Justice Dept. Appeals ACORN Funding Restoration Ruling

DOJ appeals ruling lifting ACORN Funding ban


The Justice Department is asking a Federal court in New York to reconsider a decision that lifted a Federal funding ban on ACORN.

In a nine-page document filed Thursday, the government argued that a report commissioned by the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now that detailed the group’s management failings proves that Congressional action taken to stop funding it is not punitive, and thus not an unconstitutional bill of attainder.

“ACORN’s uncontroverted longstanding management problems, set forth in detail in the Report, fully support Congress’s non-punitive concern with ACORN’s misuse of federal dollars,” the appeal reads.

Republicans, who have generally led the charge to discredit ACORN and have accused the Obama administration of being cozy with the community group, are singing the president's praises over the appeal. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) hailed the decision as a “bi-partisan recognition” that ACORN is not fit to receive federal funds.

The appeal is the latest twist in a lengthy saga involving ACORN’s alleged misdeeds. After a spate of voter fraud accusations last year, and videos surfacing this year that appear to show its employees advising two undercover filmmakers on how to break the law, Congress voted – and the president signed – a measure which stopped all federal funding of the group.

The Justice Department, which typically defends laws signed by the president, is arguing that Congress has the power to watch over its appropriated funds, and that there is “nothing improper” about trying to limit misdirected expenditures.

The report about ACORN, paid for by the group, generally absolved it of any illegality, but said the group’s leaders “failed to commit the group to the basic, appropriate standards of governance and accountability” – the very language the Justice Department is now using to try to restore a funding ban.

ACORN brought a suit in November, asking the court to rule that the ban – which was passed as part of the legislative branch appropriations – was unfairly punitive toward their particular group, making it unconstitutional.

The court last week backed the group, saying that the law was punitive.

"ACORN members are moving forward with our community organizing work," said spokesperson Kevin Whelan, "confident that the constitutional protections the court described so clearly last week still apply."



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Sources: Politico, US Dept Of Justice, ACORN, Google Maps