The two citizen journalists responsible for the very public downfall of ACORN are now facing criminal and civil charges for allegedly illegally videotaping the organization’s prostitution abetting staff. Maryland, along with 11 other states, mandates that conversations can only be recorded with mutual consent among all parties involved. California is another–which makes it all the more surprising that the state’s top law enforcement office would fail to do just that.

Scott Gerber, spokesman for Attorney General Jerry Brown, admitted on Friday to taping several conversations between himself and the press without consent.

The secretly recorded conversation came to light after Chronicle senior political writer Carla Marinucci contacted Gerber Wednesday for his response to [criticism]…When the story was published on The Chronicle’s Web site, SFGate.com, Wednesday evening, Gerber contacted an editor at the paper and said Humes’ comments were not fairly reflected in the article. He e-mailed the editor a transcript of the conversation between him, Marinucci and the two attorneys.

At least, he turned himself in. But not without his office offering this excuse:

“This was an on-the-record conversation between four individuals – a reporter and three staff members. We knew that every word said could end up in the next morning’s Chronicle. Mr. Gerber taped the conversation, not to record the reporter’s questions, but to have a record of what our own staff members said.”

Odd that the state’s top-cop is seemingly aloof to the law of his land.