[Oceander]

This was a really, really stupid stunt to try; it's one thing to go after a corrupt private organization like ACORN in your mother's fur coat, it's another thing entirely to actively misrepresent yourself in order to gain admittance to a federal office in order to tap the phones therein. That is what used to be called "serious shit" and it is going to land this guy in a whole pile of it. He'll be lucky if he gets a plea bargain of 5 plus a whole lotta fines. Of course, his ACORN vids are now going to be treated as suspect, and Breitbart himself may have lost a significant chunk of political capital. What a stupid, stupid stunt to pull.

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[muawiyah]

Not really. This is very small potatoes ~ and there's more in the FBI agent's allegation than can be sustained by anything we've heard so far.

About all Agent Reyes has correct is that certain people with certain names were found on the premises of a federal office building, and one of them fiddled with a telephone handed to him by the receptionist.

Look, I correctly predicted the judgment the USSC would hand down in 08-205 Citizens United v. Federal Election Comm'n (01/21/10). I think I have a handle on this one. For the most part it's not much different from any case where a citizen is subject to search in a federal office building.

[Thunder90]

Now ACORN and the state of MD will have grounds to criminally and civilly go after Giles and Okeefe, and potentially Breitbart himself.

[prairiebreeze]

Good grief...!

[blake6900]

...it's another thing entirely to actively misrepresent yourself in order to gain admittance to a federal office in order to tap the phones therein.

You're jumping to conclusions. The FBI affidavit doesn't say O'Keefe misrepresented himself at any time. He simply told "witness 1", an office staffer, he was waiting for someone to arrive. He did not claim to be a phone company employee.

Also in the affidavit is this: "O'KEEFE and DAI have also admitted to federal agents that worked with FLANAGAN and BASEL in the planning, coordination and preparation of the operation." It seems obvious that the word "they" is missing in this sentence, probably just a typo. However, there is nothing in the affidavit that says any of the suspects admitted as to what the actual "operation" was.

Don't go off the deep end. There's way more to this story than we know right now and my guess is it ain't bad for us.