it be the stated goal “to establish state political committees that will conduct innovative independent expenditure campaigns,” the fact that SoSP’s endorsed candidates have carried the progressive banner across state-lines, the criteria for endorsement by SoSP, or the actual personalities involved, we begin to see the interconnected web of progressive politics.  Don’t be fooled that this is some funding group to put Democrats in position to watch close elections.  This is a broader plan to alter the very nature of our elections.

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Tags: ACORN, Project Vote, robin carnahan
Posted Feb 3rd 2010 at 10:43 am in ACORN, Justice/Legal | 6606651 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/jwales/2010/02/03/project-vote-pillaged-the-state-of-missouri-and-ive-had-enough/Project+Vote+Pillaged+The+State+Of+Missouri%2C+And+I%E2%80%99ve+Had+Enough2010-02-03+18%3A43%3A04Josie+Wales

Inside ACORN’S Political Plans: Ensuring a Democrat Majority

According to a report from Ohio today, a member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee has asked the ACORN-tainted Ohio Secretary of State, Jennifer Brunner, to investigation ACORN’s voter registration work in the state.

“U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan has formally asked Ohio’s secretary of state to look into allegations that ACORN had at least a preliminary plan to back Democrat candidates in key Ohio congressional races in 2008.”

The political plan was described in an October article as “having been scaled back,” and of course, ACORN denied any partisan activity.

“But to some, ACORN’s early 13-page plan for the 2008 election reinforces what critics always assumed: The group’s goal was never nonpartisan. The political plan and other ACORN documents show that the group was interested not just in helping presidential candidate Barack Obama, whom it urged its members to support, according to post-election Federal Election Commission reports. ACORN also was interested in Congress and the Ohio Statehouse.

“There’s no question that ACORN strategized to figure out how its election efforts could maximize the benefit for selected Democratic candidates in the most competitive races,” U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa of California told The Plain Dealer. “

(more…)

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Tags: ACORN, ACORN Political Operations, ACORN politics, Albert Wynn, Campaign for a New Congress
Posted Nov 21st 2009 at 1:31 pm in ACORN, Congress, Politics, State Politics | 3441041 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/amoncrief/2009/11/21/inside-acorns-political-plans-ensuring-a-democrat-majority/Inside+ACORN%27S+Political+Plans%3A+Ensuring+a+Democrat+Majority2009-11-21+20%3A31%3A02Anita+MonCrief

Obama’s ACORN Connection Can’t Survive Inspection

Media Matters continues to try to provide cover for the public flogging ACORN has received as a result of investigative videos which showed ACORN employees giving advice on a number of illegal activities including human trafficking, child prostitution, bank fraud, illegal immigration and tax evasion. Meanwhile, the mainstream media has largely ignored a growing scandal that cannot be contained: ACORN is reportedly closing offices across the country, including the site of the DC undercover videotape.

Also, today another damning ACORN tape was released at Big Government. This time an ACORN member openly confessed to ACORN using non-partisan voter registration to secretly produce Obama votes.

Anyone paying attention knows accusations relating to voter registration fraud, illicit partisan activity and other chicanery often have been made against ACORN, with ACORN either denying all or any ACORN fault. In October of 2008, I testified in Pennsylvania regarding the illegal coordination between Barack Obama’s Campaign and ACORN:

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Tags: ACORN, ACORN fraud, ACORN investigations, Andy Stern, Barack Obama
Posted Nov 13th 2009 at 8:28 pm in ACORN, Congress, Media Criticism, Obama | 30550120 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/amoncrief/2009/11/13/obamas-acorn-connection-cant-survive-inspection/Obama%27s+ACORN+Connection+Can%27t+Survive+Inspection2009-11-14+03%3A28%3A08Anita+MonCrief

From the Archives: ACORN Corruption Runs Deep

In what obviously was part of a concerted effort, former President Bill Clinton appeared recently on Sunday’s Meet the Press to discuss – wait for it – the “real” forces behind President Obama’s falling poll numbers and increasing opposition:

Former President Bill Clinton says the right-wing conspiracy that attacked him during his presidency now is after President Obama.

Democrats–no strangers to major scandal–do not hesitate to divert attention away from the corruption and “pay to play” tactics being exposed or simmering just under the surface. Clinton deliberately inserted himself into a critically important national debate and thereby unwisely opened the tomb of similar scandals, potentially more explosive than his unwise dalliances with Monica Lewinsky.

For most of the 1990’s, the White House, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Citizen Action and ACORN’s Project Vote were embroiled in what would become known as “Teamstergate.”

That scandal involved disgraced former union crusader and Teamster national president Ron Carey. According to New York Times Archives:

Three of Mr. Carey’s campaign aides have pleaded guilty to a web of illegal fund-raising schemes, including having the union donate $735,000 to three liberal grass-roots groups for a get-out-the-vote effort during the 1996 Congressional elections. In return, those groups and their supporters were to channel money to Mr. Carey’s re-election campaign…

Insisting that he delegated decisions on political gifts, Mr. Carey repeatedly denied knowing about the large donations to the three liberal groups: Citizen Action, Project Vote and the National Council of Senior Citizens.

(more…)

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Tags: ACORN, AFSCME, Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, Carol Moseley Braun
Posted Oct 11th 2009 at 2:00 pm in ACORN, Big Labor, Obama, Politics, State Politics | 15474109 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/amoncrief/2009/10/11/from-the-archives-acorn-corruption-runs-deep/From+the+Archives%3A+ACORN+Corruption+Runs+Deep2009-10-11+21%3A00%3A23Anita+MonCrief

ACORN To Stand Trial in Nevada

Apparently the partisan witch hunt that ACORN has been alleging has now spread to the Democratic Party, as the Democratic Attorney General of Nevada has successfully brought charges against ACORN, after an investigation by the Democratic Secretary of State.

ACORN’s explanation?  A regional representative told the New York Times that the two are just trying to make a name for themselves.  Has ACORN no shame?

Matthew Henderson, the regional representative, said this is the first time the organization has faced criminal prosecution.

From the Mercury News:

[Former ACORN employee Christopher Howell] Edwards told Las Vegas Justice of the Peace William Jansen on Tuesday that while he never sought written permission, his ACORN supervisors knew canvassers making $8 per hour were paid bonuses of $5 per shift for exceeding a quota of 20 voter registration cards last August and September.

His regional supervisor, Amy Busefink, initially wanted him to set the bonus mark at 26, he said, but agreed to his idea of 21.

“Hey, it’s Las Vegas. It’s blackjack,” Edwards said.

And according to Justice of the Peace Jansen, according to the Times:

“It appears to me,” he said, “that Amy approved this 21 blackjack program as an incentive to get more people registered so they can be in good standing to meet the national quota of Acorn.”

(more…)

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Tags: ACORN, acorn scandal, Amy Busefink, Andrew Breitbart, Christopher Howell
Posted Oct 2nd 2009 at 6:45 am in ACORN, Justice/Legal, News, Politics | 1101418 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/kolson/2009/10/02/acorn-to-stand-trial-in-nevada/ACORN+To+Stand+Trial+in+Nevada2009-10-02+13%3A45%3A08Kyle+Olson

ACORN’S Enron-Style Accounting: Playing Musical Chairs with Big Money

The activities of the radical, corrupt to the core, left-wing Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, which has tangled itself up in an infinitely complex web of deceit, thuggery, and questionable financial dealings, are long overdue for a RICO probe.

Recent well-publicized events that I need not recount here show ACORN’s criminal propensities. In a moment I’ll explain how ACORN’s financial affairs ought to raise a red flag for investigators at the U.S. Department of Justice, but first some background.

The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, which was created to prosecute organized crime, allows the federal government to go after individuals who commit any two RICO-related crimes over a decade. The law allows courts to convict persons if it can be shown that they committed those crimes as part of an illegal enterprise and can order disgorgement of their ill-gotten gains from the enterprise.

RICO is the right tool for the job.

Perhaps it’s the only tool for the job because the ACORN network is deliberately structured to deter scrutiny. Its nebulous legal status and opaque corporate structure allow it to keep its activities largely hidden from public view.

(more…)

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Tags: ACORN, ACORN International Inc., Affiliated Media/Foundation Movement, American Institute for Social Justice Inc., American Spectator
Posted Sep 25th 2009 at 7:10 am in ACORN, Big Labor, Obama | 797431 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/mvadum/2009/09/25/acorns-enron-style-accounting-playing-musical-chairs-with-big-money/ACORN%E2%80%99S+Enron-Style+Accounting%3A+Playing+Musical+Chairs+with+Big+Money2009-09-25+14%3A10%3A22Matthew+Vadum

Wash Post: ACORN Video Scandal is ‘Only the Latest Crisis’

In a front page story today, the Washington Post digs into many of the troubles and scandals that have plagued ACORN in recent years. Here’s a key graph on the last ‘independent review’ ACORN conducted:

In a June 2008 report to ACORN, Washington lawyer Elizabeth Kingsley, who conducted an independent review of the group’s finances, expressed concern that inadequate documentation of money transfers between ACORN and an allied organization, Project Vote, would make it difficult for either group to respond effectively to questions about whether tax-deductible charitable contributions were used for political purposes. She also noted conflicts created when decision-makers at the tax-exempt entity had roles in political activities carried out by other groups.

Read the whole story here. Check out this for Big Government’s take on ACORN’s latest ‘independent review’ proposal.

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Tags: ACORN, acorn scandal, Dale Rathke, Elizabeth Kingsley, Hannah Giles
Posted Sep 20th 2009 at 6:57 am in ACORN, Media Criticism, News | 557445 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/publius/2009/09/20/wash-post-acorn-video-scandal-is-only-the-latest-crisis/Wash+Post%3A+ACORN+Video+Scandal+is+%27Only+the+Latest+Crisis%272009-09-20+13%3A57%3A38Publius

ACORN Scandal Hits London Media

RELATED: American Media Ignores ACORN Scandal

~~

The U.K. Telegraph reports on the ACORN scandal in today’s edition:

The US Census Bureau has broken links with the controversial community group Acorn, once a close ally of President Barack Obama, after it supported a purported brothel owner with a stable of underage prostitutes Photo: GETTY

Group once linked to Barack Obama taped giving advice to ‘brothel owners’
The US Census Bureau has broken links with the controversial community group Acorn, once a close ally of President Barack Obama, after it supported a purported brothel owner with a stable of underage prostitutes.

Acorn employees were taped giving advice on tax avoidance and employment of 13-year-old illegal immigrants to Right-wing activists posing as brothel owners.

“It is clear that Acorn’s affiliation with the 2010 census promotion has caused sufficient concern in the general public, has indeed become a distraction from our mission, and may even become a discouragement to public cooperation, negatively impacting 2010 census efforts,” said Robert Groves, the census director.

Acorn – the Association of Community Organisations for Reform Now – is a poverty action group with over 400,00 members that pushes for better housing, government grants and voters registration.

The group became a controversial 2008 election issue after investigations showed that employees submitted dozens of false voter registration forms, including some with names such as Mickey Mouse. (more…)

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Tags: ACORN, child prostitution, Obama, Project Vote, prostitution
Posted Sep 13th 2009 at 3:58 pm in ACORN, Media Criticism, News, Obama, Politics, Uncategorized | 176298 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/publius/2009/09/13/acorn-scandal-hits-london-media/ACORN+Scandal+Hits+London+Media2009-09-13+22%3A58%3A27Publius