Maryland may charge ACORN video-makers, State's Prosecutor heads anti-child abuse group UPDATED!
By: Mark Tapscott
Editorial Page Editor
09/12/09 7:56 AM EDT
James O'Keefe, the intrepid filmmaker who teamed with National Journalism Center intern Hannah Giles in the ACORN video sting, now faces the prospect of being prosecuted by the Baltimore City State's Attorney for violating a Maryland that makes it illegal to tape an individual without their prior permission.
If he is convicted, O'Keefe could spend five years in the Maryland State Prison. Yes, you read that right. Here's the complete statement issued late yesterday by the prosecutor, Patricia Jessamy:
"Baltimore, MD – September 11, 2009 – We have received inquiries from citizens and the media asking whether the Baltimore City State’s Attorneys Office would initiate a criminal investigation for acts allegedly committed at ACORN offices located in Baltimore. The only information received in reference to this alleged criminal behavior was a YouTube video. Upon review by this office, the video appears to be incomplete. In addition, the audio portion could possibly have been obtained in violation of Maryland Law, Annotated Code of Maryland Courts and Judicial Proceedings Article §10-402, which requires two party consent.
"If it is determined that the audio portion now being heard on YouTube was illegally obtained, it is also illegal under Maryland Law to willfully use or willfully disclose the content of said audio. The penalty for the unlawful interception, disclosure or use of it is a felony punishable up to five years.”
Jessamy, a Democrat, was appointed to the State's Prosecutor position in 1995 and has since been re-elected to the job three times. Among the items listed on Jessamy's
extensive resume of accomplishments is that she is president of the
Baltimore Child Abuse Center. She also lists her prior membership on the Governor's Council on Child Abuse and Neglect from 1995 to 1998!
Let's be clear about what is happening here: O'Keefe and Giles dressed up as a pimp and prostitute and walked into the Baltimore ACORN office seeking "tax advice" for a brothel that would include the use of 13-year-old sex slaves from San Salvador. Two ACORN advisers happily provided all kinds of advice about how to deceive federal and state tax authorities about the true nature of the "business," and how to insure that the prostitutes "keep their mouths shut."
In other words, two ACORN employees appear to have voluntarily become accessories to multiple federal, state and local crimes, including child abuse, interstate transportation for purposes of prostitution, tax evasion, and immigration law violations. The two ACORN employees may also have thus provided hard evidence that their employer should be prosecuted as a criminal enterprise under the RICO statutes.
And the Baltimore City State's Attorney may prosecute the two people responsible for exposing this heinous operation!
If any of this sounds vaguely familiar, it should because back in the Clinton days, the Maryland State's Prosecutor prosecuted Linda Tripp for recording Monica Lewinsky's description of her sexual encounter with President Bill Clinton. And, as the Baltimore blog
Inside Charm City noted, this particular ACORN office has previously been in hot water for apparent illegal activities.
Reasonable people can disagree about the importance of the Lewinsky matter, but nobody can deny that O'Keefe and Giles have exposed multiple serious felonies involving sex slavery, child abuse, and federal tax evasion.
And by the way, O'Keefe and Giles did the same sting on the Washington, D.C. ACORN office. You can watch the videos of both sting operations
here on the BigGovernment.com web site. BigGovernment.com is the product of the fertile mind of Andrew Breitbart.
If this doesn't cause a storm of protests in Baltimore, Annapolis and Washington, D.C., nothing will. If you would like to suggest an "alternative course of action" to Jessamy, her Baltimore office can be reached via telephone at 410-396-4001 or via email at
mail@stattorney.org.
UPDATE: Jessamy ignored prior 'underground' video reporting
An eagle-eyed Hot Air reader notes that
Jessamy did nothing in recent years when two Baltimore media outlets used the same hidden camera technique to after stories that ultimately won professional plaudits from journalism colleagues. And in the same post, Hot Air's Ed Morrissey points to the substantial evidence of Jessamy's intensely partisan approach to the duties of her office.
Having lived in Maryland for more than a decade and covered politics at the local and state levels here, nothing about this story surprises me. Maryland is a one-party state that is effectively controlled by the Democrats, and nowhere more so than in Baltimore City. As with any monopoly, the result is always abuse of office, corruption and hypocrisy.
