James O’Keefe’s Rube Goldberg Plan To Embarrass CNN

Filed in National by on September 29, 2010

ACORN faker James O’Keefe is back in the news with a plan so bizarre I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around it. O’Keefe planned to “seduce” on-camera a CNN correspondent to prove she was trying to show him in a bad light. (I KNOW! Right?)

A conservative activist known for making undercover videos plotted to embarrass a CNN correspondent by recording a meeting on hidden cameras aboard a floating “palace of pleasure” and making sexually suggestive comments, e-mails and a planning document show.

Apparently O’Keefe is involved in some kind of music video. He’s promoting a right-leaning band and CNN was covering the story. O’Keefe requested the CNN correspondent Abbie Boudreau meet him in person to discuss the story. The plan was to lure her onto a boat and hit on her, while recording the interaction.

Santa told Boudreau that O’Keefe planned to “punk” her by getting on a boat where hidden cameras were set up. Boudreau said she would not get on the boat and asked Santa why O’Keefe wanted her there.

“Izzy told me that James was going to be dressed up and have strawberries and champagne on the boat, and he was going to hit on me the whole time,” Boudreau said.

A short time later, O’Keefe emerged from a boat docked behind the house. In that brief conversation, Boudreau told O’Keefe that he did not have permission to record her, and reminded him that the meeting was solely to discuss the upcoming music video shoot, and he had never mentioned that he wanted to tape their meeting.

Check this out – it’s a list of the props they planned to have on the boat:

Why a boat? I assume so she couldn’t leave easily. I have no idea why they thought this would embarrass CNN. Wouldn’t they have video of Boudreau looking really uncomfortable and trying to leave?

Here’s how he explained the plan to his co-plotters.

According to the document, O’Keefe was to record a video of the following script before Boudreau arrived: “My name is James. I work in video activism and journalism. I’ve been approached by CNN for an interview where I know what their angle is: they want to portray me and my friends as crazies, as non-journalists, as unprofessional and likely as homophobes, racists or bigots of some sort….

“Instead, I’ve decided to have a little fun. Instead of giving her a serious interview, I’m going to punk CNN. Abbie has been trying to seduce me to use me, in order to spin a lie about me. So, I’m going to seduce her, on camera, to use her for a video. This bubble-headed-bleach-blonde who comes on at five will get a taste of her own medicine, she’ll get seduced on camera and you’ll get to see the awkwardness and the aftermath.

“Please sit back and enjoy the show.” Boudreau, who has won multiple awards for her investigative reporting, called the comments “ridiculous.”

This sounds really sinister. What exactly was O’Keefe going to do with Boudreau once they got her on the boat?

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Comments (30)

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  1. MJ says:

    On top of this, he taped her phone call with him without her knowledge, which is a crime in Maryland.

  2. a. price says:

    so cant he be charged with attempted….. ass-holeness?
    Lemmie address the conservative movement for a sec….
    REALLY? This is all you got? Your intrepid young journalists are skinny horn-dogs who think they all woment want to sleep with them… and not only that, but would use sex as a weapon?

    What is this guy’s next trick? A expose on how women really WANT to be raped?

    Oh an MJ, it is only a crime if it is committed by someone who isnt a white conservative “journalist” THEY can do whatever they want because it is “their” country and they want it back.

  3. anon says:

    Not only that, she is way out of his league. The cops should be looking for date-rape drugs.

  4. It sounds like he planned to rape her.

  5. they want to portray me and my friends as crazies, as non-journalists, as unprofessional and likely as homophobes, racists or bigots of some sort….

    So, logically, sexually assaulting the reporter is the way to make him look professional?

  6. a. "doctor" says:

    ahhh here we see more inside the mind of the Common Teabagger… or “typicalus bagoteaus bigotus”. In this case we have a young adult male.

    Notice the assumption that all women want to mate with him… despite his obvious ugly physical appearance, he still assumes that because he is male and his target is female, sex will happen at his request.
    This particular Teabagger also assumes that the target will be SO aroused by his advances that she will become uncontrollable at the sight of sex toys and the sounds of Alicia Keys… The Common Teabagger often turns to black music artists to help them mate.
    We also see further into his physical deficiencies by his request for Erectile Dysfunction medication. At such a young age this would seem odd, however the libido of the male Teabagger revolves around either embarrassing his partner, procreation, or that he is simply a homosexual and un attracted to women naturally.

  7. If you read the whole piece you’ll see that someone revealed the plot to Boudreau. I’ll bet she’s glad they did, otherwise O’Keefe might have succeeded in getting her on the boat.

  8. a. price says:

    it was one of O’rapist’s friends. She felt the moral dilema and had to speak out. Good to see there are still a few people with a shred of dignity left in the Conservative movement.

  9. pandora says:

    I am speechless. Attempting to lure a woman to a boat with plans of “seducing” her? And if she didn’t agree to his seduction? I’m with anon. The cops should search for the date-rape drug.

  10. a. price says:

    even if there was alcohol there…

    what i would have LOVED to see is a video of him getting castrated by a woman defending herself against his “irresistible bird-body”

  11. There’s a part in there where O’Keefe is saying Boudreau was trying to seduce him (as if). Would he have taken no for an answer?

  12. MJ says:

    And one wonders where Bretibart’s comments on all of this are, since O’Keefe is one of his acolytes.

  13. anon says:

    Condoms, lube, dildos, porno, Viagra, handcuffs, blindfold…

    Or as Rush Limbaugh calls it, “Friday night.”

  14. jpconnorjr says:

    There are NO words for this.

  15. V says:

    The colleague who spilled the beans was female. I would assume that even with the wingnuttery she must possess that allows her to hang out with O’K, the professional woman in her just couldn’t bear to see another professional woman treated in such a way.

    Thank goodness some things still transcend politics.

  16. anon says:

    Wasn’t this an episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit?

    Or was it Love Boat

  17. Aoine says:

    and he is facing charges in California for the video he did there for “exposing” the ACORN office for being involved in human trafficking
    the ACORN worker in that office – a Latino, drew him out and asked many questions regarding the smuggling of women into San Diego
    This fool thought that was evidence that ACORN was involved in Human Trafficking too
    So what where the facts?? – the ACORN worker asked all those questions – coz his cousin was a San Diego COP, and drew out the info then promptly called the San Diego police with all the information…

    LOLOLOL – or as they say en Espanol – JAJAJAJAJA

  18. liberalgeek says:

    I think it was “Silence of the Lambs”

    I love how having posters of naked women was a key element. He has the sexuality of a 12 year old.

  19. MJ says:

    Were the dildos his?

  20. pandora says:

    What’s really amazing is that this plot went this far. Apparently no one around O’Keefe said, “Um… this is a really bad idea.”

  21. MJ says:

    The only one who said anything was a woman (but that was after it was all planned out). The guys probably thought it was “cool.”

  22. cassandra m says:

    This is really remarkable and while this kid is likely a sociopath, I think that if the media wouldn’t breathlessly turn its cameras to this idiot every time he beckons them this kind of stuff would go away. His entire career has been around producing media stunts — stunts that the media dutifully cover even though there isn’t a damn bit of “news” in it. Just tabloid-style bad behavior and the media still wants to know why they aren’t respected.

    What I’d love to see is a major email/call campaign to ask CNN if they plan to cover this weekend’s march in DC with the same vigor and breathlessness they cover this idiot with. Maybe someone should get to the organizers of the weekend event to promise plenty of bad behavior to turn their cameras too. Sheesh.

    If there was any justice, O”keefe’s mama would be repeatedly smacking him upside his head — reminding him that she didn’t teach him to treat people like that.

  23. Another Mike says:

    He may have gotten away with this had he included some Barry White.

    Seriously, mirrored ceilings? We’re gonna party like it’s 1975!

  24. a. price says:

    “If there was any justice, O”keefe’s mama would be repeatedly smacking him upside his head — reminding him that she didn’t teach him to treat people like that.”

    maybe that is the problem. Look how little respect these people (baggers) show for people who disagree with them. His mama probably taught him that as long as the girl is a liberal, it is ok to exploit her.

  25. heragain says:

    I’m not blaming his mom, or any woman.

    I will, however, volunteer to smack him, in front of the cameras of any national news organization. It would totally be worth it.

  26. When your arm gets tired, heragain, I’ll take over.

  27. a. price says:

    no, no. he’ll just think you are hitting ON him.

    he needs to go to jail where someone ELSE will assume he wants to be their girlfriend

  28. cassandra m says:

    I wasn’t blaming his mother — I was calling on her to remind her son of his home training.

    In any event, I am linking to this News Corpse article on this deal only because the title is so damned awesome:

    Fox News Pimp James O’Keefe Tries To Deep Throat CNN

  29. jason330 says:

    “His entire career has been around producing media stunts.” It is going to be tough for him to top this one. Maybe if he adds “Panda Bear Cub, LSD Laced Cigar, & 1/5 scale replica of Starship Enterprise” to that list of props….?

  30. MJ says:

    The complete “punking” document written by JO (as he refers to himself) – http://www.cnn.com/interactive/2010/09/specials/cnn.caper/index.html