Well, James O'Keefe is at it again. Oh, not uncovering corrpution at the highest levels of government, but breaking the law.
James O'Keefe, of the faux pimp fame, has again surfaced with an "undercover" video supposedly revealing government "waste, fraud, and abuse". This time his target is the U. S. Census Bureau.
I'll let ABC News tell the background story:
James O'Keefe, fresh off sentencing for his role in the attempted sting on Sen. Mary Landrieu's Louisiana office in January, signed up to work for the Census in hopes of exposing what he alleges is the bureau's waste of taxpayer money.
"Over the course of two days I was paid for as many of 3 ½ to 4 hours of work I didn't do," O'Keefe said.
http://abcnews.go.com/...
I won't go into any great details about his claims. (If you must, you can go over to that website that hosts his "news" and see the video yourself.) The long and short of it is that O'Keefe is claiming he didn't work the full hours that he was paid for, and either did anyone else in his class. He is stating that they were given a long lunch and allowed to leave early two days. He was instructed to put on his time card that he worked the full amount of time. From this, O'Keefe is surmising that the government may be wasting upwards to $40 million dollars at the Census Bureau.
Now, of course, O'Keefe fails to highlight the fact that again and again throughout the video, when he brings his concerns to his supervisors, that he is told that he doesn't have to worry about the time card hours because he is in training and they have given him work and reading materials to take home to study. The long lunches are explained, as ABC notes, because all the trainees are new and might need extra time to find their way around. Additionally, I might add, maybe the long lunch is so trainers can prepare the afternoon session. Why should trainees be penalized for that?
As you can see, O'Keefe is making a mountain out of a molehill. But, the interesting thing about the entire video is his Exhibit One, the time card. He clearly shows where the time card states that the hours must be correct and the signed, "under penalty of perjury," as O'Keefe notes over and over, ad nauseam. Guess what? O'Keefe signed it, even though he knew the hours were not correct. Now he tries to say that he was told to sign the card fraudulently and even tries to get officials to sign a paper reflecting that he tried to return his money. But the officials say he deserves it because he was given work to take home during training. It is O'Keefe who implies he wasn't given work to take home or that he didn't do the work (you'll have to view his video to determine exactly which he says). Thus, it seems that it is O'Keefe who committed perjury by signing the card that contained the fraudulent information.
Now that Mr. O'Keefe is done his "investigation," I would like to ask him a few questions:
- Are you aware that just because someone tells you to break the law, that does not exempt you from criminal punishment if you in fact follow those orders?
- Once you were made aware that your time card was not falsified because you would be taking work home, did you knowingly not do the homework? If you were not given the work, did you inform anyone of that? If no to either, were you aware you were committing perjury when falsifying your time card due to the fact that you weren't given the work or didn't do it if you were given it?
- You state you were hired by the Census Bureau in May. When did you apply for the job?
- Where you asked to list any arrests on the application? Did you list your arrest?
- Did the Census Bureau do a background investigation, as they state they would?
What Type of Background Check is Conducted?
All applicants for temporary Census jobs go through a pre-appointment name check against the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Criminal Justice Information Services Division’s Name Index. This means that the FBI database is searched to see if it contains a criminal history record file that matches an applicant’s name, date of birth, and social security number. This criminal history record file contains records of individuals that have been arrested and fingerprinted.
http://www.census.gov/...
- Did anyone from the Census Bureau or the F.B.I. contact you for further information once you submitted your application reflecting your arrest record?
What Happens if the Name Check Contains a Match for Me?
Applicants whose personal identifiers match those contained in a criminal history record maintained by the FBI are afforded the opportunity to clear up any question of identification, as well as the opportunity to provide official court documentation on any arrest(s) that affect hiring eligibility. Upon finding a tentative match, a letter is sent to the applicant detailing the next steps.
http://www.census.gov/...
- Considering that you, yourself, state you didn't work all the hours you were paid for, are you concerned about receiving what could amount to stolen funds from the United States Government, and holding those funds in your bank account, as you state you are?
The list of questions could go on, but I've got to wrap this up. Please feel free to join in with your own questions for Mr. O'Keefe. I am sure he'll read this website to find them.
I think one think is clear though, and that it that James O'Keefe may have skirted the law once again.