Time for the frivolous lawsuit:
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.
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The court filing claims ACORN has been bruised badly by the legislation. It says it has had to lay off employees, close offices and “drastically” reduce services.
But the complaint also offers a small peak into and how much ACORN truly relies on the government for money. It cites FEMA pulling back roughly $1 million in funding for fire safety assessments after the legislation passed. The filing also shows that the organization lost out on a $780,000 EPA grant to educate poor communities about asthma and a separate grant to set up public computer centers for the poor in five cities.
I’d like to say that I don’t think this lawsuit will go anywhere, but in today’s day and age one never knows.
ACORN is going to win this one and also get a bonus as a HATE CRIME. Hide and watch, the world is flat, now.
I have mixed opinions about Acorn. I think they have been maliciously attacked but they do have some pretty serious failings.
I think they have a good chance of winning the case based on the fact that the de-funding legislation was basically targeted directly at them and the government isn’t supposed to be able to do that.
However over all, I think until they clean up their act they shouldn’t be getting any government funding, but I also believe that churches that participate in political issues campaigns should forfeit the tax exempt status.