Below is an email from my FNC colleague about LATEST on ACORN:
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From: Pergram, Chad
Sent: Monday, September 21, 2009 4:05 PM
Subject: Urgent: DoJ IG to investigate ACORN money
· The Justice Department’s Inspector General has agreed to probe ACORN’s efforts to receive and use DoJ funds. This was spurred by a letter from the top GOPer on the House Judiciary Committee, Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX).
· As Sen. Mike Johanns (R-NE) pointed out last week, cabinet agencies can award money to groups like ACORN without direct Congressional oversight.
· Full statement below.
Washington, D.C. – The Justice Department’s Inspector General plans to open a review into ACORN’s application for and receipt of DOJ grant funds. In a letter to House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Lamar Smith (R-Texas), DOJ Inspector General Glenn Fine said that in addition to investigating ACORN’s receipt of funds, his office will review whether the Justice Department conducted any “audits or reviews of ACORN’s use of such funds.”
Ranking Member Lamar Smith issued the following statement regarding the announcement:
“As the primary federal law enforcement agency, the Justice Department has a responsibility to ensure that no organization receiving federal funds ignores our nation’s laws.
“I am pleased that Inspector General Fine has agreed to investigate whether the Justice Department provided federal funds to ACORN through its grant program. The IG’s report will help Congress ensure that money allocated to support law enforcement efforts is not instead used to support criminal conduct.
“It is clear that ACORN has fostered a culture of corruption. With investigations of ACORN now occurring in 20 states, it is time for the FBI to open up a full scale investigation into possible criminal conduct by ACORN.”
Last week, Ranking Member Smith sent letter to DOJ Inspector General Glenn Fine and FBI Director Robert Mueller calling for investigations into ACORN. The letters can be found at http://republicans.judiciary.house.gov/News/Read.aspx?id=238
