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Conyers Urges ACORN Probe
Congressman Wants Group To Respond To Allegations
By Michael P. Tremoglie, The Bulletin
Last Thursday, House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers Jr., D-Mich, proposed holding hearings about the activist group Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), to give the group an opportunity to answer allegations it has engaged in illegal or improper activities.
Mr. Conyers, who has defended the organization in the past, asked for the hearings after listening to testimony about the organization during a House Judiciary Subcommittee on Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties hearing titled “Lessons Learned from the 2008 Election.”
The hearing testimony by Heather Heidelbaugh, a Pittsburgh attorney who serves on the Executive Committee of the Republican National Lawyers Association, quoted prior court testimony by an ACORN whistleblower, Ms. Anita Moncrief, given during an injunction request filed by Ms. Heidelbaugh against ACORN during last fall’s election. Ms. Moncrief was at the hearing, but did not testify.
Ms. Heidelbaugh described how she received a call from Ms. Moncrief who worked for ACORN in their Washington, D.C. office for a number of years and who told her she had some information about them.
She then recounted how Ms. Moncrief told her she had been a confidential source for several months to New York Times’ reporter, Stephanie Strom, who had been writing articles about ACORN based on the information she had provided.
Ms. Strom wrote articles about ACORN from July 9, 2008 to October 21, 2008, with headlines such as “Funds misappropriated at Two Nonprofit Groups,” “On Obama, ACORN and Voter Registration” and “ACORN Report Raises Issues of Legality.”
Ms. Heidelbaugh said the Times articles stopped when Ms. Moncrief told Ms. Strom the Obama campaign had sent its “maxed-out donor list” to Project Vote Development Director Karyn Gilette at ACORN’s Washington, D.C. office. It then asked Ms. Gillette and Ms. Moncrief to reach out to maxed-out donors to solicit donations from them for get out the vote efforts to be run by ACORN.
According to Ms. Heidelbaugh, Ms. Strom told Ms. Moncrief her editors at the New York Times wanted her to kill the story because “it was a game changer.” Ms. Strom never wrote another story about ACORN for the remainder of the election.
Ms. Moncrief testified, at the time, the money obtained from donors on the list was allegedly to be used for voter registration drives. According to Ms. Moncrief, “There really isn’t a difference between Project Vote and ACORN.” She said they have the same staff and share the same offices.
If proven, ACORN and Project Vote could at the very least, lose their tax-exampt status for engaging in politically partisan activities. ACORN’s questionable activism extended into what Ms. Moncrief called a “Muscle for the Money” program.
Ms. Heidelbaugh told the panel that Ms. Moncrief said there were two programs with that name — one official and one unofficial. The official program is the marketing name ACORN gives for its voter registration drives.
But the unofficial program, is directed at corporations for donations. Ms. Heidelbaugh quoted from Ms. Moncrief testimony, “[ACORN was] paid by SEIU (the Service Employees International Union) to harass a man named Mr. Rubenstein, and they wanted me to go out — the D.C. local did, wanted me to go out and break up a banquet dinner, protest out in front of his house.... it was always referred to as ‘Muscle for Money’ because they would go out there, intimidate these people, protest … And instead of, you know, reforming the way they did the rapid anticipation loans, they ended up giving money to the ACORN tax sites ... The companys would pay money to get the protesting to stop....the insiders at ACORN called it “protection”... programs were carried out against Sherwin Williams, Jackson Hewitt, H&R Block, the Carlyle Group and Money Mart.”
ACORN and Project Vote have vehemently denied any of this. ACORN has said Ms. Moncrief is a disgruntled worker.
“None of this wild and varied list of charges has any credibility, and we're not going to spend our time on it,” said Kevin Whelan, ACORN deputy political director.
But Mr. Conyers thinks having a hearing would be worth doing.
“We’ve never had one person representing ACORN before the committee,” Mr. Conyers said. I think in all fairness we ought to really examine it.”
Michael P. Tremoglie can be contacted at mtremoglie@thebulletin.us
Mr. Conyers, who has defended the organization in the past, asked for the hearings after listening to testimony about the organization during a House Judiciary Subcommittee on Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties hearing titled “Lessons Learned from the 2008 Election.”
The hearing testimony by Heather Heidelbaugh, a Pittsburgh attorney who serves on the Executive Committee of the Republican National Lawyers Association, quoted prior court testimony by an ACORN whistleblower, Ms. Anita Moncrief, given during an injunction request filed by Ms. Heidelbaugh against ACORN during last fall’s election. Ms. Moncrief was at the hearing, but did not testify.
Ms. Heidelbaugh described how she received a call from Ms. Moncrief who worked for ACORN in their Washington, D.C. office for a number of years and who told her she had some information about them.
She then recounted how Ms. Moncrief told her she had been a confidential source for several months to New York Times’ reporter, Stephanie Strom, who had been writing articles about ACORN based on the information she had provided.
Ms. Strom wrote articles about ACORN from July 9, 2008 to October 21, 2008, with headlines such as “Funds misappropriated at Two Nonprofit Groups,” “On Obama, ACORN and Voter Registration” and “ACORN Report Raises Issues of Legality.”
Ms. Heidelbaugh said the Times articles stopped when Ms. Moncrief told Ms. Strom the Obama campaign had sent its “maxed-out donor list” to Project Vote Development Director Karyn Gilette at ACORN’s Washington, D.C. office. It then asked Ms. Gillette and Ms. Moncrief to reach out to maxed-out donors to solicit donations from them for get out the vote efforts to be run by ACORN.
According to Ms. Heidelbaugh, Ms. Strom told Ms. Moncrief her editors at the New York Times wanted her to kill the story because “it was a game changer.” Ms. Strom never wrote another story about ACORN for the remainder of the election.
Ms. Moncrief testified, at the time, the money obtained from donors on the list was allegedly to be used for voter registration drives. According to Ms. Moncrief, “There really isn’t a difference between Project Vote and ACORN.” She said they have the same staff and share the same offices.
If proven, ACORN and Project Vote could at the very least, lose their tax-exampt status for engaging in politically partisan activities. ACORN’s questionable activism extended into what Ms. Moncrief called a “Muscle for the Money” program.
Ms. Heidelbaugh told the panel that Ms. Moncrief said there were two programs with that name — one official and one unofficial. The official program is the marketing name ACORN gives for its voter registration drives.
But the unofficial program, is directed at corporations for donations. Ms. Heidelbaugh quoted from Ms. Moncrief testimony, “[ACORN was] paid by SEIU (the Service Employees International Union) to harass a man named Mr. Rubenstein, and they wanted me to go out — the D.C. local did, wanted me to go out and break up a banquet dinner, protest out in front of his house.... it was always referred to as ‘Muscle for Money’ because they would go out there, intimidate these people, protest … And instead of, you know, reforming the way they did the rapid anticipation loans, they ended up giving money to the ACORN tax sites ... The companys would pay money to get the protesting to stop....the insiders at ACORN called it “protection”... programs were carried out against Sherwin Williams, Jackson Hewitt, H&R Block, the Carlyle Group and Money Mart.”
ACORN and Project Vote have vehemently denied any of this. ACORN has said Ms. Moncrief is a disgruntled worker.
“None of this wild and varied list of charges has any credibility, and we're not going to spend our time on it,” said Kevin Whelan, ACORN deputy political director.
But Mr. Conyers thinks having a hearing would be worth doing.
“We’ve never had one person representing ACORN before the committee,” Mr. Conyers said. I think in all fairness we ought to really examine it.”
Michael P. Tremoglie can be contacted at mtremoglie@thebulletin.us
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