ACORN Sues to Get Federal Funding Back

 ACORN, the criminal enterprise that has been partially funded with OUR tax money is following the advice of Jerrold Nadler, Congressman from NY and suing the government to get its funding back.

It all started this past March when Heather Heidelbaugh, a Pennsylvania Attorney, testified before Congressman Jerrold Nadler's  Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties subcommittee about the many criminal and fraudulent activities run by President Obama's favorite community organizing group, ACORN. Her testimony alleged violations of the election code, fraud and misrepresentation, and violations of equal protection and due process. Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) was shocked at the testimony and called for a probe of the Democrat's favorite tax fraud group but Nadler's response was to stonewall.

When the Congress voted to cut off funds to ACORN not only did Congressman Nadler vote against the resolution, but make speeches against cutting off the funds saying the congressional action a “bill of attainder,” or an unfair, punitive act by Congress.

"Last week, to the great shame of this House," Nadler said from the floor on September 25, "we passed a Bill of Attainder." Whatever infractions Acorn may be guilty of, Nadler said, "it ought to be vetted or sanctioned by the appropriate administrative agency or by the judiciary. But Congress must not be in the business of punishing individual organizations or people without trial."

Of course Nadler forgot to mention the fact that he was the guy been the guy in congress blocking a full investigation of ACORN. Today the group is following Nadler's lead and filed suit against the Federal Government seeking to overturn a law stopping the flow of federal funds to ACORN, because it represents a Bill of Attainder. The below is from Politico:

ACORN sues over funding cut
By: Jake Sherman
A non-profit organization filed a lawsuit against the federal government Thursday morning, seeking to overturn a law stopping the flow of federal funds to ACORN.

The suit, filed in federal court in New York, claims that bills passed by the House and Senate to defund the group qualify as bills of attainder, legislation that unfairly targets one group. Such bills are unconstitutional.

The suit will seek to restore funding and roll-back the ban, which was passed as part of the legislative branch appropriations bill in September.

ACORN claims that the legislation was of “malicious and punitive intent.” The suit also claims Congress violated the Fifth Amendment by skirting due process before doling out the punishment of the funding cut. OMB Director Peter Orszag and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner are listed as co-defendants in the suit.

Efforts to defund ACORN became popular among Democrats and Republicans after conservative activists caught the organization’s employees in several offices advising actors posing as a politician and his prostitute girlfriend on how to evade taxes and set up a brothel.

Sen. Mike Johanns (R-Neb.) and others in Congress quickly moved to ensure no federal funds were steered to the group – measures that got support from even the most ardent liberals like Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.).

The lawsuit, which was brought by the Center for Constitutional Rights, says that ACORN has been subject to “heavily funded and orchestrated political campaigns.”

But this effort represents a complete reversal from ACORN, which emphasized to reporters and the public that the money it received from the federal government was not essential to its existence.

Now the group is taking a bold step to restore its federal funding by accusing Congress of violating the Constitution.

The court filing claims ACORN has been bruised badly by the legislation. It says it has had to lay off employees, close offices and “drastically” reduce services.

But the complaint also offers a small peak into and how much ACORN truly relies on the government for money. It cites FEMA pulling back roughly $1 million in funding for fire safety assessments after the legislation passed. The filing also shows that the organization lost out on a $780,000 EPA grant to educate poor communities about asthma and a separate grant to set up public computer centers for the poor in five cities.

And the suit highlights a few members of Congress as being especially critical of the group. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) is cited as having “(attacked) ACORN for years.” It quotes Rep. Dan Burton (R-Ind.) trying to tie President Barack Obama to the group. And it cites Republican Reps. Steve King (Iowa) and Todd Akin (Mo.) calling a Obama campaign poster in ACORN’s headquarters a “Jeremiah Wright moment.”