Investigation confirms: No evidence of illegal actions by ACORN in videographer scam

December 08, 2009 9:33 am ET — 16 Comments

After media outlets and figures have repeatedly claimed that videos released by conservative activists James O'Keefe and Hannah Giles revealed a pattern of ACORN aiding efforts to evade taxes on a fictitious child-prostitution ring, an investigation by former Massachusetts Attorney General Scott Harshbarger (D) found that "there is no evidence that action, illegal or otherwise, was taken by any ACORN employee on behalf of the videographers." Indeed, an analysis of those incidents by Media Matters for America indicates that in at least six of the eight videos released, ACORN employees at those offices either were not clearly informed that underage prostitutes were involved, refused to help, appeared to deliberately respond with wildly over-the-top statements, or contacted the police after Giles and O'Keefe had left; moreover, ACORN employees at at least two of the offices advised Giles to file tax returns.