Congressional Report Exposes Fraud And Corrpution With ACORN

Most of us have known that the voter-fraud organization known as ACORN is among the most corrupt entities being given access to Capitol Hill by the Democrats. Now, a new report coming out of Congress shows that the corruption runs deeper than we first thought.

From Fox News:

[T]he report offers the first detailed account of the allegations that have dogged the organization in recent months. The executive summary of the report says ACORN provided contributions of financial and personnel resources to indicted former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown and candidate Obama, among others, in what the report calls a scheme to use taxpayer money to support a partisan political agenda, which would be a clear violation of numerous tax and election laws. “Both structurally and operationally, ACORN hides behind a paper wall of nonprofit corporate protections to conceal a criminal conspiracy on the part of its directors, to launder federal money in order to pursue a partisan agenda and to manipulate the American electorate,” an executive summary of the report reads.

Of course, ACORN is denying all charges. But they cannot deny the facts in the case:

The report accuses ACORN, after receiving more than $53 million in federal funds since 1994, of blurring the legal distinctions among 361 tax-exempt and non-exempt entities to divert that money into partisan political activities. Evidence found in the report relies in part on documents provided by former ACORN employees. “Operationally, ACORN is a shell game played in 120 cities, 43 states and the District of Columbia through a complex structure designed to conceal illegal activities, to use taxpayer and tax-exempt dollars for partisan political purposes, and to distract investigators,” the report read. “Structurally, ACORN is a chess game in which senior management is shielded from accountability by multiple layers of volunteers and compensated employees who serve as pawns to take the fall for every bad act.”

These are very serious findings that we Americans should take note of and demand accountability from our elected representatives.

Here’s why:

It would be up to the chairman of the oversight panel to hold hearings on the ACORN report and up to the Justice Department to pursue a criminal investigation. Likewise, the census director will determine whether ACORN remains a partner with the U.S. Census Bureau to assist with the recruitment of the 1.4 million temporary workers needed to go door-to-door to count every person in the United States.

Do we want an organization that actively engages in voter fraud and other corrupt activities to be involved in something so important as a Constitutionally mandated census?

No. We do not. ACORN should be dissolved and their leaders arrested and frog-marched to prison.

You can access the complete article on-line here:

GOP Congressional Report Accuses ACORN Of Political Corruption, Widespread Fraud
FoxNews.com
July 22, 2009

What Obama “Didn’t Know” And Now His Appointees “Didn’t Know” Either

Have you ever noticed how many things Barack Obama “didn’t know” about the people he associates with? There appears to be a very disturbing pattern emerging here.

Obama “didn’t know” that Jeremiah Wright preached racial hatred from the pulpit.

Obama “didn’t know” that Tony Rezko was a crooked real estate developer.

Obama “didn’t know” that Bill Ayers was a domestic terrorist.

And now, Obama “didn’t know” that Rahm Emanuel had more contact with Rod Blagojevich than was previously reported. Further, Obama’s pick for Attorney General also “didn’t know” about his own connection with Blagojevich.

These two stories both come from the Chicago Sun-Times. First, about Rahm Emanuel’s contact with Blagojevich despite Obama’s early claims that no such contact took place:

President-elect Barack Obama’s incoming chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, was pushing for Obama’s successor just days after the Nov. 4 election, sources told the Chicago Sun-Times. Emanuel privately urged Gov. Blagojevich’s administration to appoint Obama confidante Valerie Jarrett, and the Sun-Times learned Tuesday that he also pressed that it be done by a certain deadline. Jarrett was initially interested in the U.S. Senate post before Obama tapped her to be a White House senior adviser, sources say. The disclosure comes days after Obama’s camp downplayed Jarrett’s interest in the post.

It seems as though the Obama camp’s story changes every time the wind in the Inner Loop changes direction. But we can’t be sure of what the truth is because Obama himself has obfuscated it so much, just like a typical politician. (So much for “change” or any kind of transparant investigation.)

And what about Attorney General designate Eric Holder and his relationship with Blagojevich? Turns out there was a big one, a relationship worth $300,000 to Holder.

Before Eric Holder was President-elect Barack Obama’s choice to be attorney general, he was Gov. Blagojevich’s pick to sort out a mess involving Illinois’ long-dormant casino license. Blagojevich and Holder appeared together at a March 24, 2004, news conference to announce Holder’s role as “special investigator to the Illinois Gaming Board” — a post that was to pay Holder and his Washington, D.C. law firm up to $300,000. Holder, however, omitted that event from his 47-page response to a Senate Judiciary Committee questionnaire made public this week — an oversight he plans to correct after a Chicago Sun-Times inquiry, Obama’s transition team indicated late Tuesday.

Maybe Holder “didn’t know” that the relationship, especially the dollar amounts involved should have been reported? Or maybe, because of the Chicago-style politics being played, Holder arrogantly assumed that he was above the law and therefore had no need of disclosing anything?

These two stories may have nothing to do with Blagojevich trying to sell the vacated Illinois Senate seat, but it is very important that this infomation comes to light. Especially since the United States has approved of Obama’s team transplanting its corrupt Chicago-style politics to Washington D.C.

Besides, remember the non-outing of Valerie Plame and how that led to a completely unrelated charge against Scooter Libby? Americans, especially Democrats, were okay with that. If they are fair and apply the same standard here, these same Americans, and especially the Democrats, will be okay with us learning everything we can about the corruption that will soon make its way from Illinois to D.C.

You can access both articles on-line here:

Rahm Emanuel Pressed For Jarrett Appointment To Senate
Natasha Korecki And Fran Spielman
Chicago Sun-Times
December 17, 2008

Holder Omitted Blagojevich Link From Questionnaire
Chris Fusco
Chicago Sun-Times
December 17, 2008

It might very well happen that the Obama Administration is going to be the most corrupt in history.

Obama Met With Blagojevich On November 5th And Senate Candidate #5 Is Jesse Jackson Jr.

God I love the Internet! How quickly and easily information comes out about the hot topics of the day! Here we are, just one day after Rod Blagojevich got arrested for his Chicago-style corruption, we’ve got an ID on one of the players.

We also have information that Barack Obama was indeed “in contact” with Blagojevich about who would take the vacated Senate seat.

According to a November 5th story by Carol Sowers of KHQA Channel 7:

Now that Barack Obama will be moving to the White House, his seat in the U.S. Senate representing Illinois will have to be filled. That’s one of Obama’s first priorities today. He’s meeting with Governor Rod Blagojevich this afternoon in Chicago to discuss it. Illinois law states that the governor chooses that replacement. There’s already been speculation about his selection…from Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr. of Chicago’s south side who co-chaired Obama’s presidential campaign, to recently-retired state senate president Emil Jones, to the governor himself.

So, Obama’s comment about not being in contact with Blagojevich doesn’t seem entirely truthful anymore and it is becoming clear that David Axelrod did not “mis-speak” during an interview with ABC about Obama having talked with Blagojevich.

And we know who Candidate #5 is. Jesse Jackson Jr., one of Obama’s earliest supporters. Candidate #5 does not look good in the criminal complaint filed against Blagojevich by Patrick Fitzgerald.

“In a recorded conversation on October 31, 2008, Rod Blagojevich described an earlier approach by an associate of Senate Candidate Five as follows: ‘We were approached “pay to play.” That, you know, he’d raise me 500 grand. An emissary came. Then the other guy would raise a million, if I made him (Senate Candidate 5) a senator.”

According to the affidavit, it looks like Senate Candidate #5 was willing to pay $1 million for the Senate seat and Blagojevich was seriously considering it.

You can access both complete articles on-line here:

Ill. Governor Meeting With Obama Today (Story has been removed)
Carol Sowers
KHQA
November 5, 2008

Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. Is ‘Senate Candidate 5′ In Blagojevich Criminal Complaint
Chris Fusco, Tim Novak and Natasha Korecki
Chicago Sun-Times
December 10, 2008

UPDATE: Apparently, the Carol Sowers story from connecttristates.com has been removed. However, the story was linked by several other websites inculding the politico.com, Gateway Pundit and others. Here is a screenshot of the webpage before it got removed:

Here is the Press Release from the Illinois Government News Network that confirms the November 5th meeting:

Governor Blagojevich Congratulates President-Elect Obama And Discusses U.S. Senate Seat
IGNN
November 5, 2008

Michelle Malkin: The Democratic Culture Of Corruption

You knew someone was going to say it. You knew someone was going to point out that the Democrats, despite their promise in 2006 of cleaning up the “culture of corruption,” have engaged in every bit as much corruption as they claim the Republicans have, maybe even moreso now that the Illinois Senate Seat scandal has broken. But, because of the hypocrisy that seems to be inherent in the Democrat party, nobody would admit to the wrongdoing or nor take any steps to clean up their own house.

And now, Rod Balgojevich has led those chickens home to roost. Michelle Malkin, writing for Townhall, gives us some great insight on the matter:

Democrats and the media can no longer rest on the old rationalization that Blago is an exception to the “we’re cleaner than thou” rule. 2008 was the year of Democratic Reps. William “Cold Cash” Jefferson, Charlie “Sweetheart Deals” Rangel, and former Detroit Mayor Kwame “Text Me” Kilpatrick. It was the year Democratic Massachusetts State Senator Dianne Wilkerson got caught stuffing bribes from an FBI informant down her shirt. It was the year 12 Democratic leaders and staffers in Pennsylvania’s state Capitol were stung in a massive corruption scandal involving cash, sex and abuse of public office. And it was the year of multimillion-dollar embezzlement scandals at Democratic satellite offices of ACORN and the SEIU.The Democrats have met the culture of corruption, and it looks like it ain’t just elephants among the jackasses soiling public office.

The Dems need to shut up about corruption in other people’s houses until they clean up their own. And given the wonderful start to the Obama Administration, they had better do it soon.

You can access the complete column on-line here:

The Democratic Culture Of Corruption
Michelle Malkin
TownHall.com
December 10, 2008

Obama Claims: “I Had No Contact With Blagojevich Over Vacated Senate Seat”

There was a short news blurb about this. It obviously came from a press release. However, this may turn out to be Obama’s first “untruth” of his administration. Why would I say this? Read the following excerpt from the criminal complaint against Blagojevich:

107. On November 12, 2008, ROD BLAGOJEVICH talked with Advisor B. ROD BLAGOJEVICH discussed with Advisor B his idea for a 501(c)(4) organization. Advisor B stated that he likes the idea, but liked the Change to Win option better because, according to Advisor B, from the President-elect’s perspective, there would be fewer “fingerprints” on the President-elect’s involvement with Change to Win because Change to Win already has an existing stream of revenue and, therefore, “you won’t have stories in four years that they bought you off.” ROD BLAGOJEVICH said that he likes the 501(c)(4) idea because he knows it will be there in two years when he is no longer Governor, whereas Change to Win might not be.

Why would anyone be concerned about the President-elect’s “fingerprints” if there were no involvement to worry about? We need to know who Advisor B is and exactly how much Obama knew about this whole thing.

Further, David Alexrod gave an interview in which he was asked “who the Governor might pick to take Obama’s senate seat.” According to The Hill:

Despite Obama’s insistence that he has had no contact with Blagojevich about who might fill his open Senate seat, ABC News reported Tuesday that in late November, Obama senior adviser David Axelrod said he knew Obama had “talked to the governor and there are a whole range of names, many of which have surfaced, and I think he has a fondness for a lot of them.”

Clearly, Obama was in some sort of contact with Blagojevich. We must know those names and how deeply Obama was involved.

You can access the Fox News blurb on-line here:

Obama: I Had No Contact With Blagojevich Over Vacated Senate Seat
FoxNews.com
December 9, 2008

You can access the story from The Hill on-line here:

RNC: Obama’s statement on Blagojevich ‘insufficient’
Sam Youngman
The Hill
December 9, 2008

And the criminal complaint is available on-line here:

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA vs. ROD R. BLAGOJEVICH, and JOHN HARRIS
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS, EASTERN DIVISION
December 2008

Three Possible Obama Advisors Involved In Illinois Senate Seat Auction Scandal

Now, this is nowhere near enough to end the Obama administration before it even starts, but it is more than enough to warrant a close watch of Obama and his cabinet by everyone. Obama and his aides, as well as other Democrats, should also keep in the back of their minds now that anytime they try to do something in secret, like craft legislation behind closed doors, it will raise even more serious alarm bells among Joe and Jane Average American than usual.

The Patriot Room has done some research and came up with the following passages from the criminal complaint filed against Rod Blagojevich. Read them thoroughly. It’s not enough to end the Obama Presidency, but it is more than enough to make sure that we pay close attention to everything he does over the next four years.

The excerpts:

By this time, media reports indicated that Senate Candidate 1, an advisor to the President elect, was interested in the Senate seat if it became vacant, and was likely to be supported by the President-elect. During the call, ROD BLAGOJEVICH stated, “unless I get something real good for [Senate Candidate 1], sh*t, I’ll just send myself, you know what I’m saying.” … ROD BLAGOJEVICH asked what he can get from the President-elect for the Senate seat. ROD BLAGOJEVICH stated that Governor General Counsel believes the President-elect can get ROD BLAGOJEVICH’s wife on paid corporate boards in exchange for naming the President-elect’s pick to the Senate. Governor General Counsel asked, “can [the President-elect] help in the private sector. . . where it wouldn’t be tied to him? . . .I mean, so it wouldn’t necessarily look like one for the other.” . . . Thereafter, ROD BLAGOJEVICH discussed whether he could obtain an ambassadorship in exchange for the Senate seat. … ROD BLAGOJEVICH stated that the “trick . . . is how do you conduct indirectly . . . a negotiation” for the Senate seat. Thereafter, ROD BLAGOJEVICH analogized his situation to that of a sports agent shopping a potential free agent to various teams, stating “how much are you offering, [President-elect]? What are you offering, [Senate Candidate 2]? . . . Can always go to. . . [Senate Candidate 3].” Later ROD BLAGOJEVICH stated that he will make a decision on the Senate seat “in good faith . . . but it is not coming for free. . . . It’s got to be good stuff for the people of Illinois and good for me.” ROD BLAGOJEVICH states “[President-elect], you want it? Fine. But, its got to be good or I could always take [the Senate seat].” … Later on November 7, 2008, ROD BLAGOJEVICH discussed the open Senate seat in a three-way call with JOHN HARRIS and Advisor B, a Washington D.C.-based consultant. ROD BLAGOJEVICH indicated in the call that if he was appointed as Secretary of Health and Human Services by the President-elect, then ROD BLAGOJEVICH would appoint Senate Candidate 1 to the open Senate seat. HARRIS stated “we wanted our ask to be reasonable and rather than. . .make it look like some sort of selfish grab for a quid pro quo.” . . . During the call, ROD BLAGOJEVICH, HARRIS, and Advisor B discussed the prospect of working a three-way deal for the open Senate seat. HARRIS noted that ROD BLAGOJEVICH is interested in taking a high-paying position with an organization called “Change to Win,” which is connected to Service Employees International Union (“SEIU”). … Advisor B said that he liked the idea of the three-way deal. ROD BLAGOJEVICH stated that he is interested in making $250,000 to $300,000 and being on some organization boards. Advisor B said they should leverage the President-elect’s desire to have Senate Candidate 1 appointed to the Senate seat in order to get a head position with Change to Win and a salary. Advisor B agreed that the three-way deal would be a better plan than ROD BLAGOJEVICH appointing Senate Candidate 2 to the Senate seat and getting more done as Governor.

While there appears to be no clear evidence as to exactly how involved President-elect Barack Obama is in this whole thing, it is clear that at least three of his advisors are directly involved. The administration is already tainted before anyone even got sworn in. Wasn’t there a requirement to have a clean record in order to work for the Obama administration?

I join the The Patriot Room in demanding to know, by name, who those three advisors are and to know exactly how much the President-elect knew about these proceedings.

You can access the original blog-entry on-line here:

We Need The Names Of These 3 Possible Obama Advisors Who Negotiated With Blagojevich
Bill Dupray
The Patriot Room
December 9, 2008

And you can access the complete criminal complaint on-line here:

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA vs. ROD R. BLAGOJEVICH, and JOHN HARRIS
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS, EASTERN DIVISION
December 2008

Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich: A Surpirse “Fitzmas” Present For The GOP

Over the past year, we’ve been throwing around terms like “Chicago style politics” as they related to Barack Obama and other alumni of the Illinois political machine. Of course, we were referring to people like Tony Rezko, William Ayers and the plethora of people who called into WGN radio to try and shout down any opposition to Obama’s campaign.

Well, we certainly weren’t expecting the nice little “Fitzmas” present we got today. Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich was arrested today for engaging in Chicago style politics. He tried to sell Barack Obama’s vacated U.S. Senate seat for personal gain.

From MSN:

Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich embarked on “political corruption crime spree” and tried to benefit from his ability to appoint President-elect Barack Obama’s replacement in the U.S. Senate, federal officials said Tuesday. At a news conference in Chicago on Tuesday, U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald called it a sad day for the citizens of Illinois and alleged that the governor tried to “auction off” the Senate seat “to the highest bidder”. He said the alleged behavior “would make (Abe) Lincoln roll over in his grave”.

And, Mr. Fitzgerald had to censor quite a bit about the dialogue used during the sales process:

The affidavit quotes Blagojevich telling an adviser later that day that a Senate seat “is a [expletive] valuable thing, you just don’t give it away for nothing.” In a conversation with Harris on November 4, the day of the election, Blagojevich is alleged to have compared his situation to that of a sports agent shopping a potential free agent to the highest bidder. On November 5, Blagojevich allegedly told an adviser, “I’ve got this thing and it’s [expletive] golden, and, uh, uh, I’m just not giving it up for [expletive] nothing. I’m not gonna do it.”

And from ABC News:

On Monday, Gov. Blagojevich spoke about reports that federal investigators had recorded him as part of their corruption probe. Blagojevich said his conversations were “always lawful.” His confidant, John Wyma, reportedly cooperated with the federal agents. “I should say if anybody wants to tape my conversations, go right ahead, feel free to do it,” said Blagojevich on Monday. “I appreciate anybody who wants to tape me openly and notoriously, and those who feel like they want to sneakily, and wear taping devices, I would remind them that it kind of smells like Nixon and Watergate.” Blagojevich fundraiser Tony Rezko awaits sentencing on a federal corruption conviction in which he was charged with shaking down businesses wanting to do state work for campaign contributions. The governor has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.

This is a huge story that will be talked about for a long time. Some well known players are being mentioned quite frequently including Tony Rezko and President-elect Barack Obama. I’m sure Obama appreciates this kind of attention at the start of his administration.

You can access the complete stories on-line here:

Feds: Ill. Gov Tried To ‘Auction’ Obama’s Seat
MSNBC News
NBC News’ Pete Williams, The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report
December 9, 2008

US Atty: Blagojevich Arrest A “Truly New Low”
WLS-TV/DT
December 9, 2008