ACORN's June 5 Press Release regarding Schlozman Testimony
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As U.S. Attorney, Schlozman took the unusual step of issuing indictments and making statements to the press about the case shortly before Election Day, contrary to written Justice Department policy. It remains unclear how or why Schlozman took jurisdiction over the case. When the indictments were handed down Mr. Schlozman issued a statement that read, in part: “Those who commit fraud in the electoral process dilute the votes of their fellow citizens and undermine the integrity of our democratic system. The Department of Justice will not allow such fraud to go unpunished.”
The statement neglected to mention that ACORN itself brought forward the evidence against these four workers who had defrauded the organization; that civic organizations are required by Missouri law to turn in all signed voter registration applications; or that the organization had assisted in the investigation.
Schlozman’s assertion that these crimes "dilute the votes of their fellow citizens" was inaccurate-- because no votes or voters were involved in the case.
The statement came at the heels of an intense campaign by partisan officials and activists to disparage ACORN’s voter registration drive, which was focused on low income and minority communities.
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http://www.acorn.org/index.php?id=8540&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=19125&tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=8359&cHash=cba7ac48aaBUZZBLOG IS REPORTING THERE WAS NO PRESS CONFERENCE AFTER THE ACORN INDICTMENTS WERE HANDED DOWN:
There was no press conference involving Brad Schlozman after the ACORN indictments were handed up Nov. 1, 2006.
Here's what we posted on the Buzz Blog (KC Star's political blog) that afternoon:
The U.S. Attorney's office says a federal grand jury handed up indictments this afternoon against four people who, the indictments claim, worked for the community group ACORN to register voters.
The four face two felony counts each: of providing false information to the KC Election board, and of filing a false voter application with the board. Each carries a 5 year/$250,000 fine penalty.
ACORN says it's happy the indictments were handed up -- they say they provided the names of three of the four indicted individuals, who, they say, no longer work for ACORN.
Said U.S. attorney Bradley Schlozman, in a statement: "Those who commit fraud in the electoral process dilute the votes of their fellow citizens."
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http://buzzblog.kcstar.com/?q=taxonomy/term/2BUZZBLOG ALSO REPEATS THE KC STAR ARTICLE FROM NOV 2 2006 (THE FOLLOWING DAY) AT THE LINK ABOVE
IT APPEARS TO ME THAT SCHLOZMAN WAS INTENT ON DISTORTING THE STORY BEFORE THE ELECTION FOR POLITICAL GAIN. WHY ELSE WOULD HE RELEASE THE INDICTMENTS BEFORE THE ELECTION AFTER IT WAS ACORN ITSELF THAT BROUGHT FORWARD THE EVIDENCE?