As millions of Americans headed to the polls to vote today, the Association of Community Organizers for Reform Now, aka ACORN, announced that it was filing for bankruptcy. The news came in the form of a letter written by Bertha Lewis, ACORN's CEO, that was posted to the group's website.
"We have seen this coming for some time," Lewis wrote. "Our chapters closed in the first quarter of the year. We have spent our remaining resources trying to dissolve the organization with integrity, while continuing to respond to the extremist attacks. Allegations and reports will continue to try to undermine all that ACORN has done, often searching for evidence from long before I became CEO."
Congress this year voted to cut off taxpayer funding of ACORN following allegations that the group violated its tax-exempt status by improperly mixing politics with its mission of empowering low- and middle-income Americans. Lacking much-needed revenue, ACORN officially shut down its national operations this past spring.
Long the subject of conservative ire, ACORN remained defiant in its claim that it had never participated in anyvoter fraud during the 2008 presidential election.
"The ongoing political onslaught caused irreparable harm," Lewis said. "This effort was a clear attempt to cast a shadow over the historic 2008 Presidential election, and set up a far right counter offense. Through those attacks we re-tooled and re-organized. Then again came the right-wing media blitz. This time of edited videos that misrepresented our mission, and consequently misled the public. The pressure and cost of defending ourselves in multiple investigations as a result of the falsified videos has eroded our organization. As a result we will be filing Chapter 7 bankruptcy by close of business today."
Read more - http://www.aolnews.com/surge-desk/article/acorn-filing-for-bankruptcy/19700214
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