Two more ACORN officials were
fired Friday after a second video surfaced showing staffers in the
community organizers' Washington office offering to help a man and
woman posing as a pimp and prostitute acquire illegal home loans that
would help them set up a brothel.
The
firings came less than 24 hours after another pair of ACORN officials
from the group's Baltimore office were canned for instructing the
"pimp" and "prostitute" how to falsify tax forms and seek illegal
benefits for 13 "very young" girls from El Salvador that pair said they
wanted to import to work as child prostitutes.
Both
of the encounters were videotaped on a hidden camera wielded by
25-year-old independent filmmaker James O'Keefe, posing as the pimp —
tapes that have ignited calls for investigations of ACORN, the
Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now.
The
group's leaders said Friday they were "appalled and angry" at what
their staffers had done, but insisted the videos were part of a
political "smear" campaign and not representative of the institution as
a whole.
"But that does not excuse the
behavior of the employees," wrote ACORN's president Alton Bennet and
executive director Mike Shea. "We have fired them and are initiating an
internal review of practices and reminding all staff of their
obligation to uphold the highest legal and ethical standards."
Rep.
Charles Boustany, R-La., called for a hearing to investigate ACORN's
tax filing assistance programs following the release of the videos he
said suggested multiple incidents of tax fraud.
"In
light of the apparent flagrant and willful attempts to suborn tax
fraud, I ... (am seeking) a hearing of the Oversight Subcommittee of
the House Ways and Means Committee as soon as practicable to
investigate ACORN’s activities," he said Friday.
O'Keefe,
the filmmaker, was accompanied by 20-year-old Hannah Giles, who posed
as a prostitute. On a videotape of their visit to ACORN's Washington's
office, they are seen receiving guidance to establish the woman as the
sole proprietor of a bogus company to mask the nature of her business.
"She's
not going to put on (the loan application) that she's doing
prostitution ... she doesn't have to," a now-fired ACORN staffer says.
"You don't have to sit back and tell people what you do."
The
ACORN staffer is heard suggesting that O'Keefe can purchase a house,
and as the landlord, if he is ever questioned by authorities, he can
say he was unaware of the illegal business going on inside.
"[W]hen
the police ask you, (tell them) you don't know where (the money is)
coming from," the staffer said. "We are looking out for you."
The
ACORN employee later suggests that O'Keefe, who said he had a budding
political career, not linger at the house in case people "put the dots
together" and leave him "smeared and tarnished" by his association with
his prostitute girlfriend. She should keep her business "low key," the
employee continued, saying "You have neighbors and they see stuff.
Don't think that people won't get on the telephone and call Fox."
One
day before the Washington video was shot, O'Keefe and Giles sought help
from ACORN workers in Baltimore, who told the pair how to falsify tax
forms and seek illegal benefits for 13 "very young" girls from El
Salvador that they said they said they wanted to import as prostitutes.
As
he did in the taping in Baltimore, O'Keefe told the Washington officers
that he had plans to bring as many as 10 women from El Salvador to work
as prostitutes in Giles' "business."
"There's like 10 girls," O'Keefe says. "There's ten El Salvodoreans."
The ACORN staffer replies, "I understand what you are saying."
ACORN
— the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now — calls
itself a network of families "working together for social justice and
stronger communities," according to its Web site.
The
organization has been accused by conservatives and Republicans of
committing fraud in voter registration drives around the country, and
reaction to the videotape came swiftly after its release on Thursday.
"Taxpayers
should be outraged that their money has gone to an organization that,
in addition to facing charges of voter fraud and tax violations, is
willing to facilitate prostitution," said Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa.
"As this video confirms, ACORN continues to operate as a criminal enterprise."
The
first videotape, made in the Baltimore offices of ACORN, was made
public Thursday on the political blog BigGovernment.com. That night,
after portions of the video were aired throughout the day on FOX News,
the group fired the two women who assisted O'Keefe and Giles in
Baltimore.
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