Sponsor of res. praising O'Keefe says he doesn't condone wiretap

The sponsor of a congressional resolution praising recently arrested conservative activist James O'Keefe said Tuesday he would not condone any unlawful behavior on his behalf.

Rep. Pete Olson (R-Texas) still praised O'Keefe's work over the summer filming ACORN employees while undercover after the activist was arrested by the FBI Tuesday after he and three others allegedly attempted to wiretap the office of Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) in New Orleans. 

"Individuals who lawfully expose wrongful activities by an entity like ACORN receiving federal tax dollars should be praised," Olson told The Hill in an e-mail. "However, if recent events conclude that any laws were broken in the incident in Senator Landrieu’s office – that is not something I condone."

O'Keefe gained notoreity for his work on the ACORN last year, prompting Congress to vote to temporarily strip its federal funding.

O'Keefe and his associate Hannah Giles caught employees on tape giving them financial advice while they posed as a pimp and prostitute. 

Olson and 31 other Republicans in October sponsored a resolution commending O'Keefe and Giles "for their effort to root out corruption and abuse of federal tax dollars."

Meanwhile, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) issued a statement criticizing Republicans for their overall silence on O'Keefe's arrest.

"Today, in light of these deplorable and illegal attacks on the office of a United States Senator by their champion, Republicans have not offered a single iota of disgust, a whisper of indignation or even a hint of outrage," said DNC National Press Secretary Hari Sevugan. "The silence by Republicans in the face of these criminal acts by one their own speaks louder than then their wails of outrage ever did."

Conservative media entrepreneur Andrew Breitbart, who has hosted O'Keefe's work on ACORN and other projects, on Tuesday said he had no knowledge of his actions in New Orleans other than media reports.

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