ACORN Sues Feds Over Defunding

You’ve got to be kidding me. They were only defunded for *one month. The outrage is that the federal government continues to fund a blatantly partisan political outfit masquerading as a nonprofit. Why would they want to draw more attention to themselves…especially in the courts? Jake Sherman at the Politico, reported:

A non-profit organization filed a lawsuit against the federal government Thursday morning, seeking to overturn a law stopping the flow of federal funds to ACORN.

The suit, filed in federal court in New York, claims that bills passed by the House and Senate to defund the group qualify as bills of attainder, legislation that unfairly targets one group. Such bills are unconstitutional.

The suit will seek to restore funding and roll-back the ban, which was passed as part of the legislative branch appropriations bill in September.

ACORN claims that the legislation was of “malicious and punitive intent.” The suit also claims Congress violated the Fifth Amendment by skirting due process before doling out the punishment of the funding cut. OMB Director Peter Orszag and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner are listed as co-defendants in the suit.

ACORN has repeatedly claimed that  the money it receives from the federal government is not essential to its existence, which of course begs the question…why take these extraordinary measures, then?

The organization that filed the lawsuit, The Center For Constitutional Rights claims:

“It’s not the job of Congress to be the judge, jury, and executioner. We have due process in this country, and our Constitution forbids lawmakers from singling out a person or group for punishment without a fair investigation and trial. Congress, as well as individuals and organizations must abide by the rule of law.”

*Correction: If this report from Byron York is correct, the ACORN funding ban is continuing through December.

Hat tip: Jackstraw

More at Big Government

Related:

Speaking of lawsuits…guess who’s right in the middle of a Staten Island imbroglio involving ACORN and a defeated Dem candidate for City Council?

Democrat Janine Materna’s campaign is considering suing its consulting firm, the Advance Group, for $1 million, and claimed that consultant Scott Levenson’s position with the controversial ACORN group was among the reasons Ms. Materna lost the South Shore City Council race.

“It’s because of him that Janine lost the election,” said Jodi Materna, her sister’s campaign manager.

She said the campaign did not know of Levenson’s ACORN affiliation and if it had, “we never would have hired him.”

A coalition of community groups, ACORN has been ensnared in controversy over hidden-camera videos and other incidents that have spawned law enforcement probes.

Levenson, ACORN’s national spokesman, said it was a “true sign of political immaturity to scapegoat anyone for Janine’sloss.”

The two sides had a meeting in Levenson’s Manhattan office, last week, which turned ugly with police eventually being called in. No arrests were made.

Big Government has more on this one, too.