From Politico:

In a stunning turnaround, Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) is distancing himself from ACORN, blasting their response to a string of recent scandals — and contradicting a staffer who said the congressman would have voted against a GOP-sponsored bill banning the group from federal funding.
In a rambling, contrite, at times bombastic statement to reporters, Frank apologized for “a number of factors, one of which in particular is my own fault, have contributed to my position on ACORN being unclear.”
His “biggest error,” he wrote was signing off on a recent letter — jointly written with Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers (D-Mich.) — requesting that the Congressional Research Service audit the group.
Frank said he “had not thoroughly read” the letter “which does not accurately represent my own position in all aspects.”
Yet later in the statement, Frank seems to imply he still supports the idea of a CRS study, saying, “I cosigned the letter because I do think it is important that we get accurate and complete information on ACORN funding.”
An email requesting clarification from his office weren’t immediately returned. An email sent to ACORN wasn’t immediately returned.