Lamar Smith (gov)
Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas) yesterday sent this letter to Attorney General Eric Holder asking him to name a special prosecutor to investigate allegations of criminal conduct against the social justice group ACORN, according to a news release issued this morning.
The organization, which helped register voters for President Obama last year, has long been a target of conservatives. But Democrats have also recently abandoned the group, after two conservative activists posing as brothel owners caught ACORN employees on hidden camera offering advice for obtaining housing assistance. Last month, the House voted to cut off federal funds to ACORN in a bipartisan tally, 345-75.
Obama, a former community organizer in Chicago, has worked with ACORN in the past. In 1991, he ran a voter registration drive for Project Vote, which at the time was a partner of ACORN. In 1995, as an attorney in private practice, he represented ACORN attorneys in a challenge to the state of Illinois over its refusal to implement a federal law. ACORN also registered voters last year to support Obama’s presidential campaign.
“I am very concerned that the President’s previous advocacy on behalf [of] ACORN, his work with ACORN, and ACORN’s support of his candidacy create, at the least, an appearance of a conflict of interest for Department officials, particularly political appointees who serve at the please of the President,” Smith wrote.
He added, “The President’s ties to ACORN could place improper pressure on the Department’s political appointees to reach conclusions they believe to be favored by the President. In addition, the President’s ties create the appearance of improper political influence that will otherwise taint any conclusions that the Department may reach with regard to whether or not to investigate and prosecute ACORN employees or affiliated individuals.”
This vast story is ripe for satire: ACORN FOR THE CHILDREN.
Is there any honesty in government. Since Acorn and O’Bama were tied to the hip, why isn’t anyone connecting a problem here with our President????????? Illegal registrations, etc. Our forefathers who laid the foundation for a good and honest government must be turning over in their graves. No one should be beyond Justice no matter how high up that they are or how much money is backing them. I pray everyday for Americans to wake up and see what is really going on.