Obama lawyer wants Justice to investigate ACORN leak

The chief lawyer for Barack Obama's campaign urged Attorney General Michael Mukasey today to have the Justice Department's inspector general investigate whether Bush administration officials are coordinating with Republican John McCain's campaign over voter registration fraud allegations.

The lawyer, Robert Bauer, also asked Mukasey to "personally take steps" to make sure the department "is not misused for partisan purposes."

At issue is a leak last week that the FBI has joined several states in looking into ACORN, a community activist group that claims to have registered 1.3 million new voters. Some voter registration cards, however, were submitted with names of dead people or fictitious characters.

Bauer asked Mukasey on Friday to expand a special prosecutor's purview to include the ACORN matter. The prosecutor is investigating whether partisan politics influenced the firings of nine US attorneys, including at least one dismissed after Republican complaints he didn't aggressively pursue complaints against ACORN.

In the letter to Mukasey today, Bauer said that isn't enough because the prosecutor doesn't have jurisdiction over violations of department policy.

McCain spokesman Ben Porritt responded to Bauer, "The actions and letters by Barack Obama's attorney are a silly stunt that undercuts the validity of their own argument. Their bizarre efforts to criminalize political differences have been highlighted by Barack Obama’s efforts to build an intimidation brigade of Missouri prosecutors and sheriffs to 'target' people who criticize Sen. Obama and his troubling relationship with ACORN who is now under federal investigation. Our campaign will continue to raise serious issues of election fraud to guarantee that every American is ensured and honest and open election.”

Meanwhile, Republicans are continuing to warn against fraud by ACORN.

One outfitted in a big orange squirrel costume showed up today at a press conference on the steps of the Ohio State House where Governor Ted Strickland, Senator Sherrod Brown, and Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman complained that Ohio Republicans are trying to scare newly registered voters by filing numerous lawsuits that question their eligibility.

The squirrel, before being chased away by security, held up a sign that read, “Don’t Let Obama + Acorn Steal Ohio.”