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November 12, 2009
Meet the Ratners: Defending ACORN is Their Family Business
BigGovernment.com
by Chris Berg
All in the family.
Today the Center for Constitutional Rights sued the federal government on behalf of ACORN. They are alleging that Congressional efforts to defund ACORN constitute an unconstitutional Bill of Attainder. This tired argument has been thoroughly rebutted, but the Center for Constitutional Rights is going to make it anyway. Republican National Lawyers Association Chairman David Norcross has noted that: “The actions of Congress to defund ACORN clearly do not meet the definition of a Bill of Attainder.”
The Center for Constitutional Rights is going to stand up for this corrupt organization, and I think I know the reason why. It’s all about family.
The President of the Center for Constitutional Rights is Michael Ratner. Michael Ratner is a well known liberal lawyer who has fought against the Patriot Act and Guantanamo Bay. He also teaches at Columbia Law School.
If you haven’t heard of Michael, that’s all right, I’m sure you’ve heard of his brother Bruce. He’s a prominent developer and owner of the New Jersey Nets. His company is Forest City Enterprises.
ACORN had been supporting Bruce Ratner’s plans for a massive new arena for the team and his surrounding real estate development plan. Last September as the embattled community organization was dealing with the repercussions of the Rathke embezzlement Ratner came to the rescue with a $1 million loan and a $500,000 grant. The money, which helped ACORN through some of its darkest days, also bought their silence as criticism of Ratner’s development became widespread.
Now we see Michael Ratner’s Center for Constitutional Rights fighting to overturn Congressional efforts to defund this corrupt organization.
These two brothers are working hard to defend this troubled organization. One brother provides the bail money while the other defends them in court.
...Now it appears that one of the next generation of the Ratner family has received a political appointment at the Department of Justice. Matthew Ratner, who has worked for the Ohio Democratic Party, and who according to SEC filings is the beneficial owner of 267,117 shares of Forest City Enterprises, has received a political appointment as a “confidential assistant” at the Department of Justice.
Only time will tell if Matthew has joined the family business.
Related coverage...
AP, ACORN lawsuit raises question: Can it survive?
ACORN has been cut off by banks, the government and most of its private foundation funders, severely hampering its housing operations and raising the possibility that it will not survive in its current form, according to a lawsuit the group filed Thursday against the U.S. government.
The lawsuit claims that Congress' decision to drop all funding to the group and its affiliates was unconstitutional because it punitively targeted an individual organization.
In affidavits accompanying the lawsuit, ACORN CEO Bertha Lewis and other employees paint a bleak picture of an organization damaged by a string of scandals and the loss of federal funds.
When the funding measure first passed Congress, "I thought ACORN could survive. But I underestimated the effect ... and its consequences with our other sources of funding," Lewis said. "We want to comply with every investigation, but we cannot comply if we do not have staff and are closing our offices."
...The lawsuit, filed Thursday in Brooklyn federal court by the Center for Constitutional Rights on behalf of ACORN and its affiliates, seeks reinstatement of the funds.
Posted by eric at November 12, 2009 10:02 PM