Lawyers call prosecution of ACORN politically motivated

Lawyers for the community organizing group ACORN and its staff Wednesday blasted the state’s prosecution of the group, calling it politically motivated and baseless.

Attorney Lisa Rasmussen said the group will fight the charges.

“The politically motivated charges, such as those brought by the attorney general and secretary of state, just highlight the voter registration system that is broken,” Rasmussen said.

Two co-defendants in the case appeared briefly Wednesday in a Las Vegas court. Christopher Edwards, 33, and Amy Busefink, 26, didn’t comment on the charges against them.

Edwards is ACORN’s former Las Vegas field director. Busefink, of Florida, was the group’s regional director for voter registration.

ACORN is accused of illegally requiring canvassers to meet voter registration quotas. That resulted in thousands of “garbage” registrations, according to the state attorney general. Authorities said canvassers, under pressure to keep their jobs, turned in registrations with phony names and addresses. In one much-publicized account, a canvasser turned in the starting line-up for the Dallas Cowboys.

The attorney general’s office has charged ACORN and Edwards with 13 counts of compensation for registering voters. Busefink is charged with 13 counts of compensation for registration of voters.

An attorney representing Busefink, Anthony DiRaimondo, called the charges totally unfounded and without merit.

“Nevada’s election officials are wasting time and taxpayer money threatening people like Ms. Busefink, who are working to bring disenfranchised Nevada’s into the electorate,” DiRaimondo said.

Bertha Lewis, ACORN’s CEO and chief organizer, repeated the claims that the prosecutions against the group were politically motivated. Lewis, based in New York, said the charges stem from Republicans who have influenced Nevada authorities. However, the charges were brought by Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto, a Democrat, and announced by Nevada Secretary of State Ross Miller, also a Democrat.

“Just because somebody says they are a registered Democrat doesn’t make them fair and balanced and open,” Lewis said.

Chief Deputy Attorney General Conrad Hafen said politics played no part in prosecuting ACORN.

“The attorney general’s office is tasked with upholding the laws in the state,” he said.

Authorities have rarely used the law. Hafen said he has never seen it used in the 17 years he has been a prosecutor.

The attorney general said ACORN’s canvassers were required to gather at least 20 voter registrations a day to keep their jobs. They also had a bonus program, known as “blackjack,” which rewarded employees with $5 extra per shift if they brought in 21 or more completed registrations.

Lewis said the blackjack bonus was against ACORN’s policy. The group stopped the practice after learning about it.

ACORN also alerted state officials to the irregularities they found in its registration drive, said Clare Crawford, deputy political director for the group.

Lewis said she is confident the organization will be proven innocent and that the “trumped up, outrageous charges in the end will be thrown out.”

Contact reporter David Kihara at dkihara@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-1039.