San Diego ACORN Worker Suing 'Undercover Pimp' James O'Keefe and Pals

[kpete]

Source: OpEdNews

San Diego ACORN Worker Suing 'Undercover Pimp' James O'Keefe and Pals


By Gustav Wynn (about the author) Page 1 of 1 page(s)

For OpEdNews: Gustav Wynn - Writer

As was widely predicted across the blogosphere, a former employee at the San Diego ACORN office has brought a lawsuit against right-wing activist journalists James O'Keefe and Hannah Giles who surreptitiously taped him while posing as a pimp and a half-naked hooker seeking accomplices in the commission of crimes including prostitution, statutory rape and kidnapping.

Juan Carlos Vera was fired after O'Keefe's San Diego ACORN exposé was released. The heavily edited segment seemed to show Vera discussing the crimes agreeably, so this was called 'undercover reporting', and shown to the world in exclusives given to hyper partisan Fox TV host Sean Hannity who wholly tarred ACORN as an organization that condoned underage prostitution and human trafficking.

After informing an unprecedented vote by Congress to defund ACORN (later found unconstitutional), the whole flap was found to have been more of O'Keefe's construction than any ACORN directive. ACORN was cleared of any wrongdoing in the videos, and in particular the footage showing Vera was investigated by California Attorney General Jerry Brown who arranged a strange backroom deal with O'Keefe in exchange for access to the full unedited San Diego tapes.

Attorney GeneralBrown's office reportedly agreed not to bring criminal charges against O'Keefe and Giles for violating state privacy laws. After reviewing the tapes however, Brown concluded the tapes were "severely edited", suggesting Vera "may be able to bring a private suit".

Read more: http://www.opednews.com/articles/San-Diego-ACORN-Worker-Sui-by-Gustav-Wynn-100710-717.html

---

LAWSUIT: http://sdcitybeat.files.wordpress.com/2010/07/okeefe.pdf

[fascisthunter]

1. Excellent... I hope more do so... his family can afford it

[katandmoon]

2. Good for him! Sue those fuckers' chickenshit asses off!

[Hissyspit]

3. Good.

O'Keefe lied.

Breitbart lied.

ACORN cleared in Massachusetts, California and by the GAO.

Vera is owed LOTS of money AND his reputation.

Hope the lawyer knows to go check out the BradBlog forum for much useful information.

And to think we had DUers here defending this shit. One called O'Keefe the "Right's Michael Moore" and kept posting the O'Keefe videos saying child prostitution was indefensible.

Attacking ACORN was also a useful DEFLECTION tactic against actual ELECTION fraud, of which the GOP was guilty.
This was all planned, coordinated, and has been fairly successful. "The Big Lie" worked.

Here are Rachel Maddow's damning reports on the O'Keefe/Giles/Brietbart/Rove smear campaign tactics, tactics that were unethical, immoral, slanderous and illegal:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x377131 (video has been removed, but there is still useful information in the post)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0B0wxt3XYc

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x451243

Three independent investigations in three states found NO illegal activity with regards what was shown in the videos. A federal judge found that the defunding by Congress was unconstitutional.

This was all a big right-wing scam and MOST of the media and most of Congress (plenty of Dems) fell for it or knowingly went along with it - condemning ACORN and ACORN employees unfairly and immorally and against the better aspects of our democratic system.

[Joe Bacon]

9. Good luck, Mr. Vera!

The sad truth is this--if Mr. Vera actually wins this case, there will be a crooked Federalist Society stooge judge who will overturn it and let O'Keefe off the hook.

[DainBramaged]

16. The Reich-Wing found a way to eliminate one of the biggest voter registration sources for the Left

And the fucking press went along for the crash.

[Hissyspit]

25. Plenty of Dems did, too.

[NewJeffCT]

37. Only 7 senators voted against defunding ACORN

that was shameful.

[sabrina 1]

28. And they got help from Democrats in Congress who have yet

to apologize for what they did. Only 75 Democrats voted against the bill to defund ACORN, they all rushed to support the Republican sponsored, unconstitutional bill and handed a victory to the right.

[PinkFloyd]

35. You're right, and that's exactly why the Dems are in so much trouble.

This, among other examples, just yet again shows how the left ALWAYS lets the right control the political discussion in this country. They let them control, blow it WAY out of proportion and then supported their effort to kill acorn.

I can only imagine what the right's talking points would have been if acorn was connected to the right, instead of the left. I mean, they even defended B FUCKING P publically.

[pretzel4gore]

60. the rightwing curse...

geez i hate my country

[fasttense]

40. Yes, and they got President Obama to sign the bill into law.

He could have taken a moment and thought about it, and as a Constitutional Law Professor, he should have known the law was illegal.

Instead, President Obama went along with the RepubliCONS and signed the bill. He could have used a pocket veto or actually defended the organization that worked so hard to make sure he was in the White House.

President Obama needs to start dancing with the people who brought him and soon.

[The Wielding Truth]

44. In politics your opponent must be fought off. If not they will beat you!

[ooglymoogly]

59. +1...I have my doubts though....The pressure to go along to

get along, under the guise of pragmatism, is very strong even on this site. Pragmatism in supporting bad even treasonous policy is a slow march into the dust bin of history and the death of the Democratic party....it is already unrecognizable, The end justifies the means and all that claptrap, when in truth the means become the end. I will be drummed off this site before I will bend over for such a stupid, short sited policy that is trashing our party and our constitution. Just tired of being screwed by those who claim to be our friends but who in fact, are not. I will vote accordingly...but I will vote for the best interests of a democratic party that adheres to our principles and that adheres to the constitution that has brought this country to its greatness.

[burnsei sensei]

67. But that's the Third Way.

You claim a liberal position.
You are confronted with a situation in which left-leaning organizations and people are humiliated or hurt unjustly.
Then you quietly vote with the other side in favor of their disempowerment.
The Third Way game is a zero-sum game for the left.
So let's stop playing it.

[Hansel]

55. And half of DU and the Dems in Congress and Obama. nt

[WingDinger]

56. Just like they will attack Unions. When that fight is fought, again

[AC_Mem]

23. Add to the lawsuit

I hope he sues Hannity, Fox owners and all the talking pieholes who were part of this witch hunt.

[sabrina 1]

85. Exactly and don't forget CNN who also promoted the lies

and smears of Giles, Breitbart and O'Keefe. I hope the other workers start filing suits also, particularly the Philadelphia office who also were lied about and proved by producing a police report. They should be sued out of existence. There is a price to pay, even if our judicial system will not prosecute law-breakers like this, for crimes such as destroying whole organizations and individuals for political reasons.

[pleah]

4. Good! n/t

[deminks]

5. K & R

:kick:

[Kingofalldems]

6. K and R for the teabaggers and freepers to see

[vixengrl]

7. Serves O'Keefe right.

Good for Mr. Vera.

[tiredtoo]

8. maybe Obama

will sit down and have a beer with o'keefe and vera. Sarcasm!!!

[Jefferson23]

10. Great! n/t

[defendandprotect]

11. Glad to hear this -- ACORN also needs to have their name redeemed . . .

and good for Jerry Brown -- sometimes the only road to findng out what actually went on is

a deal to get TRUTH --

Just want to comment on this . . .

James O'Keefe and Hannah Giles who surreptitiously taped him while posing as a pimp and a half-naked hooker seeking accomplices in the commission of crimes including prostitution, statutory rape and kidnapping.

Actually I believe they were dressed in their normal clothing when talking with employees of

ACORN --

the whole pimp/prostitute deal/clothing were faked -- yes, they wore them, but NOT in the offices

of ACORN - as I understand it.




:)

[marshall]

18. At the very least, he should get his job back

Since it has been shown he was unfairly and prematurely fired.

[Joanie Baloney]

52. Well, not the SAME job

ACORN has since been dissolved.

[defendandprotect]

93. Which, btw, was kind of like the Democratic Congress/leadership shooting themselves in foot --!!

Will certainly now make '10 and '12 an easier shot for GOP -- IMO!

[defendandprotect]

92. Absolutely . . . but glad he is suing -- !!

[WileEcoyote]

12. Took him long enough

I'd have been screaming for my lawyer a minute after the Fox News story went out.

Also he should look into suing those that financed O'Keefe's adventures. he certainly didn't come up with the funds to pull it off himself.

next a possible lawsuit against Fox News for defamation of character. Surely Fox should have vetted O'Keefe and checked it's sources.


Anyway that's what i'd do.

[Capitalocracy]

33. Got to be careful.

He needs to make sure he has a perfect case with great lawyers because money will be pouring in from the conservative freaks who seem to be quite proud to lie to get their way. Plus having waited a little longer means it won't be as big a news story, also leading to less donations to this "pimp" jackass's legal defense fund.

[drm604]

71. So what are you suggesting?

That he not bring the case?

Of course he (his lawyers actually) needs to be careful. Of course he needs a good case (I doubt that there exists such a thing as a perfect case).

Those things are true of any civil suit.

[Capitalocracy]

75. No, I'm not suggesting anything

I'm just saying maybe that's what took so long.

[drm604]

80. Sorry. I misunderstood your intentions.

My mistake. :hi:

[Capitalocracy]

83. All good. I see what you mean.

I mean, just look at our political system. Opposition is often used as an excuse for inaction.

[xxqqqzme]

78. One would think 'fair and balanced' would

require, at least, minimal research. (wouldn't surprise me to find rabid right fingerprints all over the money, even shammity's - he had been blowin' that 'ACORN is evil' horn for a while)

After all Rachael Maddow managed to get the real story on air.

[TheEuclideanOne]

84. It does if you want to be fair and balanced

but we both know that their intention is to be the opposite of Fair and Balanced.

[Archae]

13. It looks like Vera will win such a lawsuit.

O'Keefe and Fox slandered him but good.

BUT...

I see Vera settling out of court, and O'Keefe not admitting to any wrongdoing.

Vera gets money from a right-wing Gotbucks, and O'Keefe goes on his merry way.
Never *ONCE* has O'Keefe been actually taken to task for his rich spoiled brat "the laws are for the little people" antics.

[onehandle]

14. Good. Slice and dice the little prick. nt

[Carnage251]

15. Tape were "severely edited"

And what has the "liberal media" done to point that out.
F*ck faux "news"!

[SoapBox]

17. Go Juan Go! Make their lives miserable.

[southernyankeebelle]

19. I wish I could be on that jury. I sue that ass off of them. I would award whatever he is asking fo

[alp227]

20. A lesson well learned...or will it?

Conservatism is supposed to be about morals and learning lessons (hence "The Book of Virtues") right? I guess it's more "I've got mine, ufkc everybody else!" now that professional liars like O'Keefe get away with their cowitsh.

[mzmolly]

21. GO MR. VERA!

I'm so happy to hear this! :toast:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=8108643&mesg_id=8108946

It seems the two "young muckrakers" chose the wrong person to lie about?

[sabrina 1]

29. Hi mzmolly, you deserve a lot of credit for exposing the lies

that were in that tape, airc. I remember you being one of the first to ask people to take a second look at the tape. And when we did, it was clear that there was something very wrong with that tape. Right on the tape, I guess they forgot to edit it out, Juan Carlos told them he 'worked with the police' and O'Keefe could be heard saying 'that is bad'. Yet the media totally ignored that.

You and Turborama worked hard to show that Juan Carlos Vera had been framed. If the media had done what you did, none of what happened later, would have happened. But they did not for some reason.

The media also ignored Juan Carlos' proof that contrary to what these criminals were saying all over the media, he had contacted the police twice about them as he was worried.

Thank you again for all you did to help turn things around, as even on this board, people were willing to believe the lies ~ :hi:

[CLANG]

51. People should never believe what a repuke says.

That should be a default position. Then wait a few days until the real truth starts to surface.

[Turborama]

57. Both you and mzmolly deserve a lot of credit and some DUers need to make apologies

Hi Sabrina, I remember all the hard work you put into exposing the lies and disinformation, too.

Here's a very good example: http://journals.democraticunderground.com/sabrina%201/17

It was very hard work during that time as at the beginning when the 1st tape came out and the "scandal" began on BecKKK's show (and ultimately 24/7 coverage on Faux) there was a lot of jumping on the bandwagon, including a lot of DUers, it's sad to say.

I hope Faux get their asses sued off too for being co-conspirators or at the very least enablers of this particularly destructive and disgusting episode of the incessant Reichwing smear campaign.

:hi:

[mzmolly]

64. Hear hear!

"I hope Faux get their asses sued off too for being co-conspirators or at the very least enablers of this particularly destructive and disgusting episode of the incessant Reichwing smear campaign."

:hi:

[mzmolly]

73. Major props to you as well Turborama.

:hi:

[sabrina 1]

90. Hey, Turborama. Nice to see you ~

Thanks for the link, I never understood why the html got so messed up in that post. I think I got a lot of the information there from some of your posts which I read every day during that time.

It was hard work, to try to keep people from falling for the lies. It was disappointing.

I am so thrilled about Juan Carlos Vera doing this. Remember when we were urging him to do so, wishing we could help him to do it? This is so great. I also wondered why the state of CA did not go after Giles and O'Keefe on the taping issue, but now we know why. Good to know they had to hand over the unedited tapes.

I agree totally about suing Fox and Breitbart too should be sued, he was forced to admit that O'Keefe was working for him. I hope they find out who actually funds all of these criminals.

As mzmolly pointed out, Rachel did a superior job on this case, but sadly she was alone among journalists who actually investigated the case.

Good to see you, you did an awesome job yourself and it made me feel better when I saw people begin to stand up and question the lies. Keep up the good work! :-)

[mzmolly]

63. Thanks Sabrina.

:pals: Though as Turborama pointed out, you and others helped spread the truth as well.

FYI - I emailed Rachel Maddow daily often that time. I was so thankful that she took an interest in "The truth about the lies about ACORN" given her national platform. I'm sure I'm not alone in sending emails to the meda, I'm just glad we have someone who listens from time to time.

[sabrina 1]

88. You're welcome. It was your post questioning the Vera tape

that gave me hope that they were pulling another one of their dirty tricks. I felt devastated at first, not even wanting to look at the tapes, but after reading your post, I did that and you and Turborama and others never gave up. I was especially angry over Juan Carlos, as I know you and Turborama were also. He was such a decent human being and it really hurt to see the silence of the media as they watched good people like him be destroyed.

Rachel did an awesome job of pulling it all together, she put the rest of the media to shame with her reporting. I remember she said there was something about this that got her emotional in a way she could not explain. That's how I felt. I think it was watching an injustice happen and seeing the media and Congress acting as by-standers, doing nothing to fight for those who were being destroyed. Good for you for emailing her also. I bet she was reading DU back then! Lol! I am so thrilled Juan Carlos is doing this. It took a while, but now he has the results of the investigations, the court ruling on the Defunding Bill and he has access to the unedited tapes. I think he will win ~ :-)

[and-justice-for-all]

22. Sue their ass off!!! nt

[Carter Hayes]

24. Yeah! Go get the fuckers

Reich-wing thugs as always

[BrklynLiberal]

26. Yesssssssssssssss. Hope that little twit in the "pimp" suit finds himself on a street corner

begging for food money.

[sabrina 1]

27. This is great news. And there is no way he should not win.

They smeared that man and the media did nothing about it even though right in the video it was obvious that they were lying. He proved he had called the police on them, not once, but twice and yet every time the media showed that video, they never provided the evidence that HE was lied to by O'Keefe and Giles. Bloggers saw it right away.

Juan Carlos should also sue Fox and the rest of the media also.

I am so glad he is doing this. They should be criminally prosecuted also as they taped that video illegally.

Good luck to him, he is a wonderful man who, as he said himself 'never did anything wrong in my life'.

Those little thugs should pay dearly for the harm they have done not just to people like Juan Carlos Vera but to all the poor people who lost so much as a result of their criminal behavior.

[Juche]

30. Good, fuck them

Destroy them early and young.

[Shining Jack]

31. Great !

A big K&R !!!

[Capitalocracy]

32. Umm, huge problem with this article

As I understood it, most if not all of the actual interviews were conducted NOT dressed as a pimp or prostitute?

"...who surreptitiously taped him while posing as a pimp and a half-naked hooker..."

That statement is a bit misleading, if my understanding of the situation is correct.

[Caretha]

42. They acted the parts of a pimp & prostitute

If O'Keefe had showed up in the "so called pimp outfit", he'd have been laughed out of the office. Costume designer he ain't.

[Capitalocracy]

62. Exactly...

They acted that out later, but the article makes it sound like they went to the ACORN office dressed like that. Which is what O'Keefe wants you to think. Why do you suppose they did that? Just an oversight, perhaps we can assume, or maybe they swallowed the narrative

[DesertDiamond]

34. Effing great!!

[Name removed]

36. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[JTFrog]

39. That's freeper talk dude. No place for it here. n/t

[LawnKorn]

38. K&R

[Loudmxr]

41. I believe he can add plaintiffs as he goes along.

Anyone who played that video without a disclaimer is liable. Or once the case is won anyone who vouched for the video's authenticity is potentially liable.

The rules are different for private individuals as opposed to public figures.

[corpseratemedia]

43. that would be nice

I hope he wins.

[sabrina 1]

86. Lol, that let's DU off the hook. Commenters here doubted it

from the beginning and took the videos apart finding clear evidence that the tapes were edited. Yet, the media did not even try, just accepted them as they were.. I hope he gets Fox and Hannity and even Karl Rove who went along with the whole thing. CNN also.

ACORN has a suit filed also, it would be so nice if they went all the way to trial so that in discovery we could find out who is behind these morons. Who is funding them. We have some idea and we know they tried to distance themselves from them once things started to turn around, but it's time to expose these secret societies whose only purpose in life is to destroy this country.

[RoccoR5955]

45. The clown needs to be taught a lesson...

sue his bunghole for every cent he will have for his lifetime!

[peacetalksforall]

46. Is it possible to expose sources for the money it will take to defend Mr and Mrs Malicious?

Is it trackable?

If not, I am sure Republicans will appreciate the privacy they will need.

Is Mrs, Malicious going to get a lighter sentence because she admitted things?

I also hope Breitbart is an equal in the suit - a threesome.

P.S. It would please me if we learned that Karl Rove was involved.

[redqueen]

47. Excellent.

I hope this drags on for months and that the M$M is somehow forced to cover it.

[FirstTimeVoterAt37]

48. It would be REALLY nice

To hear about that douchebag's criminal behavior in the media instead of a bunch of ludicrous rumors about ACORN getting echoed constantly. Maybe this will make it happen. Long shot, but one can hope.

[gibby2433]

49. I like stories like this

that prove there is still a sliver of sanity left in the world. An entire non-profit organization dedicated to helping poor people folded because of Fox News and some heavily edited tapes. But nobody seems to give a shit that a "news organization" has for years not been reporting news but inventing it to fit a certain political narrative. We need to hear more stories like this.

[sabrina 1]

87. It wasn't just Fox and these clowns, though and we should not

forget that. They were aided in the final destruction of ACORN by a majority of Democrats in Congress. I will not forget that. Only 75 Democrats refused to vote for that unconstitutional bill, and thanks should go to Jerry Nadler for being the first to point out that it WAS unconstitutional.

We have yet to hear from those Democrats who at the very least owe ACORN and the poor who are now without their services, an apology.

[47of74]

50. Ahem:

[pinboy3niner]

53. Impressive!

But when they say that size matters, I don't think that's what they mean. :evilgrin:

[47of74]

81. I know what they mean...

...and yes.

[catrose]

54. The article mentions a Facebook page of supporters

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=109029015796659

I'm not agile with Facebook; so I can't tell if anyone is collecting donations. If he's not getting a pro bono lawyer, I want to make sure he's got as deep of pockets as it will take to make sure O'Keefe & company are eating 2 for 1 burgers the rest of their lives. They're not going to lack for lawyers, after all.

[jwirr]

58. Good, like bp O'Keefe caused them to lose their jobs. If we can sue

bp then others who take false actions against a company should also be sued.

[zbdent]

61. according to wikipedia

to defend yourself against charges of libel,

"Proving adverse public character statements to be true is often the best defense against a prosecution for libel or defamation."

Fox is Fuxed ... didn't Faux (and not just Faux) tout the charges/statements of O'Keefe as "truth", not "opinion", which would make it much harder for O'Keefe to defend himself?

[Hansel]

65. Vera needs tapes from the stupid Red Eye show on Fox.

On that show O'Keefe and his side kicked were dressed up in their pimp outfits and stated unequivocally when asked by one of the clowns on that show that they were dressed like that when they went into the offices. They had a big laugh about how outrageous it was that the ACORN workers were that stupid and would go along with criminal activity with people wearing these ridiculous outfits. This interview on Fox would destroy any defense that they might have used to say that it was just artistic license in film making. They went on a Fox interview and claimed that they were, in fact, dress that way when they went into the office. They said that in an interview that was billed as showing that employees of ACORN were openly willing to engaged in criminal activity. They should be screwed.

They not only used the outfits in the tapes, but in their promotions of the tapes on Fox to completely humiliate the ACORN employees. That should add to the awards. We already know that the "ho" admitted they were not dressed like that when they went into the ACORN offices and it probably shows in the unedited tapes Brown viewed.

He also showed a video of an employee they were interviewing outside of ACORN and instead of using the audio from that actual interview they did an edited over voice of O'Keefe claiming what the man said. It would be interesting to play the tape with audio to the court to find out what he really said right after playing the edited tape. The guy was probably giving them directions.

[zbdent]

91. I had a Facebook debate with a denier over the spitting incident

where the idiot (well, that's a stretch, he's actually pretty adept at turning the talk to what he's comfortable with) stated that no "police action" took place ... which was immediately dispelled by watching the video, when a police officer accompanied the congressman back to the point of the spitting, and a Fox News report which stated that the police were taking action, and the congressman didn't press charges.

The "debater" tried to spin it into me lying ...

[burnsei sensei]

66. Here we go.

I hope the momentum of civil suits against these pretenders grows and grows.

[Name removed]

68. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[JTFrog]

69. Obvious troll is.....

starting to look........

OBVIOUS

You already had this shit deleted once. Why not just ask for a granite cookie to go?

:shrug:

[Uncle Joe]

70. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, kpete.

[drm604]

72. I am so happy to see this.

I have been so PISSED about this whole affair. There needs to be some justice against O'Keefe.

He slandered Vera, cost him his job and possibly his reputation, and helped to slander and destroy an organization that stood up for working class people.

O'Keefe apparently thinks that he's above ethics. He apparently thinks he's above right and wrong. He needs to be shown that that's NOT the case.

[mod mom]

74. Good-it would be great to get a fair judge! Love to see the dweeby twerp pay for

his actions.

[eirteacher]

76. Good sue the little pimp son of a bitch

Good sue the little pimp son of a bitch along with the other little pimp son of a bitch Hannity.

[SomeGuyInEagan]

77. Sue them. Sue them past the point of bankruptcy, into a hole so deep ...

... that nobody will ever try this again. Until you hit them hard in the pocketbook or with hard, hard prison time - just like corporate CEOs - this garbage will continue.

Which is why I will never be in favor of tort reform. It is the only thing protecting us right now (damned if many of our government officials are protecting us).

[mdmc]

79. r

[PfcHammer]

82. Hannah got a tight butt. Just sayin.

[sabrina 1]

89. She also has some serious emotional problems, especially when

it comes to integrity. Can't say I care much about what these jerks look like, they look pretty ugly to me as the evil seems to take over the packaging. Funny how that works. In the end, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and so is ugliness and Breitbart, Giles and O'Keefe are some ugly people in every sense of the word.

[Turborama]

94. Did you see the Max Blumenthal video where he and Giles have a tête-à-tête ?

It looks like with a bit of work she could be pulled over from the darkside to give evidence against O'Keefe and expose what really went on behind the scenes: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vztHmjV5134

Edited to add a comment on the beauty thing. I have never understood how any DUer (there have been a lot) could say Palin is attractive. IMO she is a very ugly person, inside and out.

[sabrina 1]

95. No, I have not seen that Turborama. Will check it out in a few

minutes. If she is smart, that is what she would do, otherwise she will always be associated with those two clowns something she has probably come to regret by now.

Lol, I agree regarding Palin. The Freepers love her and are certain she is the most beautiful woman ever created. I like the woman who beat her in the Miss Alaska Contest. She is an Obama supporter so it looks like she is not a Republican.


Maryline Blackburn