WyBlog

The outside legal expert hired by ACORN is declaring no laws were broken by workers caught in those infamous videos offering advice to a phony pimp and hooker.

Former Massachusetts Attorney General Scott Harshbarger wrote in the report: "While some of the advice and counsel given by ACORN employees and volunteers was clearly inappropriate and unprofessional, we did not find a pattern of intentional, illegal conduct by ACORN staff; in fact, there is no evidence that action, illegal or otherwise, was taken by any ACORN employee on behalf of the videographers."

ACORN CEO Bertha Lewis, predictably, was pleased with the report, which lays out nine steps for the group to take to regain public trust "shaken by the video controversy".

"The report is part vindication, part constructive criticism and 100% road map to the future," Lewis said. "This evaluation shows even the low-level employees portrayed in the videos did not engage in any illegal activity or seek to encourage it."

The full 47-page report is here, but somehow, we think it will take a lot more than this for ACORN to recover, whether you think the conservative campaign against them has merit or not.

House Oversight Committee ranking Republican Darrell Issa was quick to snark at the document.

"How surprising is it that a report paid for by ACORN exonerates them?" Issa asks in a statement.

"There are numerous federal and state investigations currently underway that should ultimately produce a legitimate finding regarding ACORN's illegal activities," he says.