Breitbart: Investigate ACORN or We’ll Save the Other Tapes for the Election
Breitbart has more. And he’s demanding a federal investigation — or else he’ll hold on to the rest of the tapes until the next election:
Hannity: Are you saying, Andrew, that there are more tapes?
Breitbart: Oh my goodness there are! Not only are there more tapes, it’s not just ACORN. And this message is to Attorney General Holder: I want you to know that we have more tapes, it’s not just ACORN, and we’re going to hold out until the next election cycle, or else if you want to do a clean investigation, we will give you the rest of what we have, we will comply with you, we will give you the documentation we have from countless ACORN whistleblowers who want to come forward but are fearful of this organization and the retribution that they fear that this is a dangerous organization.
Watch the video to see Breitbart’s palpable anger — and his mention of James Rainey’s incompetent enabling of ACORN’s dishonest story. I also like O’Keefe’s statement that the L.A. Times sent him an e-mail regarding Lavelle Stewart — the woman who offered her help in enabling Giles and O’Keefe’s underage prostitution ring — asking what, if anything, she did wrong.
If ever a truly Independent Prosecutor was needed, it is now.
I nominate Hugh Hewitt.
PCD (1d8b6d) — 11/20/2009 @ 6:52 amI nominate Patterico.
Brother Bradley J. Fikes, C.O.R. (0ea407) — 11/20/2009 @ 7:04 amWho is going to investigate them? IMO, 90 percent or more of the elected officials owe their soul to ACORN. The only way to cure this cancer is get an army of citizens investigating ACORN and reporting their findings to the world via the internet. America can’t wait for the elections. Do it now. Let’s roll!
Pagar (a2c952) — 11/20/2009 @ 7:07 amThis is hysterical. Andrew has stones.
JD (431886) — 11/20/2009 @ 7:18 amPatterico in charge, Fitzpatrick/Fitzgerald/whatever his name is as hands on Under P’s direction.
Previous sometime contribuor on staff as well.
Guilliani and McCarthy.
If P will have him, and he will listen to P, Hewitt as public spokesman
Stepping stone for P to be US AG, prior to SCOTUS appointment….
Wait a second, if all of that happens he won’t have time to host this site anymore, What am I thinking?!?!
MD in Philly (227f9c) — 11/20/2009 @ 7:21 am[…] UPDATE: Breitbart is upping the stakes. Details here. […]
Patterico's Pontifications » L.A. Times Columnist Uncritically Quoted Star of Latest ACORN Video (e4ab32) — 11/20/2009 @ 7:25 amFitzpatrick/Fitzgerald/whatever his name is as hand
His name is Patrick Fitzgerald, and he’s a straight shooter, all the way. He’s got his hands full right now regarding Chicago and IL corruption, but if any vids come out that indict the Chicago office (I hope), then rest assured he’ll be on them like a dog on a bone.
BTW, given what we’ve witnessed so far, wouldn’t Brietbart be crazy to allow anyone from the gov’t to get their hands on this evidence? They’ll just destroy it or chloroform the entire retinue of witnesses.
Dmac (a964d5) — 11/20/2009 @ 7:26 amThanks for the clarification, Dmac. I know he has that reputation, and that Andy McCarthy had spoken highly of him, but I don’t buy what happened in the Plame investigation, not just the outcome, but some of his behavior- but then again, maybe what I read wasn’t quite accurate. (I hear that happens sometimes). That’s why I would value his skills and contribution, but not trust him in charge.
I imagine that Breitbart would keep an Ace or two up his sleeve to bring down Holder, too, if he tried to make the investigation be a sham. Do these folks have security?
MD in Philly (227f9c) — 11/20/2009 @ 7:37 amAren’t there some high-powered private investigation companies? Breitbart is financing all this, couldn’t he start a fund to hire professional investigators?
We the public could uncover a fair amount, but it would need organization and central management. I worked with some people doing that in another context, and it was incredibly disorganized, massive duplication of effort.
jodetoad (059c35) — 11/20/2009 @ 7:52 amAnybody but Fitzgerald. His conduct in the Plame investigation and his treatment of Libby make me question his professional ethics. An ethical prosecutor, upon getting the truth from Richard Armitage, would have closed the investigation and informed everyone that there was no crime committed and no White House misconduct. So what if, by doing that, he would not have even got a T-shirt. He went to Washington seeking a White House scalp and to hell with the facts, law and prosecutorial integrity.
Longwalker (996c34) — 11/20/2009 @ 7:59 amBrietbart would do well to look into what happened to the guy in Arkansas who had tapes of Bill Clinton. Some very nasty guys paid him a visit in the dark of night, took the tapes, and then beat him to a pulp. They left him without full use of his faculties for the rest of his life.
This is way beyond hard ball, it’s life and death. Be fully aware of the almost certain consequences when you stir up hornets who kill on command. This ain’t beanbag, Breitbart’s life is at stake here, and he’s beating the nest with a stick. Breitbart may already have a price on his head, and without adequate protection he’s going to get hit.
Breitbart should use double and triple precautions, some well outside his direct or even indirect control, or he’s sure to have some uninvited guests who won’t go home empty handed, and the price of their visit will be paid in blood.
ropelight (6e0c3c) — 11/20/2009 @ 7:59 amSounds like the SEIU may be in play. I’d be leery of releasing tapes of folks from that thug union too. You could end up dead, or in traction.
mojo (8096f2) — 11/20/2009 @ 8:15 amSave them for election time, Andrew. Please. And keep some on ice for 2012.
JD (431886) — 11/20/2009 @ 8:21 amI hope Andrew has his affairs in order for the mother of all IRS audits.
(Or maybe he can get first choice of bunks at the camps…………… /sarc?)
Techie (482700) — 11/20/2009 @ 8:29 amJust suppose Breitbart is murdered. Or Giles or O’Keefe.
Richard Aubrey (a9ba34) — 11/20/2009 @ 8:44 amWhat will be the government reaction?
Murder generally isn’t a federal crime, so it would be up to the state.
But, then, beating up Kenneth Gladney isn’t a federal crime, either, and that investigation is going noplace.
So, as I was saying before I was interrupted, it would be good practice for Breitbart to make it clear that the tapes have been copied and are in various unknown–to him–locations and their publication is beyond his control. Which it would have to be, considering he needs to consider being dead.
Richard Aubrey (a9ba34) — 11/20/2009 @ 8:46 amHis conduct in the Plame investigation and his treatment of Libby make me question his professional ethics.
I agree that his conduct regarding the Plame case gives me pause as well – he has an unfortunate tendency to shoot first and ask questions later (witness his possible premature indictment and corresponding press conference of Gov. Blago for further evidence).
But here’s the thing – because he goes after scalps like a big – game hunter, he’s not likely to flinch when powerful men come into his sights. This is not for the timid, and he’s never been accused of that trait. Going after folks like the former Gov. Ryan and now Blago means he went after the powerful Illinois Combine, despite the best efforts from the top politicos in both parties to stop him.
Dmac (a964d5) — 11/20/2009 @ 9:06 amThis whole thing is so amazing to watch unfold. Brietbart’s hypothesis – ACORN are unethical criminals – is proven by office after office cooperating with the worst possible thing they could think of (underage prostitution). I wouldn’t believe it if I didn’t see it. Honestly, the only thing worse would be Labor Unions helping them to dig graves for murder victims. This has to break mainstream at some point, no?
carlitos (1d21c9) — 11/20/2009 @ 9:28 amI also worry about Andrew but he has been very public and the evidence (the video) is so compelling that Holder and Obama would be risking a revolution if they went after him publicly. It does add to the pressure building for next year.
Mike K (2cf494) — 11/20/2009 @ 9:34 amMight Breitbart risk some form of ‘blackmail/illegal coercion’ criminal charge if he phrases it as “Investigate it or else …” ?
Alasdair (6754c5) — 11/20/2009 @ 9:41 amI agree with your point, Dmac, but he could have gone after “Big Game” showing that Plame wasn’t under cover and worthy of protection to begin with, that she was involved in the inappropriate sending of her husband, that Wilson’s goal was to discredit the Bush admin more than to find impartial evidence (as shown in his report misinterpreting what he found).
In terms of the safety of these folks, in one way I am concerned (as I posted earlier), but it is a little late I think to “just do them off”. First, it would virtually have to (inspite of MSM feet-dragging) bring more attention to the situation at this point, and the “Terrific Trio” have demonstrated they should not be underestimated in what ammo they have yet to deploy. All that said, I expect there are people somewhere trying to think of how to make their lives difficult so as to put them on the sidelines and keep quiet.
MD in Philly (227f9c) — 11/20/2009 @ 9:50 amBetween Breitbart, the hacker who got into the CRU in the UK and seems to have turned up massive AGW scientific fraud, The Won’s failed Asian trip and growing recognition that Obamacare will be an economic disaster this just isn’t turning out to be a good week for the Progressive/Left. Sucks to be dishonest, I guess.
MikeD (b0921b) — 11/20/2009 @ 10:27 am–Alasdair:
What Breitbart is engaged in is exactly the opposite of extortion — a demand to be given that to which one is not entitled — in that Breitbart (as well as everyone else) is fully entitled to have a public official do his job, or face the consequences of having been seen to willfully fail to do his job.
Of course, Holder et al will see this as worse than extortion. After all, you can pay off a blackmailer with money — but the only coin Breitbart will accept is a showing of honor and integrity in office from the man who previously worked to pardon Mark Rich. Talk about a low blow…
porkopolitan (d0f530) — 11/20/2009 @ 10:47 amThat is just absolutely sick. kidnapping and forcing young girls to prostitute themselves is absolutely evil. Why isn ‘t this front page news?Why are not the police investigating this? Acorn should be destroyed.
Todd (ffd76a) — 11/20/2009 @ 10:48 amBad move Breitbart. AG Holder will confiscate all your tapes and documentations, and gag you. He’ll slap you with an obstruction of justice if you dare show up at Fox again.
ic (9fb8f6) — 11/20/2009 @ 10:49 amic,
The only justification I can think of for confiscating the tapes and documentation would be for evidence in an investigation. Since that is what Breitbart is demanding, there is no problem. A gag order by a judge would cover the evidence not already released publicly, but discussion of what has been released, as well as further demands for information on the status of any investigation, wouldn’t be covered. IANAL, so that’s a layman’s take on it.
Stashiu3 (44da70) — 11/20/2009 @ 11:04 amThat’s pretty awesome on Breitbart’s part – it’ll be interesting to see if Holder does anything. I doubt it, but who knows? Sometimes a credible threat pays off…
Leviticus (30ac20) — 11/20/2009 @ 11:14 amI can’t say.
I have to tell the truth.
Were I the person on any of these video’s it wouldn’t consist of a discussion, it would be a physical assault.
HOWEVER!
If I were a more politic person, I would throw out a lot of BS and try to insinuate my meaning through various human gestures. In this video, I see stewart sorta kinda doing that. The big eyes, and rolling, lack of eye contact.
I wouldn’t say fear of an individual, but rather fear of a subject, so MAYBE she was just playing along for some daytime entertainment. I see a lot of markers of someone uncomfortable with the discussion.
That doesn’t mean she’s innocent, or not guilty. She’s definitely guilty of lying through her teeth to the LA times “reporter” guy, and it doesn’t mean that she didn’t, at the very least, exercise a horrendous lack of judgment (if she had innocent intentions.) Because, I would have, at the very least, contacted authorities after spreading out half an hour of BS to these people.
The thing I find most striking about this particular video.
In all of the other vid’s James is very passive and soft spoken, trying to talk around the crime he’s working at establishing, but in this one, he’s more forthright and dominant, much more into character than the others, and there isn’t a breath missed by stewart.
Like I said, I’m very good at BS, and James is really getting into the character and much better at selling it in this vid.
Douglas (2c3ce5) — 11/20/2009 @ 11:18 amSo if Breitbart has tapes of other organizations than ACORN, who did those?
Richard Aubrey (a9ba34) — 11/20/2009 @ 11:39 amDo O’Keefe and Giles ever sleep? Do they have a trailer with props and costumes? Can they pretend to be middle-aged junkies? Ponzi-scammers from Nigeria? Grafting local bureaucrats in charge of local street repair contracting? Street repair firm owners offering bribes?
No, probably not.
So that means somebody else, or several somebody elses is doing this stuff.
That’s a BIG thought.
So much crime, so little time.
AD - RtR/OS! (83330d) — 11/20/2009 @ 11:49 amIf I were Breitbart, I’d release the tapes anyway. Once released to Holder, they may develop some strategic 18-minute gaps, you know?
Patricia (b05e7f) — 11/20/2009 @ 11:50 amKind of hard to destroy this kind of digital evidence. You make a couple 3 hundred copies and give ONE (incomplete) set to the government for the investigation.
They can NEVER be sure of what you have if you don’t give it all away.
Dr. K (eca563) — 11/20/2009 @ 12:03 pmDo O’Keefe and Giles ever sleep?
They are masters of disguise. Giles is actually a 35 yo man with tattoos who lifts weights, and O’Keefe is his 65 yo overweight mother.
MD in Philly (227f9c) — 11/20/2009 @ 12:15 pmWhile Christians believe in the Tri-une God, Democrats are shrinking in fear from this 3 headed devil. (Breitbart, Giles, and O’Keefe)
PCD (1d8b6d) — 11/20/2009 @ 12:19 pmAnyone up for bets that Holder will step down?
Audacity (2fd5ad) — 11/20/2009 @ 12:24 pmThe astonishing part of this that impresses me is the fact that they look like a couple of Mormon kids on a mission dressed in second hand clothes. They are NOT in very good disguises but the ACORNers buy right into the scenario. These are not mental giants staffing the ACORN offices. And the lefties think conservatives are dumb !
MIke K (2cf494) — 11/20/2009 @ 12:30 pmHolder should have stepped down rather than answer Lindsey Graham the other night…. start coughing and say he’s been fighting off the H1N1.
SteveG (97b6b9) — 11/20/2009 @ 12:32 pmInstead he made Alberto Gonzales look like a legal wizard… I mean really? You have no protocol in place for how to handle bin Laden if for example he was being captured as we speak?
Idiot.
Most intelligent Presidential administration ever….
[…] Patterico: “I also like O’Keefe’s statement that the L.A. Times sent him an e-mail regarding Lavelle Stewart — the woman who offered her help in enabling Giles and O’Keefe’s underage prostitution ring — asking what, if anything, she did wrong.” […]
Andrew Breitbart Offers a Deal. | Little Miss Attila (62389c) — 11/20/2009 @ 12:40 pmMore videos of Hannah Giles, please … She is teh hawt.
JD (d8f31c) — 11/20/2009 @ 1:02 pmGod Bless you Breitbart. Just a thought. I have been teaching handgun classes for some time. YOU NEED TO GET A PERMIT AND GET ONE! I can think of no better example of the 2nd amendment protecting the average American from a tyrannical govt. Oh yeah, are you in New York? You can only get a permit after really jumping through hoops. Better idea: Breitbart moves to Texas. At least here the average person can protect themselves. Watch your back buddy!
JOEINTEXAS (7344d9) — 11/20/2009 @ 2:47 pmJoe, Patterico is in California; he’s mentioned before he works for the Los Angeles County DA’s office.
Andy (b63f79) — 11/20/2009 @ 2:58 pmWho knows, perhaps Mr Breitbart is bluffing about having many more damaging tapes, but when people have tried to call his bluff before, it turned out that he wasn’t bluffing. 🙂
Of course, there are two points to be made here: if he does have the tapes, he will use them just before the 2010 elections, whether Eric Holder investigates ACORN or not; and if the Attorney General thinks Mr Breitbart is serious, he’ll subpoena everything he has, to get those damaging tapes out there much sooner — if they can’t be suppressed — to minimize their impact on the 2010 election.
The amused Dana (474dfc) — 11/20/2009 @ 5:10 pmWasn’t all of this investigative and digital commando stuff what our friends on the left thought was their weapon against us evil reich-wingers? 🙂
The sarcastic Dana (474dfc) — 11/20/2009 @ 5:14 pm“Who is going to investigate them? IMO, 90 percent or more of the elected officials owe their soul to ACORN.”
Even Hoffman in NY23 has jumped on the ACORN bandwagon.
[note: fished from spam filter. –Stashiu]
imdw (842182) — 11/20/2009 @ 5:16 pmI hear Breitbart like’s the Dirty Harry character, “Go ahead, make my day, punk.”
In my opinion, to think Breitbart is bluffing is akin to thinking Namath was crazy when he predicted beating the Colts, or that Ruth was being uppity when he pointed to the stands.
MD in Philly (227f9c) — 11/20/2009 @ 5:19 pmThe truth is this government (dems) want a society of one third on the dole, one third the government managing them and the rest, the minority, the producers.
tessa (3d98ed) — 11/20/2009 @ 6:15 pmI think what breitbart has done in exposing Acorn is too wonderful. However if anyone has been reading about Chicago, 3 people have died mysteriously- murdered/? suicide because they may have been going to blow the whistle on dirty dealing. Those tapes need to be lodged in a safe place with copies(several ) lodged elsewhere.The Obamaites use the Black Panthers,Acorn thugs and SEIU to do their dirty work.I just don’t trust the Obama machine.They are a ruthless bunch of thugs.
charlotte (fc1c75) — 11/20/2009 @ 11:59 pm#47, charlotte, Obama’s graduated to the big leagues, his previous collection of enforcers and street thugs are mostly relegated to state and local duties now where their lack of nuance won’t bring discredit or reflect unfavorably on Obama’s carefully manufactured image.
But, not to worry, now he’s got the SS, DoJ, IRS, FBI, CIA, MI, and many others on the payroll to make sure his policies are enforced quickly and without undue interference or unnecessary distraction from pesky voters, or noisy teabaggers.
Nixon set up his own band of helpful associates in the White House, the “Plumbers.” If Obama wants to follow in Tricky Dick’s shoes, being from Chicago, Obama can call his goon squad the “Butchers.”
ropelight (962db0) — 11/21/2009 @ 8:04 amACORN is a perfect metaphor for the type of sloppy politics and extremely dumbed-down ethics and standards that pervade urban America, so-called inner-city America in particular.
Limousine liberals throughout the US (Hi, James Rainey!) should be required — no, make that forced — to live in the middle of the kind of muck they tolerate, if not encourage, time and time again.
Speaking of limousine liberals, I’m aware of one of them who I heard castigating Arnold Schwarzenegger (yep, squishy, ideologically ambiguous Schwarzenegger) a few days ago for creating hardships on the public school system in California by not opening the spigot of the tax-and-spend valve. Of course, surprise, surprise, this LL sends his own kids to a private school. He also has excoriated George Bush in the past for running up the deficit. Now with Obama in office? Not a peep.
The phoniness, idiocy and disengenuity of the left is quite a sight to behold.
Mark (411533) — 11/21/2009 @ 10:38 amTo borrow from the almond-growers’ co-op in the previously productive agricultural paradise known as CA’s San Joaquin Valley re the tapes, and holding them for the next election cycle:
Just one a week, that’s all we ask!
AD - RtR/OS! (444f28) — 11/21/2009 @ 12:53 pmBreitbart is firing back.
http://biggovernment.com/2009/11/21/thanks-for-paying-attention/
If Rainey, and the rest of the “Lame Stream” media do not want to do their jobs or be propagandists for the Democrap party, Breitbart is going to take them down!
PCD (74f8a9) — 11/22/2009 @ 6:22 am[…] Breitbart appeared on Hannity and slammed Rainey for his slippery treatment of the scandal. […]
Patterico's Pontifications » Patterico’s Los Angeles Dog Trainer Year in Review 2009 (e4ab32) — 1/1/2010 @ 11:08 am