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By Cara McCoy 
Wednesday, May 19, 2010 | 10:29 a.m.
Amy Busefink, ACORN's deputy regional director, who authorities allege was involved with an alleged illegal voter registration incentive program, appears in court Sept. 29 in Las Vegas.
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The Nevada trial of the national grassroots organizing group ACORN has been postponed.
ACORN and co-defendant Amy Busefink are now scheduled to stand trial beginning Nov. 26 in front of District Court Judge Donald Mosley. A July trial date was vacated during a Wednesday hearing.
The Nevada attorney general’s office has charged ACORN, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, and Busefink, a regional manager for Project Vote, a group that worked with ACORN during the 2008 election season, with 13 felony counts related to allegations about the use of cash incentives as a motivation for workers to register more voters.
Busefink, as a manager, is alleged to have approved of the bonuses. If convicted of the charges, she likely would face probation. ACORN could see a $5,000 fine.
Attorneys for ACORN and Busefink have maintained that their clients are innocent.
Attorney Lisa Rasmussen, who represents ACORN, said the delay was discussed in chambers and mutually agreed upon to give the group time to sort out its financial problems.
Tying money to or setting quotas for collecting voter registration cards is illegal under Nevada law.
Last year, former ACORN field director Christopher Edwards pleaded guilty to two gross misdemeanors in connection with the case. He was sentenced to three years of probation and will testify during the trial.
Since the Supreme Court allowed for all kinds of new election funding, the Nevada law is a restriction on free speech. Why can't people signing up voters be compensated the same way private sector sales people are compensated?
This will be thrown out of court. or plea bargained out.
These charges are politically motivated.
Too many people watching Fox PORNO (Political Organization-Republican News Only) News, as well as all the other 450 or so conservative TV/radio stations that saturate the media flow nationwide who latched onto this issue as well, and taking it to heart have done nothing but demonize ACORN. That along with the incredible volume of right wing neo-conservative propaganda yelled out loud and repeatedly in the echo chamber has done the job in making people think it's true.
It's well known that the Republican Party absolutely hates any organization that will get out there and encourage everyone, not just the rich, to register and vote.
@colinfromlasvegas: Boy are you mis-informed. ACORN was caught doing unscruplous things by some kids...or thats right you don't watch any news agencies that actually report facts. Mainstream media did not cover these stories and were weeks behind the eight ball because it didn't bode well with there liberal formats. Get informed and try watching ALL news agencies then make your judgement. ACORN is and was a huge disaster that cost tax payers millions of dollars. Employed ex-cons, promoted prostituting children, taught people how to evade taxes on our dime. get educated before you make these remarks. These people are now waiting till after the elections in November to be brought to trial. This is politically motivated.
The fox news / Brett Bart sting, (of course the same guy was busted and charged for breaking into Sen Landrieu's office) is not part of this case.
If someone wants to pay people to sign up voters by the name, how is that worse than letting Foreign Corporations contributing to campaigns?
@chuck321: No. Not misinformed.
The incident you are referring to, and the one that's plastered all over Fox News all the time, is the one where an ACORN Office in San Diego, CA was approached by a young guy dressed as a pimp with a prostitute and caught the employee making comments.
But what Fox News does not tell anyone is that just a few months ago, an independent investigation of the incident by the State of California was ordered, and recently completed. It actually revealed the camera footage was heavily spliced, parts of it were staged, and the ACORN employees statements approached were heavily edited and taken totally out of context to portray exactly the opposite of what actually happened. The most glaring thing they found out was that the young guy went into that office dressed in regular street clothes. Not dressed up to look like some leftover from a 1970s black exploitation movie version of a pimp...which was aired heavily on Fox News to be the truth. That dress up and look cool part was clearly staged to incite the passions of people to react totally negative with hopes they will lash out against ACORN.
So, everyone was snowed about that whole escapade. All the way down from President Obama's administration, the lawmakers who basically instituted laws to break up ACORN and refuse them the opportunity to collect money and operate; even...you. A victory for the neo-conservatives.
And to add to this, the young conservative that did all this has now been arrested for his part in entering Senator Landrieu's office in New Orleans under false pretenses and disrupting business...and most likely will be convicted of at least a high misdemeanor, if not a felony.
The ultra right wing media, as well as the Republican Party, absolutely HATE what ACORN does and what it stands for. So the level of bias cannot be denied. And they made no secret they wanted to destroy it.
Why?
Because ACORN registers people to vote. And they don't want ACORN going into neighborhoods and doing this. Because the ones they register tend to vote Democratic.
THAT'S the truth of the matter.
A trial right after election day. How appropriate.