Kansas City ACORN voter registration indictments violated policy & more

By Diane Silver

Interesting timing. I just finished my U.S. attorney post and learned that Talking Point Memo's Muckraker.com had just posted about Bradley Schlozman's indictments of four ACORN workers.

The entire Muckraker post is worth reading, but here are the highlights.

• Schlozman's indictments broke with longstanding Justice Department policy to NOT bring election charges just before a vote because it "can intimidate minority voters, affect voter turnout and potentially even influence the result of the election."
• At the time, the indictments were trumpeted as the first of a national investigation of widespread fraud. No charges were ever filed anywhere else against ACORN workers.
• The fraud was likely perpetrated on ACORN and wasn't an effort BY ACORN to sway the election.
  
• One of the indictments targeted the wrong person, perhaps proof of how fast they were rushed to get them into court before the election.
• Only six fraudulent voters were ever registered. Only two people have pleaded guilty. (I originally reported on one.)