(VIDEO) Despite News Reports ACORN Housing Did Call Police

Today, ACORN Housing Corporation released the following statement:

ACORN Housing called the cops on 'filmmaker'
ACORN Housing responds to recent allegations, releases video interview with staff

Washington, DC - ACORN Housing today released a video of one of its staff giving her side of what happened when 'filmmaker' James O'Keefe visited the Philadelphia office. Ms. Katherine Conway Russell was approached by O'Keefe and when she realized he was not asking about a valid housing issue, she asked him to leave and called the police. "Last July James O'Keefe who has been in the news lately with videos from other ACORN offices came into our office," said Russell, "Unlike the videos he has been showing on the internet, we refused to help him and called the police and filed a report."

That can now be seen here.

A copy of the police report can be seen here.

"We were appalled and angry to see the video of employees offering advice on how to operate an illegal enterprise. While no transaction took place - no loan documents were signed or submitted, no bank loans were arranged, no new business was established - this is not how our staff should behave.

All ACORN Housing staff members undergo rigorous training and are expected to comply with high standards for ethical behavior and compliance with the law," said Mike Shea, Executive Director of ACORN Housing, "but the video tape is slanted to misinform the public about ACORN Housing. The people who made this tape went to at least five other ACORN Housing offices where they were turned away or where ACORN Housing employees responded by calling the police."

ACORN Housing has taken the following steps:

• A new copy of our guidelines and standards has been sent to all staff, everyone is required to sign a form acknowledging they have read and understand our standards and will comply with them.

• Group intake classes for first-time homebuyers have been suspended until all staff have had a chance to complete an enhanced training on our procedures and standards.

• A quality control team is being assembled that will visit all ACORN Housing offices nationwide to insure their policies and procedures meet our standards.

• The Washington, DC staff members have been fired and the New York employees have been suspended while we are conducting an internal investigation.

• We have initiated an internal review of our policies and materials to insure all staff knows how to handle sensitive situations.

• All ACORN Housing training materials will be re-evaluated and expanded to include an enhanced ethics section to provide more guidance.

Founded in 1986, ACORN Housing has counseled more than 350,000 low and moderate income families across the U.S., over 100,000 of which have become homeowners. ACORN Housing has 29 offices in 24 states.

Comments

[tribalogical]

I've watched those videos carefully. They are a well-executed "mockumentary" style fraud.

The edits, the context, the conversations, all carefully rearranged.

Since Fox and Beck have sowed seeds of doubt about ACORN for months, the "suspension of disbelief" was just too easy.

Look deeper. Replay the videos with a discerning eye. I've cut video for advertising. I know how to make things look different than they actually are. Pay close attention to exactly what is said by the ACORN employees, without the "suggested" context. Do they actually say anything grossly incriminating?

Especially in the case of the San Diego immigration worker. Does he ever say he'll help them get "12 underage girls across the border for prostitution"? Does he ever discuss compensation?

And would he say anything at all about it ON CAMERA? It was hidden, you assume? Look again. It was off to the left side of the "film maker's" head. Where was it "hidden"? Was he wearing a stuffed parrot on his shoulder concealing a hidden camera??

It's a sham. I'm convinced.

Even if some of these people are crossing the line, the malfeasance of a few employees in a large organization does not make the organization "corrupt".

Any more than one employee caught on camera pissing into the french fryer at McDonalds equals "widespread corruption" at McDonalds.

Think, people. Question your assumptions, and look twice before allowing good people to be demonized, and declared "guilty" first, with no option for innocence.

[Hamartia]

What is said on the videos is evidence enough of how amoral these people are. Video of people saying these things can only be justified by a lack of context , if they were asked "what is the most horrible and amoral thing you can imagine a person in your position saying to a person in my position?" right before the footage we have seen begins. If the claims made by our heroic young journalists are fallacious, then why were the employees in question fired? Does Acorn simply care more about its image than the truth and its employees? I think not.

What if there were five McDonalds employees caught on film pissing in the fryer?

[NewsCorpse]

Has anyone else noticed that the Fox News hooker and pimp will ONLY appear on Fox News? They have refused interviews from ANY other news venue, yet they have appeared repeatedly on multiple Fox programs.

http://www.newscorpse.com/ncWP/?p=1403

What are they afraid of?

[ryk]

Maybe a little thing called "Truth" ?? Maybe they are just afraid that a legitimate news organization will expose them for what they are--not the "investigative journalists" they like to pretend they are!

[Hamartia]

There really are no legitimate news organizations anymore. They all just report what is handed to them. If you believe otherwise, you are more of a fool than you appear. The last real television journalist died June 13, 2008.

[tribalogical]

Fox is calling out the other broadcasters for not covering this "scandal", but CNN has clearly said, if it can't do 'due diligence' it isn't going to give the story merit. They've asked repeatedly for the original, unedited video, and have received no reply from the "film maker".

I think ACORN just got "swift-boated".

I hope when the truth is shown, the appropriate people are prosecuted.

[Hamartia]

Me too, but I fear our beliefs of who the "appropriate people" are differ. Do realize that prosecuting a journalist for what these kids have done will likely result in widespread media silence? Remember MSNBC's misrepresentation of the black fellow at a town hall carrying an AR-15 as a white man and following it up with a suggestions of potential racial violence and hostility? Is that not more egregious than what you imagine these kids have done?

[Hamartia]

Maybe they are afraid of the same thing that Mr. Obama is afraid of. You know that FOX news was the only major cable news network that he didn't appear on in his media blitz right? I believe it is one of two things. Fear of being berated or fear of being exposed. I believe it is more likely that in both cases it is fear of being berated rather than exposed. However, I mistakenly voted for Mr. Obama so maybe I give him too much credit.

First of all, the kids are not affiliated with FOX news. Second, they are children and seemed very apprehensive even on their FOX news appearances and would likely have a complete meltdown on a more hostile net. Have you no sense of decorum?

[sc300nc]

Nice try Mr. Shea, but no cigar. Your organization is being exposed as a taxpayer sucking leech. No more for you!

[TaxDayMan]

But they are going to sue the videographer and Fox, yeah bring it on, thy name is "Discovery"!

[Hamartia]

You've struck the nail on the head there my fellow patriot. There is no way in hell they will sue FOX or BigGovernment.com. If they were not members in a criminal enterprise, they would have likely already started some form of litigation.

[sushi27]

Welcome to hell, they have filed a lawsuit against James O'Keefe. I also understand they broke laws in at least two states where secret filming/recording without prior notice is against the law - oops.

[BobLablah]

This is great news! One out of nine ACORN employees will call the police when informed of illegal activities.

[LeftRight]

Um.... more like *5* of nine....

[Hamartia]

Why does it take 5 of them to call the police?