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Do you remember the whole ACORN/James O’Keefe firestorm last fall? The investigative journalist/activist posed as a pimp and got ACORN staffers to endorse prostitution and promise to funnel profits from sex slavery to Democratic causes. Well, the gonzo reporter is at it again: he was arrested on Monday after apparently trying to wiretap a senator’s office phone.
ACORN’s comment on O’Keefe’s arrest via Twitter: “Couldn’t have happened to a more deserving soul.”
It’s a strange case. Allegedly, James O’Keefe and two male assistants entered the Hale Boggs Federal Building in downtown New Orleans in disguise on Monday morning. The FBI said that O’Keefe’s plan was to place a bug in the phone system linked to Democratic Senator Mary Landrieu's office.
The three men were disguised as telephone repairmen, and wore hard hats, fluorescent green vests, and tool belts. They told a receptionist that they were there to “fix the phones” and that they needed access to the building’s phone system. (James O’Keefe later told the FBI that he recorded this interaction on his cell phone.) The receptionist sent the three men to a General Services Administration office, where they were asked for credentials – having none, James O’Keefe and his assistants left the building. They met with a fourth accomplice, who had been waiting in a car, following the conversation via a bug. A few minutes later, the U.S. Marshal’s Service arrested all four men.
James O’Keefe and his three assistants were charged with “with entering federal property under false pretenses with the intent of committing a felony.” After O’Keefe made bail, the only thing he would say to reporters was “Veritas! The truth shall set me free!"
O’Keefe had previously made headlines in September 2009 when he released video recordings of several interviews in ACORN offices. The undercover videos propelled James O’Keefe to political celebrity status, especially on FOX News, the Drudge Report, and other conservative media outlets.
Congress responded to the videos by ending much of ACORN’s government funding. President Barack Obama (who once provided legal advice for ACORN) stated that the organization needed to be investigated. ACORN eventually filed a lawsuit against James O’Keefe, citing illegal electronic surveillance.
(H/T to NOLA)
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