investigativevoice.com

By Stephen Janis

Former employees of the beleaguered community activist group ACORN are planning to file a criminal complaint in Baltimore against the creators of the series of videos that have spurred outrage against the organization, sources have told Investigative Voice.

The filing could come as soon as Friday afternoon, sources said.

The criminal complaint will allege that recordings of the group’s employees giving advice on how to evade taxes and house underage South American sex workers to journalists posing as a pimp and prostitute were obtained illegally.

The criminal complaint is expected to name both James O’Keefe, 25, and Hannah Giles, 20, along with the owner of the website Breitbart, which initially released the videos.

ACORN is also contemplating a civil suit seeking an injunction against O'Keefe and Giles to prevent them from distributing the videos, according to an an email.

The pair, posed as a pimp and prostitute visiting ACORN offices around the country, duping employees of the tenant’s rights organization into giving advice on how to avoid paying taxes on illicit earnings from underage prostitutes. The duo also sought and received counsel on how to claim the underage sex workers as dependents while keeping their earnings.

The pair released the videos on the internet, which were subsequently broadcast on major news networks -- prompting outrage and calls for authorities to investigate employees of ACORN, an acronym for Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now.

ACORN fired the two Baltimore-based workers depicted in the video shortly after it was released.

The criminal complaints will be filed by the same two employees of Baltimore’s ACORN office shown in the first video O'Keefe and Giles released.

Maryland’s “Wiretap Act” prohibits making an audio recording of a person without their consent.

The law states that it is illegal to “willfully intercept, endeavor to intercept, or procure any other person to intercept any wire, oral, or electronic communications.” The law bars distribution of any illegally obtained recordings, a part of the statute ACORN lawyers plan to use to enjoin the videos from being distributed further.

Once a person files a criminal complaint, it is up to prosecutors to decide if charges can go forward.

Representatives of ACORN did not return calls for comment.

Since the release of a series of videos depicting ACORN employees giving advice to the duo, the group has been under fire from politicians and pundits alike.

Earlier this week, the U.S. Senate voted to ban ACORN from receiving federal funding.  Wednesday the House of Representatives adopted a similar measure.

Several member of congress, including Maryland representative Roscoe Bartlett, have called for a federal investigation into ACORN’s activities. 

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