Debt Retirement Invitation

And it doesn’t get more old school than this. I was standing outside the democratic national headquarters Wednesday morning, watching a parade of lobbyists heading in to ‘meet and greet’ the newly elected freshman democrats. But this wasn’t about just meeting and greeting. The purpose was to introduce the new legislators on Capitol Hill to the old money from K street.

The lobbying crowd was being encouraged to come and “retire the debt” of the new democrats who had spent a fortune campaigning their way to this day. sponsored by old boy veterans, John Dingell of Michigan and Nick Rahall of West Virginia, it was a back slapping, check writing affair. Dingell and Rahall actually advised in their invitation just how friendly the lobbyists and political action committees should be: anywhere from $2500 to be a friend, up to $20,000 to be a “host”.

Somebody slipped us the rather blatant cash plea invitation and you can see for yourself the “dance card” that helps lobbyist keep track of the money they were passing out.

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What really was surprising is just how open and honest the pols and the lobbyists are about this. When asked if this just the same old pay to play politics in action, Rep. Nick Rahall of West Virginia asked if I had a better idea. And Steny Hoyer, the house majority leader for the democrats said, of course the lobbyists are getting access, but then said its the same kind of access anyone could get if they helped on campaigns or turned out at town hall meetings.

So who did get access? Ric Fenton is a lobbyist for the mining industry. He told me he is really an educator serving a vital function on the hill. Then he admitted his vital function on this chilly morning in DC was to hand out cold, hard cash.

“How much are you giving today?” I asked.

“I think we’re giving $5,000.”

“To one or a bunch?”

“To several. We go through that fairly thoroughly.”

I guess when you are an educator on Capitol Hill, like Mr. Fenton, you really need to make sure the students learn their lesson. $5,000 a pop sounds like a good start for the study of old boy politics 101.

“We cannot confirm or deny.”

That is the phrase reporters are used to hearing from the typically tight-lipped FBI public information officer.  Not this time.

In this case, three active FBI agents were given special clearance to speak publicly about the day in 2004 that a flash bang grenade went off while they were on assignment during a hostage stakeout. They say it could easily have killed one of them.

The three agents say they were sitting in their car, when the grenade went off without warning.  All three agents say they suffer hearing loss, and the agent closest sustained other injuries, due to the unexpected explosion.

A flash bang grenade is considered a non-lethal weapon.  When one is deployed, it emits a bright flash and a deafening bang, often used to shock and disorient the enemy.  Flash bangs are widely used in the military, as well as by FBI. agents, and local law enforcement officers.

Pyrotechnic Specialties Inc. or P.S.I, of Byron, Georgia,  is the company that manufactured the flash bangs in question.  Earlier this year, a federal indictment against PSI alleged the company knew its flash bangs were defective, and even knew how to fix the problem, which would cost the company just $3.72 per grenade. But federal investigators say the company chose not to fix problem, and instead relabeled the faulty devices, and then sold them to local law enforcement agencies and to the FBI.  One of them ended up in the hands of the three FBI agents I interviewed.

The criminal trial against the company is set for January 2009, and there are several civil cases still in the discovery phase.  P.S.I, its CEO and other defendants in this case all pleaded not guilty, saying the charges against them are vague and/or confusing.

The one thing the agents expressed to me time and again was the shock and disappointment they felt that an American company could knowingly sell a defective product to its own servicemen and women.

One agent said, “We expect risks to come from the bad guys - The people who we try to protect the American people from.  For those risks to come from an American company is just unconscionable for me.  It’s infuriating.”  Whether PSI is at fault is at the heart of each of these lawsuits.

But looking at the bigger picture, how common is it for American companies to cut corners on safety to save a few bucks? How thorough are regulations and oversight?   When you see the “made in the U.S.A.” label, what does that mean to you?

In addition, we are interested in knowing of other cases where people have been injured by a flash bang either here or abroad.

The community organizing group ACORN, investigated this year for filing fraudulent voter registration forms, has fired two board members it had appointed to look into the possible embezzlement of nearly $1 million by the brother of one of the group’s founders.

An internal document from the ACORN executive board, obtained by CNN, shows that members Karen Inman and Marcel Reid were “removed from any office or committee position you may have held.” A separate document says that “the memberships of Karen Inman and Marcel Reid in ACORN is canceled, and they are removed from the Association Board.” The documents, dated November 11, are signed by Maude Hurd, president of the ACORN Association Board. Hurd was not immediately available for comment Thursday afternoon, an ACORN receptionist said.

But ACORN member Gloria Brown, speaking from the group’s main office in New Orleans, Louisiana, said in response to a CNN request for comment that Inman and Reid were removed because “they’ve been saying from the beginning things that were not true.”

Brown said she was the only person available from ACORN to speak with CNN at the moment. Inman, who is from Minnesota, contends that only her state branch can remove her and it has not done so. She said the ACORN board’s actions will lead to a criminal investigation.

“Why would you want us not to clean up things?” she asked. “Why would you not want to do your own investigation instead of bringing in the sheriff?”

Asked if she thinks the sheriff is coming, she answered: “I think the sheriff’s coming.”

The possible embezzlement by Dale Rathke, brother of ACORN founder Wade Rathke, allegedly occurred about eight years ago. But the ACORN board did not find out about it until this year. In July, the ACORN board selected an interim management committee to look at the possible embezzlement and its concealment. Inman and Reid were two of the members appointed to the committee.

When an ACORN affiliate that acts as the group’s accounting firm denied the committee members access to the books, Inman said, she, Reid and several others filed a lawsuit to have the court order ACORN to preserve the books and give them access to all accounting matters. That suit became known as the ACORN 8 because, according to Inman, eight ACORN people signed onto it. She now says there are 25 members demanding the accountability.

ACORN said the interim management committee essentially had no authority
and countersued.

“They didn’t have authority from that committee,” ACORN member Brown said Thursday. “They filed this lawsuit that basically was not on behalf of the
board at all.”

According to the documents obtained by CNN, the ACORN executive board met Sunday and decided to remove Inman and Reid and any other members participating in the lawsuit. The problems at ACORN already have cost it the financial support of one of its major donors. The Catholic Campaign for Human Development froze contributions to ACORN in June amid the embezzlement allegations. This week, as the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops met in Baltimore, Maryland, the campaign’s chairman said it was cutting all ties with the group.

“We simply had too many questions and concerns to permit further CCHD funding of ACORN groups,” Roger Morin, the auxiliary bishop of New Orleans, told his colleagues in an earlier letter to the conference.

The CCHD has donated more than $7.3 million to ACORN-related projects over the past decade, including $40,000 to an ACORN chapter in Las Vegas, Nevada, that was raided before the election in an investigation into fraudulent voter registration forms. Morin said a church review completed earlier this month found ACORN no longer meets standards for further funding.

In a statement to CNN, ACORN Executive Director Steven Kest said his group is grateful for the church’s funding.

“We look forward to continuing discussions with CCHD officials and the bishops in the months ahead in hopes that we can continue working together on projects which have been so important to so many in low-income neighborhoods across the country,” Kest said.

But Ralph McCloud, the Human Development campaign’s director, said the church has “severed ties” with ACORN and there are no plans for further discussion.

By Kathleen Johnston

– CNN’s Arthur Brice and Marcus Hooper contributed to this report.

ACORN, the community organizing group rocked by voter registration fraud allegations, is being rocked again by the loss of a major donor.

And the group’s sloppy voter registration drive in the 2008 presidential election campaign is at least partly to blame.

Citing voter fraud allegations along with embezzlement and accounting issues at ACORN (the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now), the Catholic church announced it will sever all ties with the group. The announcement to stop all funding to various ACORN projects came at the U.S. conference of Catholic bishops in Baltimore.

Bishop Roger Morin, who chairs the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) told his fellow bishops, “We simply had too many questions and concerns to permit further CCHD funding of ACORN groups.”

Bishop Morin froze all Catholic funds to ACORN in June when ACORN revealed the brother of the group’s founders had embezzled nearly a million dollars from the group. The embezzlement took place years ago, but was only recently revealed to ACORN board members and donor groups.

In a letter to All Bishops, Bishop Morin said the Catholic Church would conduct its own review. That review was completed earlier this month and the church apparently was not convinced ACORN meets the standards of further funding.

“No funds were given this year, none for next year and now the stance at present is there will be no funding relationship with ACORN groups in the future,” said Bishop Morin.

The Catholic Church has a long history of giving grant money to ACORN and its affiliates. Over the past decade, the Catholic Campaign for Human Development has given more than $7.3 million dollars to ACORN related projects.

The CCHD gave more than a million dollars to ACORN last year, including $40-thousand dollars to the ACORN chapter in Las Vegas. That chapter was recently raided by local authorities in a voter registration fraud investigation. Among other questionable registrations, the ACORN chapter submitted registrations for members of the Dallas Cowboys football team.

In a statement to CNN, ACORN’s executive Director Steven Kest said his group is grateful the church’s funding in the past and “We look forward to continuing discussions with CCHD officials and the bishops in the months ahead in hopes that we can continue working together on projects, which have been so important to so many in low income neighborhoods across the country.”

An official with the Catholic Campaign for Human Development says there are no plans to continue any discussion with ACORN at this time. Ralph McCloud, the director of CCHD says the Catholic Church has “severed ties” with ACORN.

Marcus Hooper contributed to this report

“I don’t take a dime from Washington lobbyists, and special interests. They do not run my campaign. They will not run my White House — and they will not drown out the voice of The American people.” 
  — President-elect Barack Obama

President-elect Barack Obama made it very clear on the campaign trail that he wanted to lessen the power and influence that some lobbyists have in Washington D.C. 

Even many lobbyists will tell you that the Jack Abramoffs of the industry need to be curtailed, and there needs to be more transparency among both lobbyists and lawmakers.

But what is so wrong with being a lobbyist?  Why have they been vilified to the point where you simply hear the word “lobbyist,” and you think about secret, backdoor dealings, between large, powerful special interests and their smarmy, money-hungry lobbyists, and your so-called trusted member of Congress?

Maybe that really is how Washington works – it’s about whom you know, and a person’s access to powerful decision-makers.  But there are other lobbyists as well, not just your stereotypical corporate lobbyist that both Sen. John McCain and President-elect Obama seemed to zero in on during many of their campaign speeches. 

I interviewed Professor Chai Feldman from Georgetown University’s law school.  She teaches a course about becoming a lobbyist.  She told me that the new administration will never push powerful lobbyists out of D.C.  In fact, she reminded me that lobbyists are protected by the First Amendment of the Constitution - the right to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.  But she does feel there will be a shift in thinking, after the inauguration on January 20, 2009.  She says corporate lobbyists will soon share the stage with other, traditionally less influential, grassroots groups.

My question to you is do you feel that President-elect Obama really can change the way Washington has worked for so long?  Do you think implementing stricter rules and more regulations on lobbyists will make any real difference?  Do you think the voice of the people will be heard?

So today I got a letter sent to all Catholic Bishops in the U.S. announcing that due to serious problems at the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), the Catholic Campaign for Human Development is suspending all funds to ACORN.

It’s significant because the Catholic Church in the U.S. has given $7.3 million dollars to ACORN projects over the past decade. Just last year, U.S. Catholics gave more than a million dollars to ACORN. And it appears some of that money filtered down to the ACORN office in Las Vegas that made headlines trying to register the Dallas Cowboys football team to vote in Nevada.

The problem for the Catholics is two fold:

The Catholic Church is concerned about its own tax exempt status being involved in a group that is now so deeply involved in political support of one candidate.
The Catholic Church says questions have arisen about ACORNS financial management, fiscal transparency and accountability.

So, of course, I immediately called ACORN’s spokesperson Scott Levenson, one of many public relations specialists brought on by ACORN to fight all this bad press. And here is Scott’s response to the question about the Catholic Bishop’s suspending ACORN funding:

“The facts are wrong and we will no longer participate in a Drew Griffin hatchet job against ACORN.”

Less than an hour later, after our editorial director made a call to ACORN asking if this really was their response, we got this from another public relations specialist ACORN brought on to fight the bad press:

“ACORN is grateful to have received CCHD funding for many years, and proud that CCHD has enabled us to help our low income constituency achieve the American Dream. We know that CCHD is reviewing their current funding, and we are in discussions with them about continuing their support.” - Steve Kest, ACORN Executive Director

The tension over at ACORN must be so thick you could cut it with a …well, I guess a hatchet.

If you’ve been following our attempts to find out why so many ACORN voter registration forms are being turned in with apparently fraudulent information, you may have also seen my interview with ACORN’s chief organizer Bertha Lewis.
 

During our live interview I asked Ms. Lewis what ACORN was or is doing to prevent further voter registration fraud. She invited me to go to New York and see for myself.

Here is how the conversation went:

DREW: “Is there anything else you can do, in terms of greater openness to put these issues to rest? Can you open the books? Can we work this out?

Bertha Lewis/Acorn chief Organizer: “Sure, we want Drew or anyone, Drew come sit down in our office.”

Of course, immediately after the interview, my producer Kathleen Johnston, called to ask when we could come and sit down in Ms. Lewis’ office, in fact we asked if we could come tomorrow. That was 11 tomorrow’s ago. We are still in negotiations with ACORN as to what exactly Ms. Lewis meant by her “come sit down in our office” invitation. ACORN has hired a crisis management team and a public relations firm to help them handle the press. And so far, at least handling us, has meant to keep their office door closed.

I’ll keep you posted….negotiations continue.

I recently interviewed Jordan Belfort for our special report on the lifestyles of some of the fat cats on . Wall Street. Belfort  used to call himself “The Wolf of Wall Street,” just like the title of his autobiographical book published in 2007.

He says in the 1990s he was making around $1 million a week. He lived what he called “The Life,” – He had his own helicopter, a yacht, dozens of servants, and a mansion in the Hamptons. But it was all based on fraud. He spent 22 months in prison, charged with money laundering and securities fraud. Today, he still owes victims more than $100 million in restitution.

But what I found most interesting about Belfort was the way he identified with movie and television characters.

I would have never remembered the original “Wolf of Wall Street,” had Belfort not told me. Thurston Howell III from “Gilligan’s Island” was actually called the “old Wolf of Wall Street,” in the popular television series that was about a group of people who were stranded on a deserted island. Thurston Howell III was a wealthy businessman. Belfort, too, called himself by the same name, and it stuck.

Then came the movie “Wall Street,” directed by Oliver Stone in 1987. Belfort said he considered the lead character Gordon Gekko his hero. Gekko, played by Michael Douglas, was a Wall Streeter who coined the infamous phrase, “Greed is good.” Belfort couldn’t have agreed more with those three simple words, and it became the motto he lived by.

Belfort said he lives his life as if he were a character in a movie. Even in private, he said he plays the roles of characters in front of what he called “an invisible audience.”

He emulated characters like the one Richard Gere played in “Pretty Woman.” He bought the same white Testarossa that Don Johnson’s character, Sonny Crocket, tooled around in on “Miami Vice.” And now, after he lived “The Life,” and ultimately paid the price, he said he’s cast himself in a much different role. The one Tom Cruise played in the movie “Jerry McGuire”–a sports agent redeemed after a career collapse.

I think it’s interesting to think of living life in terms of pop culture. When I was talking to Belfort after the interview he asked me if I’ve modeled my life after Michelle Pfeiffer’s character in “Up Close and Personal.” Pfeiffer’s character, Tally Atwater, was a young and ambitious reporter, who had dreams of making it big. I kind of laughed and shrugged it off, but really, I remember watching that movie a long time ago, and thought, “If only I were lucky enough to do a live shot from trapped inside a maximum security prison in the middle of a riot! My career would be set!”

So, here’s my question:

During this unpredictable time, maybe we should ask ourselves what characters are we trying to portray? How does our role-playing affect our future? And in a perfect world, who should we be emulating?

Editor’s Note: Thirty kids, ages 12 to 16, from Bushwick, Brooklyn, were chosen to participate in “Journey for Change,” a youth empowerment program created by Malaak Compton-Rock. In early August they traveled to South Africa with Compton-Rock and CNN Anchor Soledad O’Brien.  The group returned to the U.S. on August 13th.  Since their return, they’ve been fundraising and doing service projects. We’ve asked them to share their thoughts and experiences by blogging. In March,  the group’s journey will be featured in a CNN Documentary.

At the FOCUS event, for City Harvest, I had lots of fun. When I arrived, I felt excited about going to this special event. Inside were people dressed all fancy and a whole bunch of photographers surrounding us. I went to the area where all of our pictures were displayed. When I saw my pictures on the wall I felt so happy because the pictures that I had actually taken in Africa were on the wall. Steven’s, Latoya’s, Joshua’s, and Keyon’s pictures were up too. I felt so proud of myself and I felt like I did a really good job. There were people at the event that I didn’t even know coming up to me and telling me how my pictures came out beautiful and I should think about becoming a photographer. The best part was that I even got to go on the red carpet. I felt like a superstar posing for the cameras. For the rest of the night I was just dancing and getting to know new people. Then all of a sudden, I heard that Rachael Ray had just entered.  I immediately took my camera out and asked to take a picture with her. Later on that night, Yolaine and I were going around taking pictures. Before you knew, it was time to go home. I wasn’t ready to go home because the producer had told me and Yolaine that Danity Kane was supposed to be stopping by. But we had no choice but to leave because school was the next day. One of the mentors Keith even came!!!!! That night was the best night of my life. The FOCUS event was so fun, but I wish I could’ve stayed longer.  The food was also good and the event helped to feed hungry people.

Zuliana Burnett, 12

The FOCUS event for City Harvest was a memorable experience because I have never gone to an event like that. I have gone to art galleries but nothing compared to that. That art gallery was huge. It had a big stage for music, some show cars, and there was a big auction going on. I liked the event because on exhibition were some pictures from when I went to South Africa. I also saw some pictures that I took for Times for Kids magazine. I was filled with joy when I saw those. The whole time there was great because I saw and mingled with different people that I probably would have never met if I didn’t go to the event.

Kenyon Aigle, 16

Going to the photo gallery was an excellent experience.  I touched and looked inside of a million dollar car.  There was also another car there and it had Lamborghini doors.  This car was red and it went faster than 200 miles per hour.  I sat in it and I felt like I had trillion dollars in my pocket and bank account.  There were lots of famous people there.  I took pictures with Rachel Ray.  I was looking around for Whoopi Goldberg.  I didn’t find her because it was time for me to go home.  There were many cool pictures there.  The Journey for Change pictures were also posted.  These were pictures that were taken by a couple of Journey for Change participants.  I had lots of fun and it was a really great experience.  Some of the photos that were there were being auctioned off.  The money is going to City Harvest.

Albert Brunn III, 12

The car wash was a great day and I had a great time. We were doing the car wash to raise money for a little girl in South Africa. Her house burned down and her mother was in the hospital because she was burned badly. At the beginning of the Car Wash, Mrs. Malaak-Compton Rock stopped us and called over all the participants from Journey for Change. She told us that the little girl’s mother had passed away and that we weren’t going to be raising the money to rebuild the house, but that we were raising money so that the little girl could go to school and have food. After hearing the little girl’s mother had passed, I was sad because that was my motivation for the whole car wash. I had been telling drivers that we were raising the money for the girl and her mother to rebuild their house in South Africa. But at the end of everything it all worked out.  We raised $1340 for the little girl to go to school and to eat!!!!!

Steven Pallares, 15

The car wash was very fun.  We had people on the sidewalks handing out fliers and holding up signs.  We also had people walking up to cars and asking them if they wanted to buy candy.  The car wash was to raise money for a little girl who we met in South Africa.  On the day of the car wash all of the Journey for Change participants were informed that her mother died in the hospital a week before.  Her mother was in the hospital with burns from the neck down.  The little girl was burned too, but not as badly as her mother.  They received these burns when their shack burned down.  When her mother died the woman had only paid for three months of school.  The little girl is currently living with her uncle.  The uncle is unemployed and he has his own kids to support.  He can’t afford to take care of her. The focus of the car wash was changed.  We wanted to make sure the little girl eats well and is able to go to school.  Any extra money will go towards new clothing.  Maybe any extra money could also be used to start a savings account for her.

Albert Brunn III, 12

10/13/08

Conventional thinking says poor people, minorities and the disenfranchised don’t vote because those in power try to make it as difficult as possible for these various groups to vote.

That is the reason ACORN, a far-left leaning consortium of community activism, decided this election cycle to aggressively register voters in America’s less affluent neighborhoods.

One of those areas is Lake County Indiana. For anyone outside of Indiana, this is Gary, a city of shuttered or crippling along steel mills, vacant store fronts and mostly black faces.

Vowing to make sure these forgotten faces get heard, ACORN initially sought to register as many as 45-thousand new voters in Lake County alone. That would have been tremendous given the county has just 300-thousand voters altogether.

Even so, when ACORN dropped off its pile of 5,000 new voter registration forms, the elections workers were elated. Both the republican and democratic workers inside the Lake County registrar’s office are excited about each new voter and were indeed hoping this election would be the one that ignited the kind of voter engagement that is our constitutional right.

But when they began peeling away the onion, so to speak, it started to rot. The first 2,100 voter applications were deemed fraud the other 2,900 were put aside. Now the Indiana Attorney General is being asked to investigate.

ACORN, which ran the voter drive, has tried to say allegations of voter registration fraud against ACORN is just another plot by those in power to keep those out of power from voting. No so. Having looked directly at the applications in question, I can tell you ACORN itself was defrauded by its own workers.

Paid to register voters, it appears all the ACORN workers did was fill in any old name, dead, made up or even a name on a fast food restaurant, and collect their pay.

Because every voter registration application must legally be reviewed, the workers in the Lake County Election’s office are spending 10 and 12 hour days trying to verify what they know are fake voter registration cards handed in by ACORN.