anewshound In an apparent attempt to embarrass Sen. Mary Landrieu, right-wing activist and so-called investigative journalist  James O’Keefe is facing federal charges that could earn him prison time.  U.S. Marshal’s were not laughing when  they arrested O’Keefe and his Republican think tank cohorts after their failed attempt to gain access to phone lines at the GSA offices, the communications hub for Landrieu’s Senate office in Louisiana.  O’Keefe and three others have been charged with entering federal property for the purpose of committing a felony.
Until recently, OKeefe was basking in the glow of praise from Fox News for his” pimp and ‘ho” stunt that damaged the reputation of the community organization ACORN. The group had for years helped to secure the voting rights of poor and working class Americans despite right-wing efforts to disenfranchise them. Â ACORN lost its funding, most of staff, and had its legal rights unconstitutionally trampled by a bill of attainder passed by the Congress. A recent ruling by a federal judge that lifted the group’s funding ban came only after the damage had already been done.
As a result, O’Keefe began believing he was a real journalist, rather than a political hack. He was even paid to give speeches about ‘new journalism” at the Pelican Institute. But  the average  newspaper summer intern could have more handled the story of Landrieu’s overloaded phone lines more competently.
But  accurate, fact-based reporting was  not why O’Keefe and his frat boy colleagues went to Landrieu’s office.  Dressed as fake phone repairmen, they believed they could recreate their ACORN success by capturing video and splicing words and images together to reveal something that never happened, as they did in ACORN’s offices.  Unlike ACORN, however, his new targets had the power to protect their rights, and to enforce the law. Let’s see what happens when the ‘ACORN pimp” faces a federal judge next month.
