Felonious Stupidity

You've got to be kidding me ...

So when does this prick get his own radio show?

MORE: Jesus, these kids are mind-blowingly stupid:

When Flanagan and Basel entered the office, they told the staffer they were there to fix phone problems. At that time, the staffer, referred to only as Witness 1 in the affadavit, observed O'Keefe positioning his cell phone in his hand to videotape the operation. O'Keefe later admitted to agents that he recorded the event.

Of course they tapped themselves...

MORE STILL: Monumental stupidity:

According to the FBI, the four men could each face up to 10 years and a fine of $250,000 if they are convicted.

MORE YET: Epic stupidity on a truly grand scale:

UPDATE: One of the four arrested is 24-year-old Robert Flanagan, son of acting U.S. Attorney in western Louisiana, William J. Flanagan.

... which means this case is only going to get more complicated.

EVEN MORE: Yeah, this is now a big deal:

Located at 400 Poydras St. in downtown New Orleans -- half a block from Landrieu's office at 500 Poydras St. -- [the] Pelican [Institute] describes itself as a state policy think tank dedicated to advancing "sound policies based on the principles of free enterprise, individual liberty, and limited government."

James O'Keefe, the conservative filmmaker behind the ACORN stings who has been charged in the Landrieu case, was scheduled to give a talk at Pelican last Thursday on "Exposing Truth: Undercover Video, New Media and Creativity." Tickets were $35; the setting was the posh Plimsoll Club at the World Trade Center. An ad for the luncheon promised attendees insights into O'Keefe's special strain of new media genius:

[...]

Another of the charged men, Robert Flanagan, works for Pelican, his attorney told the Times-Picayune. Flanagan allegedly dressed up a telephone repairman to infiltrate Landrieu's office.

Or did work at the Pelican Institute...

[via M]

IT KEEPS COMING: Apparently, they've already confessed:

According to [F.B.I. Special Agent Steven] Rayes, O'Keefe and another man, Stan Dai, have admitted to federal agents that he helping plan, coordinate, and prepare for the attempted infiltration and wiretapping, and the two men who allegedly posed as telephone company workers have admitted to entering Landrieu's office under false pretenses.

MORE: One of these dipshits is potentially from Minnesota. Yet another banner day for College Republicans.

MORER: From Gawker:

The elder Flanagan ascended to the gig just one week ago after his Bush-appointed boss left office; none other than Sen. Mary Landrieu has submitted recommendations for his replacement to the White House.

Ouch.

And about O'Keefe:

[O]f course, Fox News, which was one of the outlets that pushed hardest to turn O'Keefe into a folk hero, is taking the position that this Landrieu office incident is a story "that probably needs a lot of context and a lot of looking into" before anyone jumps to conclusions. Unlike, say, videos of a white boy in garish pimp clothes which are prima facie evidence of ... something.

Ironic, no?

MOREST: Gawker has an update worth passing on:

UPDATE: And Obama has nominated Landrieu's recommendation, Stephanie Finley. But Sen. David Vitter has placed a hold on Finley's confirmation because he wants assurances from the White House that Jim Letten, the U.S. Attorney who will be overseeing Flanagan's prosecution, won't be replaced. In other words, Flanagan's dad only has a job because the job of the guy who's prosecuting his son is in potential jeopardy. Vitter wants Obama to re-nominate Letten, a step that Landrieu says is redundant seeing as how he already has the job. Louisiana politics.

Exactly.

MORE-EST-ER: Behold, the getaway man!

Dai was reportedly picked up by authorities Monday a few blocks away from Landrieu's office, sitting in a car with a listening device that could pick up transmissions.

The rest of this TPM article has a good primer on College conservative "journalism."

By the way, no matter how much pub O'Keefe got for his ACORN stunt, and no matter how many imitators he may have spawned, there's really just no substituting for actual the day-in-day-out reporting that TPM does.