ACORN Link in Anita Dunn's Departure

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1. Rep. Steve King Sees ACORN Link in Anita Dunn's Departure

U.S. Rep. Steve King suggests there is more than a coincidence between the resignation of White House communications director Anita Dunn and a raid on ACORN's national office — pointing out that Dunn's husband is "a leading ACORN defender."

Dunn, who is stepping down at the end of the month, created controversy when she led an Obama administration attack on Fox News, calling it "a wing of the Republican Party."

King, an Iowa Republican and a vociferous critic of the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, issued a statement on Tuesday under the headline "King: Dunn Departure a Coincidence?" It read in part:

"Four days after Louisiana Attorney General Buddy Caldwell raided ACORN's national office in New Orleans, seizing paper records and computer hard drives, White House communications director Anita Dunn — the wife of a leading ACORN defender — has resigned abruptly from her position.

"Dunn was the lead critic of Fox News for reporting on the ACORN prostitution scandal, which originally broke on September 10. Dunn subsequently launched a public attack against Fox News on October 11, and she even stated 'let's not pretend they're a news network' in reference to Fox. . .

"Not only has Dunn lavished praises on Chairman Mao and compared him to Mother Teresa, Dunn’s husband has a public record of protecting ACORN and protecting President Obama’s relationship to ACORN. . .

"Anita Dunn is married to Robert Bauer, who served as general counsel for Obama for America. In 2008, Bauer sent a letter to then-Attorney General Michael Mukasey arguing that Department of Justice should not investigate election-related fraud allegations against ACORN. . .

"The letter also claims that Republican concerns regarding ACORN-related fraud were 'manufactured.' Subsequent revelations have validated these Republican concerns and proven the existence of additional fraudulent activities."

Bauer may have figured into Dunn's resignation in another way. On Friday, he was named to replace Greg Craig as White House counsel, and the prnewser Web site observed: "Did [Dunn] have to clear room for her husband to join the administration and remove any potential concerns about conflict of interest?"