GAO Launches ACORN Probe

The Government Accountability Office (GAO), the investigative arm of Congress, has opened an investigation into ACORN.

It’s unclear to me if the GAO did this on its own initiative or was ordered by Congress to do it. I remember a few months ago Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) had offered an amendment to legislation that would have directed GAO to investigate ACORN and report back to Congress within 180 days.

Post Script: GAO said it decided to launch the probe at the request of Reps. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), Lamar Smith (R-Texas), and other lawmakers.

“ACORN’s criminal acts over many years have robbed taxpayers and charitable donors of the honest public services ACORN was paid to provide,” Issa said. “This GAO study should be another step toward understanding the scope of funds from across the federal government that were sent to ACORN yet cannot be verified that they were used as intended.”