Patricia Coats Jessamy

Patricia Coats Jessamy, the State's Attorney for Baltimore City, Maryland, is concerned about what has come to light at an ACORN office in Baltimore.

Background:

Officials with the controversial community organizing group ACORN were secretly videotaped offering to assist two individuals posing as a pimp and a prostitute, encouraging them to lie to the Internal Revenue Service and providing guidance on how to claim underage girls from South America as dependents.

...In the videotape, made on July 24, James O'Keefe, a 25-year-old independent filmmaker, posed as a pimp with a 20-year-old woman named "Kenya" who posed as a prostitute while visiting ACORN's office in Baltimore. The couple told ACORN staffers they wanted to secure housing where the woman could continue to maintain a prostitution business.

...On the videotape, "Kenya" can be seen telling an ACORN staffer that she earns roughly $8,000 a month. The ACORN employee then suggests to "Kenya" that ACORN could submit a tax return for 2008 showing that she made $9,600 for the entire year — instead of $96,000 — and that ACORN would charge "Kenya" $50 instead of the usual $150 fee for preparing her taxes.

...The ACORN staffer can also be seen suggesting that the prostitute list her occupation as a freelance "performing artist."

"It's not dancing, trust me," the "pimp" says.

"But dancing is considered an art," the ACORN staffer replies. "[Exotic dancers] usually go under performing artists, or yeah, they usually go under performing arts, which will be what you are — a performing artist."

The "pimp" later says that he and "Kenya" plan to bring up to 13 "very young" girls from El Salvador to work as prostitutes. Although an ACORN staffer points out their plans are illegal, she also suggests that the girls can be claimed as dependents.

"What if they are going to be making money because they are performing tricks too?" the pimp says.

"If they making money and they are underage, then you shouldn't be letting anybody know anyway," the ACORN staffer says, and laughs. "It's illegal. So I am not hearing this, I am not hearing this. You talk too much. Don't give up no information you're not asked."

This is shocking. Of course, Jessamy would want to pursue the matter. I would hope she would be eager to hold the individuals accountable and put an end to this sort of thing.

She is considereing prosecution but there's a problem. Jessamy's concern isn't with the ACORN staffer giving advice on how to break the law.

She has a problem with James O'Keefe, the "pimp" and filmmaker, and Hannah Giles, the "prostitute," as well as those using the video they obtained.

From the Washington Examiner:

ACORN, the group that launched Obama’s career as a community organizer (an ACORN affiliate received received $800,000 from Obama’s campaign), was recently caught in undercover stings advising about how to set up a brothel that would bring “minor girls into the country for purposes of prostitution,” reports the Washington Post. (ACORN receives taxpayer money despite a long history of financial fraud and vote fraud).

Now, Patricia Coats Jessamy, the Baltimore City State’s Attorney, is trying to silence those who have broadcast the video footage, relying on a Maryland law that violates the First Amendment. She is not interested in prosecuting the crimes recorded on the video, such as promoting “sex slavery.” Instead, this partisan, ardent Obama supporter wants to prosecute those who took the undercover video — and those citizens, bloggers, and journalists who broadcast it or “use” or “disclose the content” of it!

In her public statement turning a blind eye to ACORN’s crimes, she complains that the video may “possibly have been obtained in violation of Maryland Law . . . Article §10-402, which requires two party consent. If it is determined that the audio portion now being heard on YouTube was illegally obtained, it is also illegal under Maryland Law to willfully use or willfully disclose the content of said audio. The penalty for the unlawful interception, disclosure or use of it is a felony punishable up to 5 years.”

This is a disgrace.

Instead of being threatened with prosecution by Jessamy, she should be praising O'Keefe and Giles as whistleblowers, a courageous young man and woman who dared to expose the truth about ACORN.

Why are whistleblowers on the Left of the spectrum considered heroes but those on the Right are treated like dirt, ignored or condemned and threatened?

Will there be a 60 Minutes segment praising O'Keefe and Giles?

No way.

It's a disgusting double standard.

Ed Morrissey, Hot Air, examines Jessamy's partisanship and reveals that her threat to prosecute is very selective.

He concludes, "Jessamy is less interested in enforcing the law and helping children than she is in abusing her power to attack critics who threaten Obama’s power and policies."
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Video of Jessamy praising Obama at a DNC party last year, prior to the 2008 election.