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NEW ORLEANS — A hero of conservatives who targeted a community-organizing group with ties to President Barack Obama is now accused of orchestrating an attempt to tamper with phone lines at a Democratic U.S. senator's office inside a federal building.It's not clear what James O'Keefe, 25, and three young conservatives were trying to accomplish Monday at the New Orleans office of Sen. Mary Landrieu, who has been criticized by conservatives for securing more benefits for her state in exchange for her support on health care legislation.The conservative activist was previously known for posing as a pimp on hidden camera to target the liberal group ACORN. All four have been involved in conservative politics.State Democrats quickly called the alleged plot a "Louisiana Watergate," but federal officials have not yet said why the men wanted to interfere with Landrieu's phones, whether they were successful, or even if the goal was political espionage.The operation's style recalled the famous 1972 Watergate break-in at the Democratic Party's national headquarters, which ballooned into a scandal that consumed Richard Nixon's presidency and led to his resignation.A staff member in the office told the FBI that two of the suspects, including the son of an acting U.S. Attorney, wore white hard harts, tool belts and flourescent vests and said they needed to fix a problem with the phone system.According to an FBI affidavit, O'Keefe was already sitting in the waiting area and recorded the men on his cell phone camera when they walked in.A federal law enforcement official said one of the suspects was picked up in a car a couple of blocks away with a listening device that could pick up transmissions. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the information was not part of the FBI affidavit.O'Keefe said only "veritas," Latin for truth, as he left jail Tuesday with suspects Stan Dai and Joseph Basel, both 24. All declined to comment.As he got into a cab outside the jail, O'Keefe said, "The truth shall set me free."The fourth suspect, Robert Flanagan, 24, was released earlier Tuesday. His father, Bill, is the acting U.S. Attorney based in Shreveport, Louisiana. The father's office declined to comment.
It's not clear what James O'Keefe, 25, and three young conservatives were trying to accomplish Monday at the New Orleans office of Sen. Mary Landrieu
...federal officials have not yet said why the men wanted to interfere with Landrieu's phones, whether they were successful, or even if the goal was political espionage.
