ACORN Employees Caught On Tape Advising Couple Posing As Prostitute, Pimp
NEW YORK (AP) - Two employees of the advocacy group ACORN are shown on a hidden-camera video released Monday, apparently advising a couple posing as a prostitute and her pimp to lie about her profession and launder her earnings.
The video was the latest in a series that has already led to the firing of four ACORN employees in Baltimore and Washington, D.C. It was created by James O'Keefe and Hannah Giles and posted on BigGovernment.com, where O'Keefe identifies himself as an activist filmmaker.
ACORN spokesman Scott Levenson blasted the video shot at the organization's Brooklyn office, saying the group believes the voices of the couple were dubbed over to alter the conversation and make the interaction appear more objectionable than it may have been.
The two employees featured in the video have been suspended while ACORN works to reconstruct the exchange that was caught on film, Levenson said.
On the video, O'Keefe and Giles enter the ACORN office, and O'Keefe can be heard explaining "we have a unique life situation" and asking if they qualify for housing help.
In a meeting with an ACORN housing coordinator and office administrator, both women apparently urge the pair to lie about their ill-gotten gains, with the administrator saying "Honesty is not going to get the house. That's why you've probably been denied."
"Don't say you're a prostitute thing or whatever. ... You have to sit back and think and find another name for it," says the housing coordinator, who later urges Giles to put her cash in a tin and bury it in the backyard.
The undeclared cash could be given to an uninvolved friend who could then give the funds as a gift to O'Keefe, presumably to pay for the house, the housing coordinator tells the couple.
The housing coordinator at one point seems confused about the legality of the situation, asking, "Is prostitution legalized in New York state?"
She later seems to take a concerned interest in Giles, telling her: "You have to start thinking, and when you're in this business you have to think fast."
"I can't tell you don't do it, because you won't listen to me. ... If you're going to do it, do it well, and start thinking for yourself ... and save for a rainy day."
According to Levenson, ACORN sent a letter to Fox News President Roger Ailes, stating that the videotape was deceptive and had been dubbed over, and asking the network to stop showing the videos.
Fox News spokeswoman Dana Klinghoffer said the tapes were vetted editorially before they were aired.
Breitbart.com, which owns BigGovernment.com, did not immediately respond to a call and e-mails seeking comment.
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First Posted: 09-14-09 08:18 PM | Updated: 09-15-09 08:05 PM