O’Keefe: “The truth shall set me free”
posted at 8:38 pm on January 26, 2010 by Allahpundit
The boss is skeptical, as am I. Remember when I said earlier that their defense would likely be that they never really intended to tap any phones but were simply trying to show how easy it would be to do so? Well, er…
An official close to the investigation said one of the four was arrested with a listening device in a car blocks from the senator’s offices. He spoke on condition of anonymity because that information was not included in official arresting documents…
ACORN spokesman Kevin Whelan said the arrest calls O’Keefe’s credibility into question, and used the opportunity to point out that he “edited (ACORN videos) to make things look as bad as possible.” He said, for instance, that O’Keefe actually wore a normal dress shirt when he was in the ACORN offices, but spliced in shots of him dressed as a pimp in the final videos.
O’Keefe, Flanagan, and Basel were all inside the building, according to the FBI affidavit, so the one with the listening device must have been Dai. Hugh Hewitt interviewed Breitbart about the arrests this afternoon, and while AB is crystal clear about that he didn’t know any of the other three men involved or what O’Keefe was up to, it’s less clear what the employment relation between them is.
AB: When the story came to us, what I wanted to do was to make sure that the ACORN story got as much widespread dissemination as humanly possible. The videos that he independently produced went on YouTube. And so Huffington Post, every single site put it out there, including my sites. What he does for the site exclusively is he tells his life rights, basically. So when he puts a story out there, it’s on the Brietbart sites, the Big sites, that he can tell people what transpired. So…
HH: Do you pay him for that?
AB: Yes.
HH: And are you free to tell me how much you pay him?
AB: I’ll…perhaps at another date, but he’s paid a fair salary.
HH: Is he…so he is an employee?
AB: I’m not sure that’s technically the thing, but yes, he’s paid for his life rights. And he’s, you know, he’s still…we reserve the right to say yes or no to any of the stories that he puts up on our site as we do to any other contributor who comes to the site.
It sounds like he’s an independent contractor, not an employee. Any criminal lawyers want to weigh in on whether and how employment status might affect potential criminal liability? Anyone? Patterico? Bueller?
Update: Re: the “listening device,” it’s possible that it was linked up to a mic on O’Keefe or one of the two fake repairmen, not to some bug that was meant to be planted in Landrieu’s phone. But it’s potentially important evidence, needless to say.
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A lesson to one and all. Did you think the left, ACORN, Obama/minions would slink off into the night with tails between legs? You are being watched, recorded, followed and you will be stopped. This is no game. This isn’t mini-CIA time. Check your houses, vehicles, persons, friends, relatives. You are under attack. Don’t ever forget it.
Mae on January 26, 2010 at 11:36 PM
I’m sorry, I’m not up on my Jabberwocky.
selias on January 26, 2010 at 11:39 PM
Interrogated or told what to say to the press when released?
But yeah, if he was the target, then O’Keefe spent a worse under the lights (minus the self inflicted small appendage damage) than a man who tried to kill 300+ people.
journeyintothewhirlwind on January 26, 2010 at 11:44 PM
insert – night-
worse night under the lights
journeyintothewhirlwind on January 26, 2010 at 11:46 PM
nothing I say can do this justice………
‘passed the limit of normal about five miles back’ is a good line, though: You probably plagiarized it.
Janos Hunyadi on January 26, 2010 at 11:47 PM
Rather difficult to discern exactly what is going on here. I’d like to see Breitbart man up and give the kid some public support. Regardless of what he’s done in the past, if he truly intended what they allege and they can prove it he should pay the price. Only a progressive would give him a lifetime pass just because he was once on the side of the angels.
If everyone involved is honest and fearless, giving the kid some support might be the best thing. If he doesn’t get that support, young people who might be considering doing something along the lines of what O’Keefe did with ACORN would be less likely to take many chances if it becomes obvious that a head fake from Holder’s FBI can render you very alone and very out in the rain. Also, if the kid is truly a criminal, support from the conservative community coupled with encouragement to accept responsibility for his actions can only be a win win. Also Breitbart’s involvement would tend to increase public awareness of the ACORN scandal that they seem to have pretty much walked away from so far.
If the conservative movement cannot give the same understanding and support (coupled with major encourage of honesty and responsibility) that lefties give freely to any cop killer, then our time probably has not yet come.
snaggletoothie on January 26, 2010 at 11:47 PM
As I said before. He did great with the ACORN thing. But then, nobody knew who he was. You don’t go around stinging and pinching the Obama family and expect to remain a nobody. If Obama has lists, O’Keefe had to be on one.
JellyToast on January 26, 2010 at 11:52 PM
well, if that is true, Okeefe should derive comfort in the fact that everything BO touches lately, fails.
bloggless on January 26, 2010 at 11:54 PM
Good point….
…..I went over to CNN and it is on their front page top story under “Politics”…..
…….MSNBC has it on their front page.
………….ABC has it on their front page.
Look at these excerpts from the ABC story (that states “conservative” about 20+ times through the article and I only saw the word liberal about 2 times):
….that should be the “liberal group ACORN”…..
Having a group like ACORN that has been responsible for hundreds of thousands of attempts at voter fraud (bogus voter registration)….aiding and abetting prostitution and child sex rings…….aiding and abetting tax fraud….
…………to have them whine about “disregarding the law and extremism” goes beyond irony right into insanity.
…..AWWWWWWWWWWWW……..
……………Those mean ol’ Republicans trying to stop the poor wittle innocent ACORN from signing up people in the “poor and urban” areas………..
…………….UGGHHHHHHHH!!!!
…………give me a break with this liberal drivel.
This is the type of activist writing that has driven away the American people from the press in droves.
Even though they do mention the charges later…..it is obvious in this writing that they are presenting the “conservatives” as corrupt and trying to shut down the ability of people to vote.
ACORN’s massive corruption is mentioned in one small paragraph as “alleged” offensives.
We have massive amounts of video tape (a lot of it uncut)showing ACORN workers across the Nation promoting tax fraud,pedophilia/child sex rings,and prostitution.
The fact that some letter of the law might prohibit this type of reporting concerning taping conversations does not absolve the fact that this is not “he said/she said”,these are the words coming right out of these people’s mouths,right on film,most of it uncut.
Unless ACORN or their liberal supporters can prove that O’keefe “forced them to say these things” or was able to splice film so well that he put the words in their mouths himself…..I don’t see how this latest incident “vindicates” ACORN at all.
…
Baxter Greene on January 27, 2010 at 12:00 AM
You’ve summarized it about as well as the ‘story’ could be summed up: The bias, the selective reporting, the slanted editing, the hysterical hype: The Whole Package from the usual suspects.
If ACORN antics were reported to the same extent–actual content of wrongdoing for actual content of wrongdoing–ACORN would have most of its execs in orange jump suits by now and would have been broken up with its offices raided nationwide.
Janos Hunyadi on January 27, 2010 at 12:08 AM
Dam# right….
………..welcome to Pravda West!!!
Baxter Greene on January 27, 2010 at 12:10 AM
OT
The news item about the security guy for Davos-World Economic Forum committing suicide has me wondering:
How is the Interpol Chief elected/chosen etc? Would this WEF have any say in that? I just have been wondering since Obama’s Presidential Order about how Interpol will be allowed to operate in the US differently than before what might be happen down the river.
Of if this could be fallout from Obama pushing the Swiss to expose Americans bank accounts that are there.
Anyone know?
Sorry, this is just my nature to be inquisitive.
journeyintothewhirlwind on January 27, 2010 at 12:24 AM
Landrieu needs to be looked at with a fine toothed comb, NOW.
If it comes out O’Keefe hasn’t done anything wrong then even more pressure needs to be put upon the MSM and anyone involved in prosecuting him. Dems are running scared and this is the time to go in for the kill.
Could I be wrong about O’Keefe and he just screwed up monumentally? Yup, but I don’t think I am.
It doesn’t make sense, considering the amount of time he and Hanna had to put into planning the ACORN sting BEFORE they even started, that he would be careless.
Considering the guys that were with him, there had to be more calculation involved. He didn’t exactly recruit people off of Craigs list.
GoodBoy on January 27, 2010 at 12:27 AM
OT- davos security guy- drudge
I know suicides happen that aren’t politically motivated. But the article doesn’t say anything about being fired, being under investigation, being recently divorced or anything like that. Just have seen a couple in Chicago who have committed suicide recently and I am sure I have missed others that make me wonder.
journeyintothewhirlwind on January 27, 2010 at 12:37 AM
Landrieu got into the Senate on a VERY NOLA election where the dead rose to vote and the living voted several times.
The Senate, which had a R majority at the time, could have wrung her through hearings and FBI investigations, but they gave her the seat. With the media approving, the whole matter quickly died
It can be re-visited with a Special Prosecutor…..
Janos Hunyadi on January 27, 2010 at 12:45 AM
So… this was a set-up?
YYZ on January 27, 2010 at 12:46 AM
A lesson to one and all. Did you think the left, ACORN, Obama/minions would slink off into the night with tails between legs? You are being watched, recorded, followed and you will be stopped. This is no game. This isn’t mini-CIA time. Check your houses, vehicles, persons, friends, relatives. You are under attack. Don’t ever forget it.
Mae on January 26, 2010 at 11:36 PM
Don’t leave your house without your tinfoil hat Mae.
rjl1999 on January 27, 2010 at 12:53 AM
The laws on such a crime need to be changed anyway now due to the technology out there, if someone has a camera phone on while talking to someone are they under the same laws as someone with a hidden bug? What if you just have your cell phone on your pocket while talking to someone, others can hear on the other end, so is that a crime?
I’m sure O’Keefe might be trying to be a good journalist, which we so lack in this world, but he might have screwed the pooch here. Even the slightest bit of criminal activity is going to be used to discredit all the good he has done. If it was one person with a mic this may not be a problem, but add in the fake telephone repair men, even if they weren’t doing anything wrong, and you have a conspiracy to commit case, I’d assume.
Rbastid on January 27, 2010 at 1:45 AM
The thing is….does O’Keefe have anything recorded?
Do the Libs want it exposed in a show trial?
Does he have anything on Video?
Was this all a set up?
Will O’Keefe’s information be put on the internet if
anything happens to him?
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
dec5 on January 27, 2010 at 2:29 AM
Tinfoil. LOL!
And not only that, I think Tim Tebow’s ad is a beautiful thing.
Mae on January 27, 2010 at 2:54 AM
It will be thrown out – first the guy with the mic was outside the building so its a state matter – and in Louisiana – you can record someone without their permission
EricPWJohnson on January 27, 2010 at 4:11 AM
Truth? By the time CNN, MSNBC et al. are done, this will exonerate the Rosenberg atomic spies and prove Stalin wasn’t so bad after all. If he is lucky, he will not be charged with killing Nicole Simpson.
One interesting thing is how widely this is being used to attack conservative sources, ‘Utube’ and blogging on the web. Fox and the internet have broken the lib monopoly on information (propaganda) and having a poster child for trusting the somber old sources over the new renegades is priceless for them.
IlikedAUH2O on January 27, 2010 at 5:16 AM
Count on that, and you can probably count on the fact that we are on it too.
conservnut on January 27, 2010 at 6:30 AM
OK, my computer program ran overnight trying to sort this out.
***Frame job- 89% probability***.
***ACORN involvement- 75% probability***.
***Colonel Mustard- 64% probability***
What the deuce???
Gotta work out some bugs.
justltl on January 27, 2010 at 7:31 AM
The big question is: Is Breitbart acting as assignment editor? I think Breitbart is way too smart to send O’Keefe out on an amateurish mission like this.
Buy Danish on January 27, 2010 at 7:42 AM
How does the opinion of a spokesman for ACORN have any relevance. If anything they have an axe to grind because of all the slush funds that were harmed after being caught abetting human traffiking.
highhopes on January 27, 2010 at 7:53 AM
Patterico has an interesting link on his site about a protest outside of Landrieu’s office Tuesday. Many of the people saying that they could not get through to her office as the phones were busy and her office saying that the phones had been jammed for weeks. Hummmmm
yakwill83 on January 27, 2010 at 8:05 AM
Too bad. I thought this young guy had a really good future.
AnninCA on January 27, 2010 at 8:43 AM
I still say this makes no sense.Some thing is not right here.
thmcbb on January 27, 2010 at 9:00 AM
I can only pray that the facts of the situation are not as bleak as they look right now.
SC.Charlie on January 27, 2010 at 9:28 AM
If the kid was trying to prove a point, like how easy it was to “bug” a Senator’s office, then his operation failed. Probably not from the fact that the office is secure, but because they are amateurs. The law, as I read it, is a broad one and will not stand up to the goof they pulled unless Holder wants to make an example of them. One of the kids was the son of a federal prosecutor, so what is the chance anyone goes to jail? Not that high in reality.
This sounds like a college type prank gone awry. It will be interesting to see what the goal was and if in a roundabout way if it was met.
archer52 on January 27, 2010 at 9:46 AM
O’Keefe’s not stupid enough to let himself be snookered by the Democrats and ACORN. He knows how vicious and vindictive they are.
Cybergeezer on January 27, 2010 at 9:46 AM
“Truth? By the time CNN, MSNBC et al. are done, this will exonerate the Rosenberg atomic spies and prove Stalin wasn’t so bad after all.”
They have already done this.
davod on January 27, 2010 at 11:29 AM
THIS IS A WITCH HUNT PEOPLE, I AM AMAZED THAT HOTAIR IS SO QUICK TO JUMP ON THE MSM BANDWAGON THAT HE PROBABLY DID SOMETHING WRONG. WE HAVE TO STADN BY THIS GUY, THIS WAS OBVIOUSLY A REVENGE THING!!!!
immigrantchick on January 27, 2010 at 11:45 AM
The Times-Picayune has not posted the full FBI affidavit, but the details they have are damning. This is neither a time to joke nor a time to recklessly accuse Democrats/liberals of setting this up — nor a time to whine about media coverage double standards. Deal with what’s on the table.
orange on January 27, 2010 at 12:15 PM
http://biggovernment.com/2010/01/26/wait-until-the-facts-are-in/
Michelle and AllahP take note…..
Jed1899 on January 27, 2010 at 12:37 PM
MSM lackeys.
Jed1899 on January 27, 2010 at 12:38 PM
Michelle might could want to change this………..
Jed1899 on January 27, 2010 at 1:20 PM
Ha ha ha ha ha it must be so annoying for Hotair people to have to watch the other networks for coverage of their boy Okeefe since Fox is predictably not touching the story with a ten foot pole.
Dave Rywall on January 27, 2010 at 1:35 PM
Fox had it on this morning. Troll.
Jed1899 on January 27, 2010 at 1:40 PM
This picture of O’Keefe looks strikingly like Lee Harvey Oswald.
Just sayin’.
portlandon on January 27, 2010 at 1:44 PM
That is incorrect. They are, in fact, nudging it with a ten-foot pole.
orange on January 27, 2010 at 1:44 PM
That is incorrect. They are, in fact, nudging it with a ten-foot pole.
orange on January 27, 2010 at 1:44 PM
——–
ha ha ha barely.
Anyways, you guys need to take your lumps on this and it’ll all blow over in a few weeks or so.
Dave Rywall on January 27, 2010 at 1:54 PM
Hi, Uncle Red!
I hate to rain on your masturbatory parade, but Faux News posted a lengthy story about this yesterday, complete with the pdf.
And even Media Matters was forced to admit that Greta covered the story on her show last night.
Del Dolemonte on January 27, 2010 at 1:56 PM
Not according to Soros’ website
http://clips.mediamatters.org/mmtv/201001260069
Del Dolemonte on January 27, 2010 at 1:58 PM
How original. You cut and pasted this exact same response to one of the other threads here.
Nice to see that you have already determined these guys guilty. That’s the Democrat way!
Del Dolemonte on January 27, 2010 at 2:01 PM
But that quote wasn’t actually from me. It was from Michelle Malkin. I guess she’s a Democrat now?
orange on January 27, 2010 at 2:07 PM
I’m not sure how that disproves what I said. I agreed that it did get mentioned on Fox. Are you saying that a segment that’s less than one minute long is in-depth coverage?
orange on January 27, 2010 at 2:09 PM
The difference in coverage is that Fox isn’t trying to convict him before the facts are in.
I guess it could be like when we heard crickets chirping from other stations when O’Keefe’s ACORN videos came out.
GoodBoy on January 27, 2010 at 2:22 PM
So maybe they went in to simply prove there was nothing wrong with her phones and that Landrieu’s office had deliberately tied their own phones up or taken them off the hook?
Connie on January 27, 2010 at 2:33 PM
K-Lo reports from NRO’s “The Corner”:
onlineanalyst on January 27, 2010 at 2:33 PM
Showing how easy it would be to tap phones in a Senate office? That seems lame to me. I think there’s something else here. Who knows.
Someone should check the clothes in the tapes. It didn’t look spliced to me. I think the burden of proof for that is on ACORN.
I also think that we should remember who is David and who is Goliath in this situation. All the power and the propaganda power is in the government hands. So I take whatever they say with a grain of salt.
petunia on January 27, 2010 at 2:54 PM
At what age is a person no longer a kid? O’Keefe is 26 years old – he is a man!
silvernana on January 27, 2010 at 2:54 PM
Dems are running scared and this is the time to go in for the kill.
GoodBoy on January 27, 2010 at 12:27 AM
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
I agree. We are in a prime opportunity to reveal the corruption that engulfs everything they touch, from top to bottom. The corruption is so widespread and pervasive and includes law enforcement and media. We have to hit them hard while the public is disgusted enough to hear the whole story.
http://butterdezillion.wordpress.com/2010/01/11/red-flags-in-hawaii-2/
justincase on January 27, 2010 at 2:54 PM
Hmmm. Get video of the plug? That seems pretty tame and actually harmless enough.
petunia on January 27, 2010 at 2:55 PM
yakwill83 on January 27, 2010 at 8:05 AM
There’s definitely more to this story than meets the eye. If O’Keefe was charged with entering the building “for the purpose of interfering with the office’s phone system” on the same day that there was a protest because Landrieu was saying her phones had been jammed for the last couple weeks, I’d say there’s definitely more to the story.
The first question I’d like to ask Landrieu is who’s been called in to fix the phone system in the last couple weeks…
This sounds SOOOOOO much like the crap out of the Hawaii DOH. My money’s on O’Keefe on this one.
justincase on January 27, 2010 at 3:01 PM
Whatever happened, it sounds risky. He might have anticipated that after ACORN he’d be on double-secret probation. Live and learn.
curved space on January 27, 2010 at 3:15 PM
Watchdogs are usually pretty iffy characters in life. This isn’t really all that surprising.
What idiots.
AnninCA on January 27, 2010 at 3:32 PM
So maybe they went in to simply prove there was nothing wrong with her phones and that Landrieu’s office had deliberately tied their own phones up or taken them off the hook?
Connie on January 27, 2010 at 2:33 PM
hmmmm… smart Connie… +1
max1 on January 27, 2010 at 4:12 PM
According to Mike Gundy you have to be 40.
Dominion on January 27, 2010 at 4:29 PM
So, basically, pimps in dress shirts and dockers = just fine. But Halloween pimp garb is right out.
Thanks, ACORN.
TheUnrepentantGeek on January 27, 2010 at 5:08 PM
“activist”? I don’t remember O’Keefe organizing protests or testifying before Congress. I remember him documenting conversations, kind of like a journalist does.
Was Stephen Glass a “liberal activist”?
Axeman on January 27, 2010 at 6:54 PM
As likely scenario as any, the two “repairmen” accompanying him were federal plants and the tryst a set up in which O’Keefe foolishly allowed himself to get entrapped.
According to Pelosi, the CIA and by extension the FBI lie all the time.
maverick muse on January 27, 2010 at 7:14 PM
Chuckles Johnson and his army of Blind Puppet Monkeys over at Lttle Gullible Fools, continue to not only report that O’keefe was attempting to wire tap, which is a bold face lie, but they are suggesting that he admitted to it.
ronnyraygun on January 27, 2010 at 7:38 PM
Ahhhemmm, only an idiot – during this time of terrorism – would be stupid enough to enter a Federal Bldg under false pretenses in a phony jobs costume.
AprilOrit on January 27, 2010 at 7:55 PM
What Mary Katherine Hamm wrote was hilarious, that she was imagining them dressed like the Mario Bros.
AprilOrit on January 27, 2010 at 7:57 PM
PJ Media is reporting that they were attempting to bug the offices of U..S. Senator Mary Landrieu.
AprilOrit on January 27, 2010 at 9:09 PM
Has everyone established their meme yet?
daesleeper on January 27, 2010 at 10:33 PM
Or do we need to keep posting consecutively to establish a meme?
daesleeper on January 27, 2010 at 10:33 PM
I’m not sure how to posit thoughts into the minds of others that I myself don’t believe…is this working though? I mean…I am posting a lot.
daesleeper on January 27, 2010 at 10:34 PM
“It sounds like he’s an independent contractor, not an employee. Any criminal lawyers want to weigh in on whether and how employment status might affect potential criminal liability? Anyone? Patterico? Bueller?”
I am, an no there isn’t, unless the elements of conspiracy are there, and I do see theme from this.
dean_acheson on January 28, 2010 at 10:38 AM
Do NOT see them from this.
Sorry.
dean_acheson on January 28, 2010 at 10:38 AM
funny, I think someone who makes 11,000 comments at Huffpost in 2 years shouldn’t be calling others idiots
windansea on January 28, 2010 at 11:57 AM
AP still says the FBI has yet to charge them with anything specific. It’s been two days and they don’t know what they can charge them with?? Seems pretty vague, looking forward to more information.
EasyEight on January 28, 2010 at 1:35 PM
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