Lawyer For Ex-ACORN Employee To James O'Keefe: You're No Ashton Kutcher

[kpete]

Source: Talking Points Memo

TPMMuckraker
Lawyer For Ex-ACORN Employee To James O'Keefe: You're No Ashton Kutcher
Ryan J. Reilly | March 30, 2011, 5:51PM

....................

Four lawyers representing O'Keefe on a pro bono basis cited everything from the writings of James Madison to Ashton Kutcher's MTV show "Punk'd" to claim that O'Keefe's tactics were protected by the First Amendment.

But Eugene G. Iredale, a lawyer for Juan Carlos Vera (an ACORN employee who was fired after O'Keefe posted a video that Iredale says was misleadingly edited) isn't buying it.

Shows like "Punk'd," writes Iredale, "not only obtain the participant's release to air the shows but they are filmed in public places and often involve public figures. It would hardly be 'artistic freedom' for a television crew to sneak into a person's house and surreptitiously record them in a confidential conversation. That is not what takes place on Punk'd or other shows like the Jamie Kennedy Experiment. A television show does not have open license to commit crimes in the name of high ratings or artistic freedom."

................

"There is no special or disparate treatment accorded 'expose journalism' under the Constitution. Any bully or a felon dressed as a telephone repairman can claim to be a 'journalist' after committing a crime," Iredale wrote. "O'Keefe is not immune from prosecution for breaking into an office or recording confidential communication because he calls himself a journalist."

Read more: http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/03/lawyer_for_acorn_employee_to_james_okeefe_youre_no.php

[PeaceNikki]

1. O'Keefe is a huge piece of shit. In fact, shit is offended at that comparison.

I liked what NPR's "On the Media" did with him a couple weeks ago.

[provis99]

7. shit is indeed offended!

:rofl:

[freshwest]

24. Can you give a link on the NPR story, where it's archived, maybe?

And I would agree, shit would be offended, as it can at least act as a fertlizer, so it has redeeming value. No way to redeem this punk.

[tpsbmam]

27. Here...

Story

http://www.npr.org/blogs/ombudsman/2011/03/28/134808849/on-the-media-interviews-james-okeefe-iii

Audio & transcript

http://www.onthemedia.org/transcripts/2011/03/18/05

[freshwest]

30. Thanks for those.

[Plucketeer]

31. I'd be careful if I were you!

Shit could certainly find a lawyer to represent it and sue for defamation of defecation!!! :rofl:

[Scuba]

2. A television show does not have open license to commit crimes in the name of high ratings or artisti

Hmmmm, there's this network called "Fox"....

[w4rma]

35. Immunity for hacking phones and computers? (nt)

[bjobotts]

3. Such a petty person seeking attention for his pathetic ego.Did nothing for truth.Liar

[pacalo]

4. Iredale's argument makes the defense attorneys' look amateurish. K&R.

[underpants]

5. Does he have a television show? *or* Are they admitted it was created for Fox News?

O'Keefe is a joke....and his lawyers appear to be too

What, no Wookie defense?



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddT8xBhBXys

[opihimoimoi]

6. The man is a GOPer...nuff said.....he is a hugh piece of shit

should be in jail....

[Kingofalldems]

8. Hopefully O'Keefe will take the stand

[JI7]

9. i hate this attempted rapist useless piece of shit

[tcaudilllg]

10. Lock him up.

[Kingofalldems]

11. K and R for his little internet pals to see

[onethatcares]

12. well that seems to classify the fake call to walker as free speech as well

or is there a double triple jepordy secret we don't know about?

[freshwest]

23. Apples and oranges. Check post #20 for the difference.

[Marnie]

13. Pro Bono?

What's the matter with Breitbart? He won't stand up for the twerp. Wasn't he working for Breitbart when he did those tapes?

[Mister Ed]

14. Slimebag O'Keefe falsely portrayed Vera as a man who would support child prostitution.

Imagine, for a moment, having that done to you. Imagine having everyone you know, and millions and millions of strangers, hoodwinked into thinking you're a man who would support child prostitution.

Even in O'Keefe's deceptively-edited version of the video, you can tell that Mr. Vera is no such thing. Repeatedly, he asks his visitors what time, and to what location the girls will be delivered. He was trying to gather as much information as he could for his report to the police - which, in point of fact, he made on the very next day.

No monetary award, and no page-twelve retraction years later, can ever compensate Mr. Vera for what was done to him.

[Here4DaLinks]

15. Wasn't he charged with something in that LA scandal? Whatever happened?

Mysteriously, the whole thing seemed to blow over without any further details.

I have to admit, he's pretty good what he does, poking people in the eye and using
the reactionary media and the knee jerk American audience to get people fired, often for trivial gaffs.

Not sure how I'd feel if we had someone like him, but less arrogant, more disciplined and relevant ... on our side!

[sabrina 1]

21. He is not good at what he does. DUers took apart that tape

of Juan Carlos Vera the first night it appeared on TV and it was clear to anyone who watched it, that Vera was in no way cooperating with their vile, racist 'stunt'. All of their stunts have racist overtones too, another thing the media ignores.

The only reason he got as far as he did was because Fox promoted it, enhanced it, never questioned it etc. They were part of this whole scheme, and I hope they too are being sued.

And CNN treated these punks as if they were legitimate journalists, further helping them to fool people who did not know the details. Even after it became obvious especially in the Juan Carlos Vera case, that they were lying, and after they were exposed, which was pretty quickly thanks to BLOGGERS not the MSM, they refused to go back on CNN, CNN just dropped the story and never told the truth about what they had done.

So, if you have the media covering for you, you would be 'good' too. Why they continue to deal with this criminal as if he deserved any kind of respect, can only be explained by whoever is behind him. He clearly has, or had then, some pretty important backers that CNN did not want to upset. There is no other explanation for why they never followed up on that story and continued to talk about him as if he were a normal human being.

[Here4DaLinks]

36. His handlers are good then, they knew how to manipulate the media into thinking a story existed

when really it was nothing. Sounds like something Abbie Hoffman would do. But maybe the media is owned by his handlers? Then the media is expert at manipulating the public. (But we already knew that, eh?) Anyways, if you say something enough, and the audience has to go three or four layers in to find out it's false, most will just never get there. Too much to do, too many distractions house, bills, kids, etc.

But yes, the guy's a scumbag and a punk to boot. Boo! O'Keefe, may he die a thousand deaths under a hundred suns.
Still, better to learn from your enemies than piss away energy hurling curses into the wind from a um, windy mountaintop, or something.


:)

[freshwest]

25. He only got a handslap!

I wonder how much the GOP/Koch brothers pay for his yacht.

[onehandle]

16. He looks more like a Timothy McVeigh --->

[Grassy Knoll]

17. I always thought he looked like Patsy....

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RMIeFF2Drjg/Swl7ZwamQGI/AAAAAAAABig/hWHIxnIeBd8/s1600/Lee+Harvey+Oswald+Mugshot.jpg

[blondeatlast]

18. He looks like the bastard child of both, actually. nt

[madmax]

19. +1

[CC]

34. Did you put the

wrong names under each photo on purpose or was the switch accidental? They do look enough alike in mugshots that mixing them isn't really necessary.
Beyond that , oh another chance to prove how unprofessional and unworthy of the word "news" is to Fox. :)

[sabrina 1]

20. Juan Carlos Vera's life was destroyed by this racist punk, O'Keefe

He lied about him when he edited the tapes, and he continued to lie about him on Fox News and CNN, and if it had not been for bloggers, he would have gotten away with it, because we know how diligent the MSM is in exposing these rightwing creeps.

Juan Carlos not only went to the police, he contacted them twice, immediately after O'Keefe, dressed like a businessman, NOT like pimp as he claimed, left.

Juan Carlos KNEW there was something fishy about these clowns, they never fooled him for a minute.

And he was NOT told the story they claimed they told him.

They illegally recorded Vera also, but Jerry Brown made a deal not to prosecute them for that in return for the unedited tapes.

Even with the edited tapes, it was obvious that Juan Carlos was not cooperating. They forgot to edit out the part where he told them he had friends in the police dept. O'Keefe responded airc 'that's bad'.

THEY are the ones who were punked. By Juan Carlos Vera. But racists that they are, they assumed someone who was not 'white' was stupid enough to be fooled by them.

I hope they are prosecuted criminally for what they did but, I was thrilled when I heard that Vera who was the most ethical man for his entire career and was devastated at how they destroyed him in the media, had decided to sue them. This should be an easy case, and I hope he wins billions as nothing could undo the damage they did to him and family.

[kag]

22. I didn't realize...

that Vera was suing them. Good for him. If there is any justice in the world he will OWN them.

[sabrina 1]

26. Yes, Juan Carlos Vera sued O'Keefe/Giles and I am not sure

about Breitbart.

This should be an easy case, but someone is funding O'Keefe so you never know.

I am assuming this OP is a result of that lawsuit. O'Keefe claiming to be a journalist should have every legitimate journalist in this country up in arms. Yet, there is a deafening silence on this creep from the MSM.

I just read that two other lawsuits were filed against the pimp, one in MD and one in Mass. I heard nothing about them in the media. The MD suit was dismissed because of 'errors in filint' according to the article, but the Mass. suit was 'settled' apparently. How come this was not on the news?

If there was a settlement that proves that the ACORN cases were bogus, yet the media continues to claim that he 'took down ACORN' with his videos. He did NOT.

One thing I noticed in the article I just read was that Juan Carlos' lawyer stated that he would like to know 'who is funding these guys'. Why is the media not asking this question? Clearly someone was funding him and he's probably threatening to reveal them unless they help get him out of the mess he is in right now, or at least pay for it.

This whole thing stinks. These people are anti everything this country is supposed to be about. They are destructive to this democracy. And the MSM remains silent about them for some reason.

[tblue37]

Self-delete: accidental dupe. nt

[tblue37]

28. No problem. His lawyers have a perfect defense for him--

and it is one that never fails to get a criminal or scumbag completely off the hook:

IOKIYAR !!!!

[still_one]

29. Pro bono my ass. I suspect some right wing thug group is footing the bill as a silent partner /nt

[xchrom]

32. Recommend

[Blue Owl]

33. "O'Keefe" is to "Reporter" what "Walker" is to "Governor"

A complete POS punk in over his head.