ACORN to sue O’Keefe, Giles, Breitbart; fired workers to file criminal complaint in MD today?
Update: Just some clarification since there’s a bit of confusion in the blogosphere about what actually is going on. ACORN as an organization is the one said to be suing the filmmakers and Breitbart to stop distribution of the video. In an entirely separate action, the employees on the video in Baltimore who were fired by ACORN are said to be filing criminal charges against Giles and O’Keefe.
Former ACORN workers in the city are planning to file a civil complaint against the makers of the video, according to the website Investigative Voice.
City state’s attorney Patricia Jessamy said on WBAL’s Shari Elicker Show that she could not prosecute based on restrictions for evidence obtained illegally.
Maryland law requires two party consent to be recorded.
Former employees of the beleaguered community activist group ACORN are planning to file a criiminal complaint in Baltimore against the creators of the series of videos that have spurred outrage against the organization, knowledgable sources have told Investigative Voice.
The filing could come as soon as Friday afternoon, sources said.
The criminal complaint will allege that recordings of the group’s employees giving advice on how to evade taxes and house underage South American sex workers to journalists posing as a pimp and prostitute were obtained illegally.
The criminal complaint is expected to name both James O’Keefe, 25, and Hannah Giles, 20, along with the owner of the website Breitbart, which initially released the videos.
ACORN is also contemplating a civil suit seeking an injunction aginst O’Keefe and Giles to prevent them from distributing the videos, according to an an email.
Other blogging:
Robert Stacy McCain
Dan Riehl
The Jawa Report
Lakeshore Laments
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1
It’s worth listening to the Jessamy interview on Shari Elliker’s page @ WBAL. Jessamy reveals herself as passive agressive, and sounds exactly like the kind of tired, resentful government employee portrayed in the “Law and Order” shows by Epatha Markerson.
Comment by Blogger1947 — September 18, 2009 @ 10:37 am
2
So will the same people who rushed to defend Laura Ling and Euna Lee defend these people?
Comment by Bart — September 18, 2009 @ 12:07 pm
3
Mutual consent? Really? So why are all the local TV stations winning AWARDS for their undercover sting operations? That doesn’t seem to stop prosecutors from going after the crooks, and the news reporters aren’t prosecuted.
Comment by MM — September 18, 2009 @ 2:10 pm
4
[...] friend Jeff Quinton at his blog "Inside Charm City" reports the recently-fired Acorn employees are planing on suing the filmmakers who exposed them and BigGovernment.Com website founder, Andrew [...]
Pingback by Ex-Acorn Employees to Sue Filmmakers — September 18, 2009 @ 2:45 pm
5
@MM(#3): That’s precisely the point of this post. In your analogy, the crooks would have to file civil suit against the TV stations, which obviously they’re not doing. The law is the law, and it requires both parties to be party to the recording. In this case, they were not, and the party that did NOT agree to be taped is going to sue the people who broke the law by taping them. It’s really not that hard to understand.
Comment by OneMonkeysUncle — September 18, 2009 @ 3:15 pm
6
The investigative reporters don’t get sued because there are surely exemptions for the press.
Comment by ryan — September 18, 2009 @ 3:25 pm
7
ryan,
Actually not. There are law enforcement exemptions but no press exemptions.
Comment by Jeff Quinton — September 18, 2009 @ 3:26 pm
8
Can anyone cite the law banning the recording of face to face conversations without both consenting? I know Maryland has a wiretap law they used to go after Linda Tripp in the Lewinsky/Clinton perjury scandal. But that involves only phone conversations.
Not allowing recorded conversations would put law enforcement at a severe disadvantage, especially in mob investigations.
Comment by Corky Boyd — September 18, 2009 @ 4:01 pm
9
Figures ACORN would use taxpayer money to sue entities for exposing their corruption.
Comment by Timbuck2 — September 18, 2009 @ 4:26 pm
10
[...] Jawa Report What a wonderful court system which allows the criminals to sue the people exposing them. [...]
Pingback by APORN WATCH — Winds Of Jihad By SheikYerMami — September 19, 2009 @ 11:12 am
11
[...] The link is here. [...]
Pingback by The Baltimore Reporter — September 25, 2009 @ 12:31 am