Issa Responds to Bertha Lewis Charge that ACORN the Victim of Republican McCarthyism

WASHINGTON. D.C. – House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Ranking Member Darrell Issa (R-CA) issued the following statement today in response to comments made by ACORN CEO Bertha Lewis at the National Press Club where she accused Republicans of ACORN McCarthyism:

“Was it Republicans who embezzled millions from within their own organization and have yet to report the embezzlement to the IRS or Labor Department?  Was it Republicans who conducted the internal review that highlighted the lack of firewalls between their charitable and political activities?  Was it Republicans who hired a man convicted of multiple counts of conspiracy and money laundering to raise funds and register voters inOklahoma?  The fact that ACORN’s leadership refuses to even acknowledge and accept responsibility for the state of their organization is disturbing and brings into question the sincerity of ACORN’s pledge to reform their organization.”

While ACORN CEO Bertha Lewis addressed the National Press Club, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Republican Staff were reviewing new internal ACORN documents that shed further light on ACORN’s intent to capitalize on the opaque nature of their funding structure in order to fund its partisan political activities.

Click HERE to Watch Rep. Issa Respond to Bertha Lewis’ Remarks

 On Fox News’ America Newsroom: “ACORN is so opaque to all of us because of its unique status as a non-profit taxable entity that really we have no way of knowing and if you’ll cover up a million, you’ll cover-up five million.  Our bigger question is not how much opaque they were in the past; it’s whether or not Bertha Lewis as CEO is ever going to change the company to be more conventional as a non-profit the way the Red Cross or other organizations are which tend to be very transparent.”