ACORN Watch: The Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s Office warped priorities

By Michelle Malkin  •  September 11, 2009 11:10 PM

The Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s Office issued a statement tonight indicating that it may prosecute the Big Government undercover team that conducted one of its ACORN/prostitution stings in B’more.

Yes, really.

The young reporters could face up to five years in jail for violating Maryland’s wiretap laws.

Reader John Muraro notes that the Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s Office was responsible for handling the Zachary Sowers murder case, which I blogged about last year. He was pummeled into a coma by a gang of teenage thugs and later died of his massive injuries. Three of the four remorseless attackers were allowed to plea bargain down to eight years each in jail.

John sums up the warped priorities:

So:

· undercover investigation by the conservative reporter = reporters may serve 5 years in jail

· the animalistic beating of a young man by 4 thugs, resulting in 9 months of suffering and his death = plea bargained to 8 years in jail

That’s a rather peculiar sense of justice.

Yes, yes it is.

Baltimore City State’s Attorney Patricia Jessamy can be reached at mail@stattorney.org or (410) 396-4001.

***

Allahpundit looks at the statute the ACORN-protecting officials in Maryland want to use and notes:

You’ll find exception after exception provided for law enforcement to shield them from liability when they tape criminals surreptitiously to serve the public interest. Kind of like how O’Keefe did here.

Posted in: ACORN Watch

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  1. Pirates! Man Your Women! » Blog Archive » Guess Who Baltimore City State Attorney is Going After
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  3. The Other McCain: Interview with Doug Giles, whose daughter Hannah helped take down ACORN
  4. Maryland Congressman Roscoe Bartlett calls for Congressional investigation of ACORN…evidently didn’t get Rep. Conyer’s memo. « Ztower
  5. Bullying Liberal Prosecutor Patricia Jessamy Tries to Censor Video of Obama-Backed ACORN Promoting Sexual Slavery | OpenMarket.org
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Comments


  1. #804560
    On September 11th, 2009 at 11:14 pm, JamieD said:

    I would consider giving him protection under the whistle blower laws at the very least.

    What a great public service by the reporters!

  2. #804561
    On September 11th, 2009 at 11:17 pm, JamieD said:

    I know those laws do not directly apply, but surely our ‘public servants’ could have leniency for a citizen who has exposed such extreme corruption involving taxpayer funds.

  3. #804563
    On September 11th, 2009 at 11:25 pm, frontierguy said:

    No surprise here. Baltimore is the home of Nancy Pelosi and her criminal politician family.

  4. #804569
    On September 11th, 2009 at 11:31 pm, serfer62 said:

    The DA is black. ACORN is basically a black organization.The perps are black. The investigators are white.
    .
    Hmmmmm

  5. #804573
    On September 11th, 2009 at 11:34 pm, nwsseeker said:

    For the record, a search of contributions on the FEC website shows that this Baltimore City State’s Attorney gave Obama $1000 last year.

    CP on September 11, 2009 at 10:17 PM

    Borrowed this/plagarized? from CP over at Hotair.

  6. #804575
    On September 11th, 2009 at 11:36 pm, nwsseeker said:

    “Follow the money” is the best adage out there to find out a person’s motive for what they do.

  7. #804578
    On September 11th, 2009 at 11:43 pm, no2pcbs1 said:

    it would seem the baltimore city state’s attorney is as corrupt as acorn, if they bring charges against the reporters, that office needs to be shut down for lacking credibility and ethics. they pose as attorneys when all they are, are common crooks.

  8. #804579
    On September 11th, 2009 at 11:46 pm, JamieD said:

    I sent the following to Ms. Patricia Jessamy:

    Ms Patricia Jessamy:
    I have recently become aware of your intentions to bring charges against the two reporters involved in exposing the egregious actions of Acorn sub-contractors regarding their intent to facilitate criminal activity and taxpayer fraud. If these intentions are true, I find it appalling and a direct reversal of the purpose of your office.

    These reporters have performed a great public service in exposing such an unbelievable level of corruption involving taxpayer funds. Surely there is some leniency available to reward those who help the greater good of ALL law abiding citizens. I for one am greatly pleased to see this exposure and expect nothing less of all public servants; you included.

    Thank you, with all sincerity,
    xxxxxx- my name- xxxxx

    P.S.
    Please do not bother me with an ‘auto response’ reply. Only sincerity is appreciated.

  9. #804580
    On September 11th, 2009 at 11:46 pm, vickisoup said:

    Excuse me…what about that tv show where the guy lured those child sex predators to meetings and then exposed them?? Argh. Who can keep up with these criminals.
    :roll:

  10. #804581
    On September 11th, 2009 at 11:47 pm, vickisoup said:

    (allow me to add some context: I mean to say that if the tv show wasn’t committing a crime, why should THESE reporters stand accused?).

  11. #804583
    On September 11th, 2009 at 11:52 pm, almiller said:

    It is time to Nifong these creeps.

  12. #804584
    On September 11th, 2009 at 11:55 pm, kayfromcarroll said:

    Pat Jessamy is no stranger to the backwards manner of justice in the city of Baltimore.

    At one time the mayor designated that Baltimore should be referred to as “The city that reads.”

    We Baltimoreans actually call it “The city that bleeds.”

    Also famous for the family that chose to stand up to the drug-dealing gangs. They were told, after several death threats, that the city had no funds for witness protection. If they were afraid, they would have to move, on their own dime.

    Their house was fire-bombed in the middle of the night and all perished. The stop-snitching video was produced by the drug-dealers shortly after this tragedy.

    The perpetrators have never been brought to justice.

    This is the Baltimore that we know.

  13. #804586
    On September 11th, 2009 at 11:58 pm, almiller said:

    Do these guys remember a prosecutor named Nifong?

  14. #804587
    On September 11th, 2009 at 11:58 pm, rightwingrocker said:

    While the wiretap law should have merit with regard to private citizens, it should not apply to investigations of government entities or entities heavily supported by (especially illegal, as in this case) government funding.

    If the government can legally investigate private citizens in this fashion, then there should be no problem with private citizens investigating the government in this fashion.

    This isn’t any different from the Rodney King case, from a wiretapping standpoint.

    RWR
    http://www.rightwingrocker.com

  15. #804589
    On September 12th, 2009 at 12:00 am, MarcoPolo said:

    According to Google, John Stossel and Linda Tripp were both charged under this law.

    They should just leave Maryland and never go back.

  16. #804590
    On September 12th, 2009 at 12:24 am, Flyoverman said:

    They are jsut iritated over two amatetuers that made their invstigative abilities look like CRAP!

  17. #804593
    On September 12th, 2009 at 12:35 am, txvet2 said:

    A caller on (I think) Roger Hedgecock’s show predicted this the day the story came out.

  18. #804594
    On September 12th, 2009 at 12:35 am, coffee said:

    Think about how incredibly STUPID this DA is. He first had to have this moronic thought. He then probably discussed it with some other morons; he thinks it is a good idea. He then lets the public know about his most moronic moment, and he STILL thinks this is a good idea. Mind numbingly STUPID. Mark Sanford STUPID. Mike Nifong STUPID. Nancy Pelosi STUPID.

  19. #804596
    On September 12th, 2009 at 12:38 am, coffee said:

    Actually, I dare them to go through with their threat. I double dare you.

  20. #804627
    On September 12th, 2009 at 8:07 am, zorro said:

    On September 12th, 2009 at 12:38 am, coffee said:

    Actually, I dare them to go through with their threat. I double dare you.

    This is my reaction as well. It may be that this DA (officer of the court?) may have ignored this activity in the past, heck; he may even be on ACORN’s payroll.

    Whatever the situation, pray for our country, it seems we have fallen through the looking glass; everything is backwards in the Age of Obama.

  21. #804628
    On September 12th, 2009 at 8:16 am, ex-expat said:

    Whaddya expect? Its the State of Maryland/Baltimore City!

  22. #804631
    On September 12th, 2009 at 8:30 am, rplatt said:

    let the scumbags prosecute and they’ll see the same fate as Nifong. Start the defense fund and let’s fill the coffers.

  23. #804633
    On September 12th, 2009 at 8:33 am, tiredofit08 said:

    too bad stupidity can’t be prosecuted and the prosecutor be on trial….

  24. #804635
    On September 12th, 2009 at 8:45 am, TigerLady said:

    More evidence of the need to stand as a nation and take our country back from these crooks.

    We are fighting a war with insidious opponents. They have invaded every nook and cranny of our political system. These young people were doing the job that our State Run Media should be doing. The media is complicit in the moral, ethical and illegal corruption that is in our government.

    I’d hate to predict that some judge or jury would exonerate a charge against these courageous kids. My fear is that they will get the book thrown at them.

  25. #804636
    On September 12th, 2009 at 8:45 am, Ron said:

    What worries me is when the state protects criminals and prosecutes their victims. Left unchecked, that leads to revolution. Given the mood in the country right now, I view this statement as highly inflammatory and against common sense. If they want to discourage freelance investigative reporting, they could simply say the evidence would not be admissible in court and be done with it. If, as noted above, the state’s attorney is black, I suspect this is just a sophisticated way of playing the race card. Sort of like her saying, “You go after us, and we’ll go after you.”

  26. #804638
    On September 12th, 2009 at 8:49 am, ex-expat said:

    Sort of like her saying, “You go after us, and we’ll go after you.”

    Not ’sort of’, it is.

  27. #804640
    On September 12th, 2009 at 8:49 am, Ron said:

    One more thought. If charges are ever brought, can you imagine the size of the legal defense fund that we could set up? And a full-blown trial could lead to opportunities for further investigation, not only of Acorn but of the state’s attorney as well. For instance, what led her to issue this statement, and who was involved in that decision? Did Acorn ask for the statement? My prediction: look for Acorn to try to sue these investigators, which again would be reason to form a legal defense fund.

  28. #804641
    On September 12th, 2009 at 8:50 am, happyscrapper said:

    On September 12th, 2009 at 12:35 am, coffee said:
    Think about how incredibly STUPID this DA is. He first had to have this moronic thought. He then probably discussed it with some other morons; he thinks it is a good idea. He then lets the public know about his most moronic moment, and he STILL thinks this is a good idea. Mind numbingly STUPID. Mark Sanford STUPID. Mike Nifong STUPID. Nancy Pelosi STUPID.

    Great post, and my sentiments exactly! I knew this would happen. And I also know that there are thousands (millions?) of folks who would contribute to the defense fund. There is no way they can prosecute these people for what they did. As Glenn Beck said on Friday, our top priority is to get rid of the incredible corruption that has permeated every fiber of this country. Until we do, nothing else will be possible. We must not allow any more corrupt bills to be passed until the cockroaches have all been stomped out. Everything they touch in DC right now is corrupt. Drain the swamp first…then just hope there are enough handcuffs to secure all the crooks. Start with Rangel…continue on down…Dodd, Murtha, Reid, Pelosi, OBAMA…etc. They are all evil.

  29. #804643
    On September 12th, 2009 at 8:56 am, happyscrapper said:

    So….I guess we are stuck with this numbering system, huh? It really sucks because I can never tell what number I am on and it is hard to go back and find a previous post. I wish Michelle would tell us why this new system is necessary.

  30. #804645
    On September 12th, 2009 at 9:02 am, onefed said:

    Generally speaking, black Americans are the most racist group of the late 20th/21st century. Until people come to accept that and knock off the equally pathetic white guilt, get used to stuff like this. Sheesh, all those poor Yankees lying in those Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania fields for all this….

  31. #804647
    On September 12th, 2009 at 9:06 am, happyscrapper said:

    On September 12th, 2009 at 9:02 am, onefed said:
    Generally speaking, black Americans are the most racist group of the late 20th/21st century. Until people come to accept that and knock off the equally pathetic white guilt, get used to stuff like this. Sheesh, all those poor Yankees lying in those Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania fields for all this….

    So true…and this entire administration, starting with Obama, is all about reparations. Time for whitey to pay back. We saw this coming. And, the Constitution means nothing to the President because it was written by rich white slave owners. The entire document is meaningless to them.

  32. #804648
    On September 12th, 2009 at 9:09 am, oldcollegeguy1980 said:

    So are we to understand that no news organization has ever in the history of maryland went undercover and taped anyone unknowingly

    that in the history of maryland every kid who videoed and stuck on you tube something they did to anyone else unknowingly was prosecuted

    Take it to court, i’m ready to pledge some money every month for their defense

  33. #804650
    On September 12th, 2009 at 9:19 am, jbh45 said:

    I believe Landmark Legal Foundation would be chomping on the bit to cross-examine ACORN officials under oath. So I say BRING IT ON!

  34. #804656
    On September 12th, 2009 at 9:27 am, babiesgrandma said:

    coffee said:
    Think about how incredibly STUPID this DA is. Nancy Pelosi STUPID.

    OUCH! That’s gotta hurt to be THAT stupid!

  35. #804661
    On September 12th, 2009 at 9:34 am, cheapseat said:

    black racists protecting black criminal enterprises. holder, this clown, it happens all over the u.s. i’m sure it happens that white prosecuters don’t do their job against white friends, oh yeah, alberto gonzalez fired a bunch of those guys and is now facing legal problems for doing it. hypocrites.

  36. #804662
    On September 12th, 2009 at 9:34 am, Laree said:

    Thug Nation?

  37. #804663
    On September 12th, 2009 at 9:37 am, GraniteMan said:

    We have 4 more years of this junk coming down the pike? V.T.A.O is my battle cry—-VOTE THEM ALL OUT!

  38. #804664
    On September 12th, 2009 at 9:37 am, WaterBoyz said:

    Yea, go ahead and start the process. The only traction this will ever get is from the Black community.

  39. #804665
    On September 12th, 2009 at 9:38 am, WaterBoyz said:

    Yea, go ahead and start the process. The only traction this will ever get is from the Black community.

    Oops, I made a racist comment.

  40. #804676
    On September 12th, 2009 at 10:13 am, Dimsdale said:
  41. #804678
    On September 12th, 2009 at 10:15 am, Painkiller said:

    Yes.
    We must vote them all out.
    Starting at the top, somewhere, anywhere.

    Remember me?

    http://danielmcandrew.com

  42. #804706
    On September 12th, 2009 at 11:01 am, Cowboy said:

    simply assinine

  43. #804709
    On September 12th, 2009 at 11:09 am, mytake said:

    Beyond belief! O’Keefe is a national hero!

  44. #804713
    On September 12th, 2009 at 11:11 am, JamieD said:

    On September 12th, 2009 at 8:45 am, TigerLady said:
    The media is complicit in the moral, ethical and illegal corruption that is in our government.

    Because of their own corruption, they are being used by the communists (Obama, Unions, ACORN, George Soros, etc.) and do not even realize it!

  45. #804723
    On September 12th, 2009 at 11:30 am, Jet Jaguar said:

    On September 12th, 2009 at 9:38 am, WaterBoyz said:

    Oops, I made a racist comment.

    blacks hating white people = social justice

    whites objecting to this tactic = racism

  46. #804726
    On September 12th, 2009 at 11:35 am, cabrerski said:

    Aren’t there laws against malicious prosecution? Does anyone have any history on the number of “gotcha” journalism situations (using hidden cameras) that she ignored or endorsed after the fact?

    In her bio, she seems to be proud of protecting the victims…NEWS FLASH…the victims here are the taxpayers who are funding this behavior.

    One day, it would be refreshing to actually see those attorneys sworn to uphold and enforce the law do so rather than play the political game.

  47. #804733
    On September 12th, 2009 at 12:08 pm, greenfairie said:

    That wiretap law is used selectively, i.e. against anyone who busts a corrupt Democrat: John Stossel, Linda Tripp, etc..

    Keep the heat on the Baltimore DA’s office.

  48. #804751
    On September 12th, 2009 at 1:11 pm, dallas7 said:

    I believe once it’s been determined that no telephone conversations were recorded and no wires were tapped, this issue will pass. Unless there’s wording in that law we’re not aware of. But I don’t think so…

  49. #804760
    On September 12th, 2009 at 1:23 pm, JamieD said:

    I may be wrong, but I believe Judge Napalotiano(?) said the same thing on FOX.

  50. #804807
    On September 12th, 2009 at 3:06 pm, ScottyDog said:

    Actually some enterprising citizens should get the grand jury to convene and examine
    Baltimore City State’s Attorney Patricia Jessamy.

    They could charge her with aiding and abetting a felony and conspiracy to allow under age prostitution and kidnapping.

    Mike Nifong thought he was above the law too.

  51. #804822
    On September 12th, 2009 at 3:56 pm, John Deaux said:

    Yet we can’t prosecute the NY Times for publishing classified material.

  52. #804829
    On September 12th, 2009 at 4:05 pm, rightisright said:

    On September 11th, 2009 at 11:31 pm, serfer62 said:

    The DA is black. ACORN is basically a black organization.The perps are black. The investigators are white.

    so, the black DA goes after the white reporters, that should help the boiling racism in the country…thanks mainly to that racist, affirmative action, Marxist we have for a president.

    RACISTS BASTARDS!!

  53. #804867
    On September 12th, 2009 at 5:33 pm, Sichiban said:

    My bet is that someone in Washington gave the AG a phone call, sort of like what happened to Joe the Plumber.

    I think this is an intimidation tactic. I dare them to follow through. It would lead to so much citizen outrage (and probably uncover layers of corruption) that a lot more than the ACORN problem is likely to surface. That might be a little inconvenient to these slugs.

  54. #804881
    On September 12th, 2009 at 6:25 pm, Republicanvet said:

    On September 12th, 2009 at 8:56 am, happyscrapper said:

    So….I guess we are stuck with this numbering system, huh? It really sucks because I can never tell what number I am on and it is hard to go back and find a previous post. I wish Michelle would tell us why this new system is necessary.

    Likely an upgrade of Wordpress…with some bugs…like the error when logging out.

    Unless you are trying to find another post somewhere, just note the time of your quote, and you can find your place.

  55. #804924
    On September 12th, 2009 at 9:07 pm, ctmom said:

    Glenn Beck seemed to vet this through Judge Napolitano on his show. I’m curious as to why the Judge didn’t see this potential problem on the horizen when he was calculating the sentences that could be brought against the ACORN workers.

  56. #804927
    On September 12th, 2009 at 9:14 pm, ctmom said:

    Ms. Jessamy,

    Do you really think it wise to investigate the two journalists who uncovered the criminal operations at ACORN, when you probably should have been doing it yourself? It might make the citizens of Maryland wonder if you are capable of doing the job these two 20-somethings did with excellence. When are you up for re-election, anyway?

    After all, your first priority is finding criminal behavior, isn’t it?

    Sincerely,

  57. #804975
    On September 13th, 2009 at 12:05 am, DANEgerus said:

    ACORN thug Patricia Jessamy is mentioned in a book called ‘Snitch”:

    Jessamy… said that the DVD proved that legislation needed to be passed in Maryland increasing the punishment for witness intimidation from five years to twenty.

    I assume that Patricia Jessamy won’t be prosecuting herself.

  58. #805025
    On September 13th, 2009 at 8:38 am, WaterBoyz said:

    Likely an upgrade of Wordpress…with some bugs…like the error when logging out.

    Unless you are trying to find another post somewhere, just note the time of your quote, and you can find your place.

    I just use EDIT – FIND – WATERBOYZ (using FF) to locate my previous postings.

    The high numbers of the postings is likely the true number of posts posted overall. Will there be a prize for # 1,000,000 ? ?

  59. #805552
    On September 14th, 2009 at 10:48 am, baboyako said:

    Do they enforce this law on a regular basis or are they only planning on doing so in this particular case?

    It seems to me that if you live in Maryland and videotape your child’s birthday party, you cannot post it on Youtube or Facebook without having the permission of everyone shown.

    What about a business’s surveilance video? Can a criminal claim that the owner did not have their permission to record them and get charges pressed?

    If this is the law, it must be enforced regardless of the circumstances unless the exemption is specifically stated. So, forget the undercover reporters, private individuals, businesses, or anyone else for that matter.

  60. #805857
    On September 14th, 2009 at 3:22 pm, thetoysurgeon said:

    Nothing but a little racism on the part of MD.

  61. #806340
    On September 15th, 2009 at 10:24 am, Shambhala said:

    On September 12th, 2009 at 9:02 am, onefed said:

    Generally speaking, black Americans are the most racist group of the late 20th/21st century.

    On September 12th, 2009 at 9:06 am, happyscrapper said:
    So true…and this entire administration, starting with Obama, is all about reparations.

    Sounds like you two have major problems, and I doubt Blacks have done anything to you. Yes some Blacks are racist, some Latinos are too – I qualify sometimes – and, quite obviously, some Whites are.

    Painting a group with a broad brush is prejudice, and you two qualify.

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