MnINdy:
ACORN — the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now — called out Rep. Michele Bachmann on Thursday for falsely claiming that the group was under federal indictment for voter fraud.
The group raised the issue in a statement criticizing Bachmann’s opposition to foreclosure relief, and citing the Minnesota Independent’s report that Bachmann’s district has the state’s highest rate of foreclosures.
On Wednesday, the House Financial Services Committee passed an amendment Bachmann offered to the Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending Act, which would ban groups facing federal indictment for voter fraud from receiving federal foreclosure relief funds.
Bachmann praised the passage of her amendment, writing, “Before we commit anymore taxpayers’ dollars, I want to ensure that organizations, such as ACORN, are prohibited from receiving funds while simultaneously facing charges of voter fraud and tax violations. Although I do not support the underlying legislation, I am pleased that the Committee took these measures to provide some layer of protection for taxpayers.”
But ACORN says they haven’t been indicted. “The truth is, no criminal charges related to voter registration have ever been brought against ACORN, its leadership, or partner organizations,” the group said in a statement.
ACORN further criticized Bachmann for indicating that she would vote against the bill that bears her amendment, saying that her district has the highest number of foreclosures in the state.
Barney Frank isn't happy about Bachmann's amendment:
The measure, offered as an amendment by Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., would bar people or organizations indicted on allegations of voter fraud from receiving federal housing counseling and legal assistance grants.
"I made a mistake yesterday in not objecting to the Bachmann amendment. I did not read it carefully, and it was in the last minute that the amendment was accepted. It is a deeply flawed amendment and I am opposed to it," Frank said in a statement Thursday.
The amendment passed Frank's committee Wednesday. Frank said he would offer a "corrected amendment" on the floor when the mortgage lending legislation is considered by the House next week. He argued the amendment would violate basic principles of due process.
Bachmann goes all bat-guano in response to Barney Frank on her blog:
Later that day, Chairman Frank said he had reservations about my amendment and would discuss them with me. His staff approached mine with specific changes he would like to make -- changes which eviscerate the meaning of the amendment and were clearly not acceptable. Again, this was puzzling given that it is identical to the language Chairman Frank included in HERA just last year.
Their changes include: Raising the bar from indictment to conviction to preclude an organization from getting taxpayer dollars, limiting the time the ban is in effect, and applying the standard to only senior employees. We're talking about giving tax dollars to organizations that could be mixed up in criminal actions. Are we expected to keep forking over tax dollars to these organization when they're under the cloud of suspicion of a public criminal indictment?
Who's side are we on: The taxpayer or ACORN's?
If nothing else, this shows us just how much influence ACORN and others have over Chairman Frank and the Democrat party. Your tax dollars are being abused.
"... tax dollars to organizations that could be mixed up in criminal actions." Hmm..... so, according to Bachmann, organizations merely "mixed up" with criminals or possible criminal activity cannot receive Federal $$$.... what about an elected official who wrote a pardon letter for a convicted money launderer "mixed up" with the Petters fraud investigation?. Should Bachmann be receiving Federal $$$?
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