Seattle, Washington FBI Bureau File - Paperless Archives

Case #07-120588
May 24,2007 [cv]
Witness Statement
Deq I
Steve Hobbs: Right. Urn ... during this period what was your official title at ACORN? What was the .. .!
think we've heard the term political officer. Was that what you were referred to as or. ..
Witness: When I went to the training in um ... Ohio .. .1 anticipated that I would be um ... actually .. .1
didn't really apply for this job. I applied to be more of a .. .lobbyist.
Steve Hobbs:
Witness:
Steve Hobbs:
Witness:
Mmhm.
Urn ... do more work with elected's and advocating in Olympia. Um .. .I imagined some
field work component but 1. . .I certainly did not imagine what I ended up with. And it
became clear as the training went on in Ohio that urn ... that they weren't committed to
having me do what I had anticipated I would do.
Right.
And urn ... as I began to understand the funding process I saw why. There was no money
in it for the organization and they have some interesting ... urn ... things set up. I mean
I've worked for other non-profit's before but this is very driven by the grants that they
have and urn ...
b7C
Steve Hobbs: Okay. I think I'm gonna loop back to that. ..
Witness:
Steve Hobbs:
Witness:
Steve Hobbs:
Witness:
Steve Hobbs:
Witness:
Steve Hobbs:
Witness:
Sure.
.. .in just a little bit. Uh ... August proceeds and then sometime towards the end of
August. .. you leave ACORN.
I wasn't able to get more than five hundred new voters a week.
And is that what ... that was the requirement?
That was the ... no .. .1 needed .. .! knew that I needed twelve thousand by the close of the
books in October. So, thirty days before the election. And I accurately estimated that I
needed to move quickly from five hundred a week to seven-fifty to a thousand and as
many as fifteen hundred a week in order to make that goal. And urn ... my understanding
was that I needed to do that in Pierce County. So, I confined my recruiting and urn ... my
staff to Tacoma.
Right. Urn ... so and this decision at the end of August that you weren't going to make this
goal was yours to leave or ...
I .. oh no .. J Icame out from Ohio and after arriving um ... took me aside
and informed me that I needed to turn in my keys ... and everything else. And that. .. and
obstensively this wasn't urn ... going to be a permanent and unequivocal break with the
organization ...
Mmhm.
... but in fact it has been.
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