DOJ and FBI have combined to destroy project veritas
https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2021/11/the_doj_and_fbi_have_combined_t... November 13, 2021 The DOJ and FBI have combined to destroy Project Veritas By Andrea Widburg Project Veritas uses hidden camera techniques to expose corruption, dishonesty, anarchy, and totalitarian impulses in American institutions. Given the times in which we live, that means Project Veritas is usually exposing leftists and their organizations. It's almost certainly not a coincidence, then, that the FBI engaged in a series of early-morning raids against Project Veritas employees and its founder, James O'Keefe, ostensibly because, a year ago, they possessed, but refused to use (and gave to law enforcement), a diary that we now know belonged to Joe Biden's pathetic, drug-addicted daughter, Ashley. It's even less of a coincidence that the New York Times immediately knew about the raids and later published Project Veritas's confidential correspondence with its attorneys. What we're witnessing is a political hit job that would be completely at home in any penny-ante, third-world, tin pot tyranny — in other words, welcome to Biden's America. The story starts with Ashley Biden, a Biden child almost as pathetic as Hunter. Like her brother, she has had drug problems, including an arrest for marijuana possession (although, big surprise, the charges were dropped) and a video purportedly showing her using cocaine at a party. Over a year ago, the louche Ashley ended up in a drug rehabilitation center and reported that her diary was stolen while she was there. Tipsters approached Project Veritas, claiming to have a copy of the diary, which, they said, Ashley had abandoned or forgotten when she left the clinic. Unable to determine whether the diary was even real, Project Veritas tried to give it to Ashley's attorney, who refused it. Project Veritas then gave it to law enforcement. It never published the diary. Eventually, the National File released the document. It made a bit of a splash because the diary refers to Ashley's belief that she was sexually abused as a child; talks about inappropriate showers with Daddy Joe; and discusses drug abuse, marital affairs, and more. It's the pathetic document of a damaged person raised by a sleazy parent. All that was a year ago. And then, last week, the FBI engaged in pre-dawn, knock-the-door-down raids on Project Veritas reporters: Think about that: we're talking about a common theft, something that belongs under the jurisdiction of the local cops, but the DOJ and FBI come together to engage in aggressive raids on a journalism outfit that has a habit of exposing problems in the administration's allies. (End of partial quote)
On 11/15/21, jim bell <jdb10987@yahoo.com> wrote:
https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2021/11/the_doj_and_fbi_have_combined_t... (End of partial quote)
The DOJ and FBI have combined to destroy Project Veritas November 13, 2021 By Andrea Widburg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNpbvsS7K0g Project Veritas Raided w James O'Keefe https://nationalfile.com/full-release-ashley-biden-diary-reveals-child-sex-t... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashley_Biden#Personal_life https://heavy.com/news/ashley-biden-diary/ https://twitter.com/DrewHLive/status/1457033193605922818 https://twitter.com/Cernovich/status/1458971918988562435 https://www.citizensjournal.us/breaking-judge-orders-fbi-to-stop-search-of-p... Project Veritas uses hidden camera techniques to expose corruption, dishonesty, anarchy, and totalitarian impulses in American institutions. Given the times in which we live, that means Project Veritas is usually exposing leftists and their organizations. It's almost certainly not a coincidence, then, that the FBI engaged in a series of early-morning raids against Project Veritas employees and its founder, James O'Keefe, ostensibly because, a year ago, they possessed, but refused to use (and gave to law enforcement), a diary that we now know belonged to Joe Biden's pathetic, drug-addicted daughter, Ashley. It's even less of a coincidence that the New York Times immediately knew about the raids and later published Project Veritas's confidential correspondence with its attorneys. What we're witnessing is a political hit job that would be completely at home in any penny-ante, third-world, tin pot tyranny — in other words, welcome to Biden's America. The story starts with Ashley Biden, a Biden child almost as pathetic as Hunter. Like her brother, she has had drug problems, including an arrest for marijuana possession (although, big surprise, the charges were dropped) and a video purportedly showing her using cocaine at a party. Over a year ago, the louche Ashley ended up in a drug rehabilitation center and reported that her diary was stolen while she was there. Tipsters approached Project Veritas, claiming to have a copy of the diary, which, they said, Ashley had abandoned or forgotten when she left the clinic. Unable to determine whether the diary was even real, Project Veritas tried to give it to Ashley's attorney, who refused it. Project Veritas then gave it to law enforcement. It never published the diary. Eventually, the National File released the document. It made a bit of a splash because the diary refers to Ashley's belief that she was sexually abused as a child; talks about inappropriate showers with Daddy Joe; and discusses drug abuse, marital affairs, and more. It's the pathetic document of a damaged person raised by a sleazy parent. All that was a year ago. And then, last week, the FBI engaged in pre-dawn, knock-the-door-down raids on Project Veritas reporters: Think about that: we're talking about a common theft, something that belongs under the jurisdiction of the local cops, but the DOJ and FBI come together to engage in aggressive raids on a journalism outfit that has a habit of exposing problems in the administration's allies. As O'Keefe explains in the video above, the FBI also told Project Veritas to stay silent about what happened to it, yet, within an hour of one of the raids, The New York Times was seeking comments from the reporter who was raided. Even more shockingly, the FBI then raided James O'Keefe's home and seized his papers and his phones. And then, once again, in an amazing coincidence, the New York Times published an article attacking Project Veritas — and supported the article with documents that matched those seized from O'Keefe during the FBI raids. Did the FBI give those documents to the Times? Who knows? I certainly don't, but, as I said, it's an amazing coincidence. Others are pretty sure about what really happened: The FBI is leaking attorney-client privileged files to a party adverse to Project Veritas in a civil lawsuit. This is not a grey area. It’s black letter criminal felonies committed by the FBI and the New York Times. https://t.co/Kgx98JWz5d — Cernovich (@Cernovich) November 12, 2021 The Times attack incidentally, tried to smear Project Veritas by pointing out that it consults with lawyers regarding its investigations. That's not something shocking; that's something all investigative outfits do. Moreover, it's noteworthy that the Times knowingly reviewed Project Veritas's legal documents while it is a defendant in a defamation suit Project Veritas filed against it. Project Veritas was able to get an order stopping the FBI from breaking into O'Keefe's phone, but of course, that was very much closing the barn door after all the horses had been slaughtered and autopsied. To summarize, Project Veritas has embarrassed the Democrats in the past and is obviously planning to do so in the future. It's also suing The New York Times. A year ago, it refused to touch a diary that a drug addict abandoned in a rehab clinic. The drug addict just happens to be the daughter of the man occupying the Oval Office. So now the DOJ authorizes the FBI to raid Project Veritas, and, oh, so coincidentally, The New York Times gets tipped off about the raids and suddenly comes into possession of documents of the same type seized in the raids. This whole thing stinks to high heaven. The Biden administration isn't a presidency in the traditional American sense. It's proving itself to be a criminal enterprise and a despotic regime that is using the power it obtained following a questionable election to destroy its political opponents. This is un-American, and, as I keep saying, it cannot end well. (By the way, my pronouns today are "Aren't you glad you're not one of Biden's children?" and "America is on a precipice." What are your pronouns?)
From bits that were leaked back before the 2020 election, we can say
Prosecution Of Project Veritas Sounds Warning About Two-Tier Justice & Big-State Corruption https://www.theepochtimes.com/prosecution-of-project-veritas-sounds-warning-... https://www.projectveritas.com/news/fbi-and-southern-district-of-new-york-ra... https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2021/11/the-okeefe-project-an-update.... https://rumble.com/vp5em5-why-did-the-fbi-raid-james-okeefe-harmeet-dhillon-... https://nationalfile.com/exclusive-source-biden-daughters-diary-details-not-... https://www.nationalreview.com/2021/11/the-fbi-and-the-new-york-times-collud... Whatever else can be said about the FBI’s vendetta against James O’Keefe and Project Veritas, his investigative journalism enterprise, it is a useful reminder of two things: 1) that we increasingly live in a two-tier society in which the lower tier can expect the arbitrary intrusion of all the coercive elements of the state, and 2) that the fundamental legitimacy of many important American institutions is draining away rapidly like a full bathtub that is suddenly unplugged. Scott Johnson at Powerline has an excellent summary of the case thus far. Last Thursday, the FBI conducted a raid against two former employees of Project Veritas. A few days later, they conducted a dawn raid against O’Keefe himself. It was the full monty. According to Harmeet Dhillon, a lawyer for PV, the G-men showed up with a battering ram, cuffed O’Keefe, and tossed him out in the hallway in his underwear as they proceeded to ransack his home. They made off with lots of booty, including two mobile phones chock full of privileged attorney-client communications, donor information, as well as information about ongoing Project Veritas investigations. Yes, but what were the Feds looking for. Why the fancy-dress SWAT-team routine? They were apparently looking for a diary kept by Ashley Biden, daughter of Joe Biden, President of the United States. The diary, you see, may be real—or maybe not. If real, it may have been stolen. It may have been left behind in a room once occupied by Ashley Biden. Project Veritas, in any event, denies having stolen it. that the document is certainly full of items that, if true, are embarrassing to Joe Biden. But think about this. What if your uncle, who enjoyed a Tabasco youth, decided to write his memoirs, naming names and describing situations. He left his diary behind at a hotel and it’s vanished. What do you do? If you are P.G. Wodehouse, you have Bertie Wooster find and destroy the thing. If you are Joe Biden, you call your “geheime Staatspolizei,” formerly known as the FBI, and put them on the case. Merrick Garland, attorney general of the United States (it sounds funny doesn’t it?) must have peeled off a number of agents he had just assigned to badger parents who attend school board meetings and set them looking for the diary. But what if it is your Uncle Fred who was scribbling his embarrassing memoirs? Can you call your Uncle Joe and have him put the FBI on the case? Of course you can’t. Who do you think you are? Remember Hunter Biden’s laptop? That was as good as a diary. Better even. For the salacious things it contained were not mere assertions, musings or fantasies inscribed with pen on paper. There were photos and videos and emails and other documents—hard evidence, in other words. But the entire regime media complex closed ranks over Hunter’s laptop. The New York Post broke the story. The New York Post was quickly kicked off Twitter. Regime spokesmen denounced it as “Russian disinformation.” (I wonder if there are some Russians who are receiving royalties for all the drama they have, by proxy, provided over the last 4 or 5 years? I feel sure someone should be compensated.) Hunter’s laptop became unmentionable, like potatoes during the Irish potato famine. The spectacle of the FBI breaking down the doors of journalists was too much even for Analisa Torres, the judge who issued the original search warrant. After the assault on O’Keefe’s property, Torres ordered that the agents pause in their efforts to extract data from O’Keefe’s phones. The Feds apparently took this as their signal to start leaking material about O’Keefe and Project Veritas to The New York Times. As of this writing, our former paper of record has published not one not two not three but four separate stories about the investigation into O’Keefe and Project Veritas. As Scott Johnson delicately suggests, the Times pieces are full of their signature snottiness, questioning whether Project Veritas is really even a legitimate news organization. Andy McCarthy, in a column on Nov. 12, offers some salutary advice for Judge Torres. She should start, McCarthy writes, by ordering the U.S. Attorney to provide the court with affidavits detailing communications between prosecutors and the media. She should also ask Merrick Garland to refer the matter to the Justice Department. What do you suppose the chances of that are? I’d say approximately zero. In his conclusion, McCarthy touches upon what I think is the critical issue. “You don’t need to love Project Veritas,” he writes, “to be offended by the blatant government leaking of confidential investigative information and by the Times’ hypocritical coverage.” Indeed. As it happens, I do rather love Project Veritas, as much for its insouciance as for its what’s-good-for-the-goose-is-good-for-the-gander deployment of Alinskyite tactics against the Left. Why should the Left have a monopoly on ferreting out hypocrisy and corruption? I am not sure I would agree with McCarthy’s subsequent description of the Times as “the crown jewel of American journalism.” I think the paper is utterly bankrupt and completely untrustworthy. I have vowed never to speak to a reporter from the Times. I cancelled my subscription years ago and cannot remember the last time I held a copy in my hands. But McCarthy is right that the paper endeavored to brand Project Veritas as “a lower caste” enterprise, “not entitled to the presumptions of privacy and legitimacy that the Times demands for its own information-collection practices.” You can say that again. We’re back again at that “two-tier” structure I began with. McCarthy is correct in his implication that the Times’s actions cast doubt on its own journalistic integrity. But I think the episode uncovers, yet again, a sickness that is far deeper. The moral bankruptcy of the Times is merely a reflection of a much larger bankruptcy: the bankruptcy of the institutions and the social compact that once underwrote our society. In my view, that bankruptcy includes, but is not limited to, the FBI and the Department of Justice under whose aegis it operates. Both have become thoroughly politicized shills for the permanent regime apparat that now governs us. More and more people are waking up to this dispensation. Merrick Garland, testifying recently before Congress about his memo siccing the FBI on recalcitrant parents who dared to question their local school boards, noted that the DOJ employs some 115,000 people. That is indeed a lot of people—many too many, I’d say. But even with 115,000 people at his disposal, the ghoulish Garland will find that there are not enough SWAT teams, handcuffs, or battering rams to save his secret police from the fury of an awakened populace. Project Veritas is part of the general reveille, and thank God for that.
Judge Grants Project Veritas Request To Insert Special Master After FBI Raids https://www.theepochtimes.com/judge-grants-project-veritas-request-to-insert... https://www.theepochtimes.com/judge-rejects-bid-to-make-public-records-suppo... https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/21150654-torres-ruling-in-project-ve... A federal judge on Wednesday agreed to appoint a special master to shield certain materials from the bureau and prosecutors that the FBI seized from Project Veritas. A special master, typically a retired judge, is appointed in a small number of cases to sift through seized materials and separate out documents that are privileged, or legally protected from authorities. While a government filter team could adequately go through the materials, a special master is being appointed to “ensure ‘the perception of fairness,'” U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres, an Obama nominee, wrote in the 5-page order. “In light of the potential First Amendment concerns that may be implicated by the review of the materials seized from petitioners, the court finds that the appointment of a special master will ‘help[] to protect the public’s confidence in the administration of justice,'” she added. Retired Judge Barbara Jones, a Clinton nominee, was appointed as special master. The government was ordered to finish extracting materials from the devices owned by James O’Keefe, Project Veritas’ founder, and two former Project Veritas employees and hand over the materials to Jones to go through. Jones will set aside any material not responsive to search warrants approved by a different judge last month, which allowed the FBI to raid the residences of O’Keefe, Eric Cochran, and Spencer Meads. She will hand over any materials responsive to the warrants to the filter team, which will then review the documents to determine if any should be withheld from the separate investigative team for reasons such as attorney-client privilege. Project Veritas lawyers can object to any materials cleared to go to the investigative team and Jones will rule on each objection. Torres denied another request from petitioners. They had asked the judge to order the government to search for the source of leaked information given to the New York Times related to the raids and the materials seized. She declined, asserting they did not provide a legal basis for their request or allege that the government violated any rule, law, or policy. FBI agents raided the homes searching for evidence of a conspiracy involving a diary said to belong to President Joe Biden’s daughter Ashley Biden. Project Veritas lawyers said most of the seized materials were privileged and unrelated to the Ashley Biden diary, emphasizing a need for a special master. The government opposed appointing a special master, arguing a filter team would be adequate. The ruling came one day after Magistrate Judge Sarah Cave rejected a second attempt to force the unsealing of records that convinced the judge to approve the warrants.
I websearched for project veritas and ended up at https://www.projectveritas.com/journalist-application/ . They do KYC for people to be information sources. I was hoping for more of a community network of anonymous spy cameras where everyone can read the feeds to see what is real. Guess it's a different approach. Dangerous times either way. Great to know veritas, left wing institutions, and law enforcement are all working on this stuff, hope they can work together soon.
You may be quoting in a misleading fashion. I was citing a URL with that wording. In today's world, so many people misuse the word 'anarchy'. The only kind of 'anarchy' I consider worthy of that name is the 'lets not have any government at all' version. I DON'T like the 'lets get rid of the current government and replace it with a large, repressive government that continuously violates the NAP, the Non-Aggression Principle'. Project Veritas is conservative, but they have been going after people who are far worse. On Mon, Nov 15, 2021 at 7:25 AM, Punk-BatSoup-Stasi 2.0<punks@tfwno.gf> wrote: On Mon, 15 Nov 2021 06:10:21 +0000 (UTC) jim bell <jdb10987@yahoo.com> wrote:
Project Veritas uses hidden camera techniques to expose corruption, dishonesty, anarchy,
ANARCHY IS BAD! The sooner a trumpofascist joke like 'project veritas' is destroyed, the better.
It's a bit ironic to defend Project Veritas by saying "Wait, that was taken out of context and misquoted". -david On Mon, Nov 15, 2021 at 4:28 PM jim bell <jdb10987@yahoo.com> wrote:
You may be quoting in a misleading fashion. I was citing a URL with that wording.
In today's world, so many people misuse the word 'anarchy'. The only kind of 'anarchy' I consider worthy of that name is the 'lets not have any government at all' version.
I DON'T like the 'lets get rid of the current government and replace it with a large, repressive government that continuously violates the NAP, the Non-Aggression Principle'.
Project Veritas is conservative, but they have been going after people who are far worse.
On Mon, Nov 15, 2021 at 7:25 AM, Punk-BatSoup-Stasi 2.0 <punks@tfwno.gf> wrote: On Mon, 15 Nov 2021 06:10:21 +0000 (UTC)
jim bell <jdb10987@yahoo.com> wrote:
Project Veritas uses hidden camera techniques to expose corruption, dishonesty, anarchy,
ANARCHY IS BAD!
The sooner a trumpofascist joke like 'project veritas' is destroyed, the better.
On Tue, 16 Nov 2021 00:28:12 +0000 (UTC) jim bell <jdb10987@yahoo.com> wrote:
Project Veritas is conservative, but they have been going after people who are far worse.
so called US 'conservatives' and so called US 'liberals' are just two slightly different factions of the same fascist mafia. This should be self-evident to libertarians. I don't object to project veritas in principle. I think it's OK to use any means to cause as much damage possible to things like joogle. My objection to project veritas is that don't go far enough. Because of course they are just controlled opposition.
On Mon, Nov 15, 2021 at 7:25 AM, Punk-BatSoup-Stasi 2.0<punks@tfwno.gf> wrote: On Mon, 15 Nov 2021 06:10:21 +0000 (UTC) jim bell <jdb10987@yahoo.com> wrote:
Project Veritas uses hidden camera techniques to expose corruption, dishonesty, anarchy,
ANARCHY IS BAD!
The sooner a trumpofascist joke like 'project veritas' is destroyed, the better.
On 11/15/21, jim bell <jdb10987@yahoo.com> wrote:
You may be quoting in a misleading fashion. I was citing a URL with that wording.
There's no "may be", people know that. That Juan is a falsequoting liar nihilist sans proposition, an internet big boi, a raging troll lefty socialist commie paid agent proud destroyer of every convo and attempt to live and build a NAPful future of no force to any person from any Govt, ideology, or group, who if behaving in the real world as raged here, would be locked up for trespassing, smashing people's personal property, theft, rape, murder, disturbing the peace etc... in reality he's still dommed by Cristina, happily pays his taxes to Alberto, always afraid to speak any truth about Manzur and Massa. Juan, como la raton, es le grande faux-nap, anti-voluntary, anarcholibertad-poseur, y silent apologisto de gobierno argentine. Fortunately, everyone's shit stinks, including the trolls ;) Troll on.
NYT Reveals How Ashley Biden's 'Inappropriate Showers With Joe' Diary Made Its Way To Project Veritas https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/16/us/politics/ashley-biden-project-veritas-... https://nationalfile.com/bombshell-new-york-times-fbi-confirm-legitimacy-of-... https://nationalfile.com/exclusive-source-biden-daughters-diary-details-not-... https://nationalfile.com/diary-bidens-daughter-ashley-resents-him-for-his-mo... https://twitter.com/BobKurlander/status/1318309605051650048 Ashley Biden's diary - over which Project Veritas was raided by the FBI last month - made its way to the whistleblower organization after Ms. Biden left her belongings at a friend's house, where she was staying after completing a rehab program for addiction, according to the New York Times. via National File In the spring of 2020, as Joe Biden was in the process of clinching the Democratic presidential nomination, Ashley was living in Delray Beach, FL with said friend "who had rented a two-bedroom house lined with palm trees with a large swimming pool and wraparound driveway," according to people familiar with the matter. In June, however, Ashley visited the Philadelphia area as Joe's campaign was ramping up. "She decided to leave some of her belongings behind, including a duffel bag and another bag," according to the report. Enter Aimee Several weeks after Ashley left the Delray house, the friend who hosted her invited an ex-girlfriend named Aimee Harris and her two children to move in. Harris, in the middle of a custody dispute and financial woes, appears to have been a Trump supporter according to 'social media postings and conversations.' She learned that Ashley Biden had stayed there, and that some of her things had been left behind, according to two people familiar with the mater. So how did it get to Veritas? Most likely Aimee. Exactly what happened next remains the subject of the federal investigation. But by September, the diary had been acquired from Ms. Harris and a friend by Project Veritas, whose operations against liberal groups and traditional news organizations had helped make it a favorite of Mr. Trump. In a court filing, Project Veritas told a federal judge that around Sept. 3, 2020, someone the group described as “a tipster” called Project Veritas and left a voice message. The caller said “a new occupant moved into a place where Ashley Biden had previously been staying and found Ms. Biden’s diary and other personal items.” The “diary is pretty crazy,” the tipster said on the voice mail, according to a Project Veritas court filing. “I think it’s worth taking a look at.” -NYT Court filings reveal that Project Veritas bought the diary (though never published it), through an unnamed proxy identified as "A.H." and "R.K." - Harris and Robert Kurlander, a self-described venture capitalist, longtime friend, and former housemate of Harris. 27 years ago, Kurlander "pleaded guilty in federal court in Florida to a conspiracy count in a drug-related money laundering scheme" and was sentenced to 40 months in prison, per the Times, which added that the same case resulted in a guilty plea from David Witter - grandson of the founder of Dean Witter. Days before the 2020 election, Kurlander tweeted: "Where are Biden's two kids?" adding "Ashley and Hunter are disasters. Reflection of the parents." @realDonaldTrump @DonaldJTrumpJr where are Biden’s two kids ? Why aren’t they campaigning like your 4 kids? Your great awesome kids. You can tell a lot about the family by the children!!!!! Ashley and Hunter are disasters. Reflection of the parents. Joe !!! — Bob Kurlander (@BobKurlander) October 19, 2020 According to the Times, Harris is "fully cooperating with the investigation and will remain responsive to the government’s requests for evidence and for her version of events," according to her attorney, Guy Fronstin. "When the facts emerge it will be clear that my client has information relative to the investigation but no culpability." Veritas declined to publish the diary according to an Oct. 12, 2020 email included in a Project Veritas court filing, with founder James O'Keefe telling his staff that they decided to pull the story because "We have no doubt the document is real," but that the publication of it would be "characterized as a cheap shot." That said, Veritas did attempt to use it as leverage - emailing Biden and his campaign to let them know that it had obtained a diary that Ms. Biden had "abandoned," and wanted to interview Joe Biden on camera about bombshell allegations. "Should we not hear from you by Tuesday, October 20, 2020, we will have no choice but to act unilaterally and reserve the right to disclose that you refused our offer to provide answers to the questions raised by your daughter," wrote Veritas' chief legal officer, Jered T. Ede. Biden's attorneys accused Veritas of threatening them as part of "extortionate effort to secure an interview," and refused to acknowledge whether it was genuine. That said, they told Veritas' Ede that it should be treated as stolen property and that "serious crimes" may have been committed in obtaining it. Bombshell allegations The Times also confirms the legitimacy of a report by National File's Patrick Howley, who published excerpts from the diary on Oct. 24, 2020 - and the full diary two days later. While treated as potentially fake at the time, we now know that the contents are legit - including claims that Joe took 'probably inappropriate' showers with Ashley, and that she believes she was sexually molested as a child. Entries in the diary include the author revealing she believes she was sexually molested as a child and shared “probably not appropriate” showers with her father, some that detail the author’s struggle with drug abuse and the author’s crumbling marriage with multiple affairs, along with entries showing the family’s fears of a potential scandal due to her brother’s new home, and those that show a deep resentment for her father due to his money, control, and emotional manipulation. -National File Via National File And while we hate to resort to whataboutism, can you imagine what the mainstream media would do if Trump's daughter's diary contained allegations of sexual molestation and 'inappropriate showers'? For now, we expect crickets.
NYT Reveals How Ashley Biden's 'Inappropriate Showers With Joe' Diary Made Its Way To Project Veritas
Judge Orders NYTimes To Remove Story On Project Veritas Based On Confidential Memos https://www.theepochtimes.com/judge-orders-new-york-times-to-return-legal-me... https://www.theepochtimes.com/judge-blocks-new-york-times-from-publishing-pr... https://www.theepochtimes.com/mkt_app/fbi-searches-home-of-project-veritas-f... https://www.theepochtimes.com/judge-orders-doj-to-stop-extracting-data-from-... https://www.projectveritas.com/news/project-veritas-sues-the-new-york-times-... https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/fbem/DocumentDisplayServlet?documentId=SgQ8IEENXxhU2D4NlHEZHw==&system=prod A New York judge has ordered The New York Times to return confidential legal memos it obtained between investigative journalism organization Project Veritas and the group’s lawyer. The New York Times had obtained the memos that were prepared by Project Veritas attorney Benjamin Barr—it remains unclear how the memos were obtained. The outlet then published the documents online. It later took them down, but an article published Nov. 11 describing the memos was still available on the paper’s website. The memos, in part, contained advice from Barr as to how Project Veritas’s methods of reporting, which largely involves reporters going undercover, could avoid running into legal problems. Project Veritas sued the paper and accused it of having obtained the privileged materials without authorization. “The court finds that Project Veritas has met its burden of showing that the subject memoranda were obtained by irregular means, if not both irregular and improper means,” State Supreme Court Justice Charles D. Wood in Westchester County said in his ruling (pdf) dated Dec. 23. Wood upheld his earlier order in November that blocked the newspaper from further publishing the memos. He also ordered The New York Times to return the memos to Project Veritas, including the physical copies. The paper must destroy “all copies of the memos it has, including removing them ‘from the internet,'” and retrieve all copies of the memos that it had provided to third parties. Furthermore, The New York Times must confirm its compliance within 10 days. Wood told Project Veritas to notify the court by the end of January 2022 if the newspaper does not comply and warned The New York Times of potential sanctions in such a case. More excerpts from the opinion: pic.twitter.com/0WccBmzp7q — Harmeet K. Dhillon (@pnjaban) December 24, 2021 Wood also ordered the paper not to use the memos, or any information obtained from them, in a separate lawsuit that Project Veritas filed against The New York Times in late October 2020. The defamation suit was filed after The New York Times had published an article in September 2020 calling Project Veritas’ reporting “deceptive.” A.G. Sulzberger, the publisher of the New York Times, said the newspaper will appeal Wood’s ruling and seek a stay in the meantime. Attorney-Client Privilege The New York Times in November ran a report about how the FBI raided the home of Project Veritas founder James O’Keefe, as well as homes of other current and former Project Veritas staffers. O’Keefe said in a statement at the time that the Justice Department appeared to be investigating the alleged theft of a diary of Ashley Biden, the daughter of President Joe Biden. In the report on the matter, The New York Times quoted the memos, which comprise attorney-client communications, leading Project Veritas to accuse it of having violated attorney-client privilege. Wood, in his Dec. 23, order, said the memos were not a matter of public concern, and that it is “clear” the balance “tips in favor of the attorney-client privilege.” “[T]he court rejects the [New York Times’] position that Project Veritas’ attorney-client communications are a matter of public concern. Undoubtedly, every media outlet believes that anything that it publishes is a matter of public concern,” the judge wrote, later adding, “But some things are not fodder for public consideration and consumption. These memoranda … are only between an attorney and a client, and it does not matter one bit who the attorney and client are.” “A client seeking advice from its counsel simply cannot be a subject of general interest and of value and concern to the public,” he later added. “It is not the public’s business to be privy to the legal advice that this plaintiff or any other client receives from its counsel.” “That is not to say that aspects of Project Veritas and/or its journalistic methods are not of public interest,” Wood noted, adding that The New York Times “is perfectly free to investigate, uncover, research, interview, photograph, record, report, publish, opine, expose or ignore whatever aspects of Project Veritas its editors in their sole discretion deem newsworthy, without utilizing Project Veritas’ attorney-client privileged memoranda.” Sulzberger characterized Wood’s ruling as an attack of press freedoms and alarming for “anyone concerned about the dangers of government overreach into what the public can and cannot know.” He decried the ruling as “unconstitutional” and a “prior restraint,”—a term that refers to government action prohibiting speech or other expression before speech happens. Sulzberger also said the ruling “could present obvious risks to exposing sources should it be allowed to stand.” Wood addressed the matters in his ruling, writing, “Here, the court’s protective order does not act as an impermissible prior restraint on the Times. As important as the First Amendment’s protection against prior restraint is, on the present facts, the erosion of the attorney-client privilege is a far more imminent concern.” He quoted an extract from a prior ruling in 1979, Greenberg v CBS Inc., which reads, “What is also at stake in the dissemination of privileged information into the public domain is the privacy of the individuals mentioned or discussed therein and the importance of full and free communication between attorney and client. ‘Hit and run’ journalism is no more protected under the First Amendment, than speeding on a crowded sidewalk is permitted under a valid driver’s license.” Wood said his ruling is “grounded in the recognition that the First Amendment’s primary aim is the full protection of speech upon issues of public concern, as well as the practical realities involved in the administration of justice and the attorney-client privilege.” Project Veritas lawyer Elizabeth Locke praised the ruling and called it “a victory for the First Amendment for all journalists and affirms the sanctity of the attorney-client relationship.” “The New York Times has long forgotten the meaning of the journalism it claims to espouse, and has instead become a vehicle for the prosecution of a partisan political agenda,” Locke said in a statement Dec. 24. “Today’s ruling affirms that the New York Times’ behavior was irregular and outside the boundaries of law.”
participants (5)
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David Barrett -
grarpamp -
jim bell -
Karl -
Punk-BatSoup-Stasi 2.0