WEBCommentary Contributor

Author: Michael J. Gaynor
Date:  June 22, 2009

Topic category:  Government/Politics

The Answer Is...Michelle Malkin's ACORN Reporting


Since Ms. Malkin was "all over" the ACORN scandal, Ms. MonCrief was willing to open up about Obama and ACORN with Ms. Strom.

As the Age of Obama has proceeded, Ms. MonCrief has become more and more disillusioned about the presidential candidate for whom she voted and more and more open about what she knows. Her red, white and blueness has trumped her blackness and she's not holding back.


The question is, why did ACORN whistleblower Anita MonCrief, then a very liberal Democrat who would trudge through the rain with her two-year baby on Election Day 2008 to vote for Obama, decide last September to confirm the improper relationship between ACORN and the Obama campaign to New York Times national correspondent Stephanie Strom (for whom Ms. MonCrief has been a confidential source since last July)?

Last July Ms. MonCrief contacted Ms. Strom, because she was willing to expose wrongdoing at ACORN. She wanted things at ACORN set right, but she did not want the spotlight. Also, she did not want to hurt then candidate Obama, in whom she had placed her hope for a better future.

The answer is contained in the extensive email exchange between Ms. MonCrief and Ms. Strom.

Ms. Malkin had written an article reporting an $800,000 Obama campaign payment to ACORN through CSI.

On September 7, 2008, Ms. MonCrief emailed Ms. Strom this link to that article: http://michellemalkin.com/2008/08/22/acorn-watch-pt-11-obama-hid-800000 payment-to-acorn-through-citizen-services-inc/.

After providing that link, Ms. MonCrief wrote: "I mentioned before that I had info that my blackness would not let me confirm, but since Malkin is all over it, i will tell you of constant contact between the Obama and Clinton campaign[s] and Project Vote. I even have the donor lists from Clinton and Obama. Malkin also exposed the money connection and I was aware of that. I am sorry, but I believe in Obama and did not want to help the republicans."

Less than a month later, on October 6, 2008, Ms. Strom emailed Ms. MonCrief: "I'm calling halt to my efforts. I just had two unpleasant calls with the Obama campaign, wherein the spokesman was screaming and yelling and cursing me, calling me a rightwing nut and a conspiracy theorist and everything else/ Without something that clearly links the campaign to the organization, I'm spinning my wheels. Sorry,"

The next day, October 7, 2008, Ms. MonCrief emailed this message to both Ms. Malkin me: "I worked at Project Vote and ACORN for years and can provide inside information on the connections with Obama and FEC violations, IRS 501 (c)3 violations and the threats and intimidation that ACORN has used to keep me quiet. I am willing to submit to a polygraph and turn over Obama's 2nd quarter donor list with was obtained by Project Vote Development Director Karyn Gillette directly from the Obama Campaign. Ialso have a DNC list that was forwarded to Project Vote along with donor lists for Kerry and Clinton."

That email was the first of many communications between Ms. MonCrief and me.

The very busy Ms. Malkin did not reply to the email to her, but, ACORN and Obama beware, Ms. MonCrief and Ms. Malkin have been communicating very productively recently.

Ms. MonCrief became an identifed source of Ms. Malkin. Ms. Malkin appeared on The Laura Ingraham Show (where she rightly praised Ms. MonCrief's bravery in publicizing the ugly truth) and invited Ms. MonCrief to post her own articles in the Green Room of www.HotAir.com (an invitation that was gratefully and enthusiastically accepted).

Sadly, Ms. Strom's last ACORN-related reporting appeared on October 21, 2008.

That's not Ms. MonCrief's fault. Notwithstanding her personal support for then presidential candidate Obama, Ms. MonCrief was willing to provide the link Ms. Strom had said she needed (in order to expose ACORN corruption, not to hurt Obama). But Ms. Strom's "higher ups" at The New York Times made her "stand down" instead of go to Washington, D.C. as planned to meet Ms. MonCrief and obtain proof.

Ms. Malkin understood what ACORN really was all about long before Ms. MonCrief reached out to her.

"Blowing the whistle on ACORN," by Michelle Malkin, June 20, 2008 10:01 AM:

"The radical left-wing, government-subsidized group ACORN uses your tax dollars to engage in voter fraud, enrich itself as part of the mortgage counseling racket, and serve as an activist branch of the Democrat Party.

"There’s more. Ashley Eiler e-mails about a new report: 'The Consumers Rights League just released a collection of whistleblower documents from an ACORN staffer that raise some new concerns about how the organization has established policies for its housing counselors to use undocumented/under-the-table income for processing loan applications from low-income individuals. In addition to pushing these and other exotic loans, the documents reveal that ACORN has engaged in some apparently illegal activities by commingling government funds from its tax-exempt offshoot entities to fight political battles against corporate lenders.'

"Which on[c]e again begs a nagging question I’ve asked before: Why do Republicans continue to abet their political enemies and allow public money to be funneled to these con artists?"

In addition, Ms. Malkin was onto the ACORN-Obama connection.

"The ACORN Obama knows," by Michelle Malkin, June 25, 2008 12:10 PM:

"My syndicated column today spotlights the whistleblower report on ACORN, which I’ve been blogging about (here) and which deserves more attention in the media and in Washington–especially in light of the radical activist group’s embrace of Barack Obama. The Consumer Rights League e-mailed to let me know that three GOP congressmen (Hensarling, Feeney, and Royce) have called on Barney Frank (D-Housing Boondoggle) to investigate ACORN’s taxpayer abuses. Snowball’s chance, I know, but conservatives ought to be turning up the heat and using every ounce of energy they have to, well, act like conservatives and push to de-fund the Left.

"For excellent background on Obama and ACORN, see Stanley Kurtz’s NR piece here, plus City Journal pieces here and here. Also here and here."

"If you don’t know what ACORN (the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now) is all about, you better bone up. This left-wing group takes in 40 percent of its revenues from American taxpayers — you and me — and has leveraged nearly four decades of government subsidies to fund affiliates that promote the welfare state and undermine capitalism and self-reliance, some of which have been implicated in perpetuating illegal immigration and encouraging voter fraud. A new whistleblower report from the Consumer Rights League documents how Chicago-based ACORN has commingled public tax dollars with political projects.

"Who in Washington will fight to ensure that your money isn’t being spent on these radical activities?

"Don’t bother asking Barack Obama. He cut his ideological teeth working with ACORN as a 'community organizer' and legal representative. Naturally, ACORN’s political action committee has warmly endorsed his presidential candidacy. According to ACORN, Obama trained its Chicago members in leadership seminars; in turn, ACORN volunteers worked on his campaigns. Obama also sat on the boards of the Woods Fund and Joyce Foundation, both of which poured money into ACORN’s coffers. ACORN head Maude Hurd gushes that Obama is the candidate who 'best understands and can affect change on the issues ACORN cares about' — like ensuring their massive pipeline to your hard-earned money."

"Where does the candidate of Hope and Change — the candidate of Reform and New Politics — stand on the issue? Barack Obama, ACORN’s senator, is for more of the same old, same old subsidizing of far-left politics in the name of fighting for the poor while enriching ideological cronies. It’s the Chicago way."

Ms. Malkin "got it," but Senator McCain had not, so Ms. Malkin blasted the 2008 Republican presidential candidate and forged ahead herslef to enlighten her fellow Americans.

"ACORN Watch: The community organizing fraud continues," By Michelle Malkin, September 15, 2008 11:21 AM:

"Barack Obama’s old friends at ACORN have been busy this election cycle.

"The McCain campaign had a golden opportunity to bring the left-wing, tax-subsidized con artists to light, but McCain’s already blown it with his effusive praise for Obama’s 'outstanding' community organizer record last week at Columbia University.

"Anyway, we forge ahead. Hoping the truth will get out there. Hoping that people will change their minds about Obama and his radical Chicago-based racket of election saboteurs and anti-free market thugs. Hoping that someone else in the MSM will start asking pointed questions about the $800,000 Obama failed to report in hidden payments to ACORN under the name of a left-wing non-profit front group."

Early in the morning of September 26, 2008, I pondered how the Obama presidential campaign might be stopped and concluded that Ayers and Rev. Wright would not do it and the key was ACORN. A family matter kept me from finishing and posting my article that day, so the next day (Saturday) I finished and set it up to post on Monday.

The article attracted the interest of Fox's Neil Cavuto and I was invited back to do his show that afternoon.

That did not work out (the House voted down the bailout bill that day), but that article was noted by the right person, Ms. MonCrief, and it prompted her to email me as well as Ms. Malkin.

"Blame Obama's ACORN for the Financial Crisis," Michael J. Gaynor, September 29, 2008:

________________________________________

"Prior to law school, Barack Obama worked as an organizer for their affiliates in New York and Chicago. He always has been an ACORN person -- meeting and working with them to advance their causes. Through his membership on the board of the Woods Fund for Chicago and his friendship with Teresa Heinz Kerry, Obama has helped ensure that they remain funded well.

_______________________________________

"Question: Which presidential candidate warned years ago that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were important problems that needed to be fixed?

"Answer: John McCain.

"Question: Which political party took control of Congress and blocked the reforms called for by both the Bush administration and McCain?

"Answer: Democrat

"Question: Will enough voters be fooled into believing that Democrat control of the White House and Congress will be good for the American economy?

"Answer: We will know soon.

"Question: What should a voter who puts America first do?

"Answer: Don't be insane--VOTE FOR McCAIN!

"Don’t expect the mainstream media to identify ACORN and its favorite community organizer and lawyer, rookie United States Senator and current Democrat presidential nominee Barack Hussein Obama, Jr. among the villains in the current financial crisis.

"But media bias does not change facts."

I then quoted extensively from (1) Pittsburgh Tribune Review, “Barack Obama’s Closet,” Dateline D.C., January 14, 2007, (2) an article by Stan Liebowitz, professor of Economics at the University of Texas’ Business School at Dallas, titled “The Real Scandal: How Feds Invited the Mortgage Mess” and published in The New York Post on February 5, 2008 and (3) Wikipedia on the Community Reinvestment Act. A few days later, I paid due homage to Ms. Malkin, in "Michelle Malkin Was Right about ACORN, Of course" (October 4, 2008). I quoted extensively from Ms. Malkin's "The ACORN Obama Knows" and added: "If you read Michelle, you were not surprised when ACORN, a key cause of the bad loans that ultimately resulted in the current financial crisis, shamelessly tried to become a big monetary beneficiary of the rescue/bailout bill.

"The good news is that ACORN has not succeeded in that respect.

"The best news is that the ATTEMPT to get the money for ACORN instead of to use it to reduce the national debt opened the door to scrutiny of ACORN and its long-term relationship with its favorite presidential candidate, Chicago’s own Barack Hussein Obama, Jr.

"ACORN IS THE PROBLEM, NOT THE SOLUTION!"

"Ms. MonCrief knew that even better than Ms. Malkin and I did..and she had proof.

Since Ms. Malkin was "all over" the ACORN scandal, Ms. MonCrief became willing to open up about Obama and ACORN with Ms. Strom.

As the Age of Obama has proceeded, Ms. MonCrief has become more and more disillusioned about the presidential candidate for whom she voted and more and more open about what she knows. Her red, white and blueness has trumped her blackness and she's not holding back.

Bravo, Ms. MonCrief!

Michael J. Gaynor


Biography - Michael J. Gaynor

Michael J. Gaynor has been practicing law in New York since 1973. A former partner at Fulton, Duncombe & Rowe and Gaynor & Bass, he is a solo practitioner admitted to practice in New York state and federal courts and an Association of the Bar of the City of New York member.

Gaynor graduated magna cum laude, with Honors in Social Science, from Hofstra University's New College, and received his J.D. degree from St. John's Law School, where he won the American Jurisprudence Award in Evidence and served as an editor of the Law Review and the St. Thomas More Institute for Legal Research. He wrote on the Pentagon Papers case for the Review and obscenity law for The Catholic Lawyer and edited the Law Review's commentary on significant developments in New York law.

The day after graduating, Gaynor joined the Fulton firm, where he focused on litigation and corporate law. In 1997 Gaynor and Emily Bass formed Gaynor & Bass and then conducted a general legal practice, emphasizing litigation, and represented corporations, individuals and a New York City labor union. Notably, Gaynor & Bass prevailed in the Second Circuit in a seminal copyright infringement case, Tasini v. New York Times, against newspaper and magazine publishers and Lexis-Nexis. The U.S. Supreme Court affirmed, 7 to 2, holding that the copyrights of freelance writers had been infringed when their work was put online without permission or compensation.

Gaynor currently contributes regularly to www.MichNews.com, www.RenewAmerica.com, www.WebCommentary.com, www.PostChronicle.com and www.therealitycheck.org and has contributed to many other websites. He has written extensively on political and religious issues, notably the Terry Schiavo case, the Duke "no rape" case, ACORN and canon law, and appeared as a guest on television and radio. He was acknowledged in Until Proven Innocent, by Stuart Taylor and KC Johnson, and Culture of Corruption, by Michelle Malkin. He appeared on "Your World With Cavuto" to promote an eBay boycott that he initiated and "The World Over With Raymond Arroyo" (EWTN) to discuss the legal implications of the Schiavo case. On October 22, 2008, Gaynor was the first to report that The New York Times had killed an Obama/ACORN expose on which a Times reporter had been working with ACORN whistleblower Anita MonCrief.

Gaynor's email address is gaynormike@aol.com.


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