A nonpartisan, political watchdog group announced today that it has obtained documents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation detailing federal investigations into the alleged corrupt activities of Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, or ACORN.

Judicial Watch revealed that the documents it acquired reference serious allegations of corruption and voter registration fraud by ACORN and the Obama administration's decision to shut down the criminal investigation without filing criminal charges.

Included among the records are two complaints filed in October 2008 by Lucy Corelli and Joseph Borges, Republican Registrars of Voters in Stamford and Bridgeport, Connecticut, respectively, during the 2008 election year.

Corelli reported that on Aug. 1, 2008, her office accessed 1,200 ACORN voter registration cards from the secretary of state's office – of which, 300 cards were rejected due to "duplicates, underage, illegible and invalid addresses." She said the invalid cards "put a tremendous strain on our office staff and caused endless work hours at taxpayers' expense." Judicial Watch reports Corelli claimed the additional work caused by ACORN corruption cost $20,000.

According to the documents, Borges stated, "The organization ACORN during the summer of 2008 conducted a registration drive which has produced over 100 rejections due to incomplete forms and individuals who are not citizens. …"

Borges reported that ACORN even registered a 7-year-old child to vote by using a forged signature and fake birth certificate claiming she was 27 years old.

The FBI

and Department of Justice opened an investigation. But Judicial Watch noted that the Obama Justice Department, while acknowledging that ACORN had engaged in "questionable hiring and training practices," closed the investigation in March 2009, claiming ACORN had broken no laws.

According to the report, the documents obtained by Judicial Watch include records connected to a federal investigation of ACORN in St. Louis, Mo. That incident involved 1,492 suspected fraudulent voter registration cards submitted by Project Vote, a nonprofit affiliated with ACORN, during the 2006 election year.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Hal Goldsmith opened that investigation with "concurrence" from the Department of Justice and FBI involvement. According to a Justice Department memo, Goldsmith "advised he would prosecute any individual responsible for submitting fraudulent voter registration cards." He named the statute for prosecution, Title 42, USC 1973 (gg), which outlines criminal penalties for fraudulent voter registrations. In April 2008, eight former ACORN employees from the St. Louis office pleaded guilty to voter registration fraud.

Judicial Watch reported that the Justice Department, under President George W. Bush, failed to prosecute alleged ACORN voter registration fraud involving people in Phoenix, Ariz., who were not U.S. citizens. That decision was purportedly made because allegations that led to the opening of the investigation were "unverifiable." The FBI document detailing that decision states that a "draft Intelligence Bulletin … concludes that ACORN's employment practices perpetuate fraudulent voter registration."

The ACORN documents Judicial Watch acquired include internal FBI memoranda, signed affidavits, subpoenas, fraudulent voter registration cards and ACORN's policies and practices. The group also noted that it obtained documents with details regarding allegations of corruption extending beyond registration fraud, including efforts by ACORN employees to compel workers to campaign on behalf of Democratic candidates.

"These documents reflect systematic voter registration fraud by ACORN," said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. "It is a scandal that there has been no comprehensive criminal investigation and prosecution by the Justice Department into this evident criminal conduct."

He added, "Given President Obama's close connections to ACORN, including his campaign's hiring of the ACORN's Project Vote organization, it seems rather obvious why Attorney General Holder has failed to seriously investigate these and other alleged ACORN criminal activities."