James O’Keefe Placed on Paid Leave from Project Veritas, to be removed from board

[Mach]

It's not necessarily DeSantis behind it.
But he's buddies with the people who are.
Much of what he does in FL is meant to set him up to bait and switch people in order to get rid of Trump.

Yes, Desantis is not an outsider, like Trump, no matter what he is against, he is an insider... and I would like to be wrong.

[Occam's Banana]

James O'Keefe Accused of 'Erratic Behavior' by 16 Project Veritas Employees
'James has become a power drunk tyrant,' said one unnamed employee in a letter submitted to the organization's board
https://timcast.com/news/james-okeef...tas-employees/
Hannah Claire Brimelow (09 February 2023)

[...]

Memo to PV Board Feb 6 2023 (1) by Christopher Karr on Scribd

[...]

https://twitter.com/JackPosobiec/sta...43689916678147

[Occam's Banana]

As one youtube commenter put it:

"I can see O'Keefe getting some guys to go back into Project Veritas undercover and finding out who is on the take."

—Which would be hilarious.

Project Veritas Exposes Project Veritas
https://rumble.com/v296fha-project-v...t-veritas.html

[A Son of Liberty]

So if you were James O'Keefe, what would you do?
Should he just show up Monday and go back to work?

If I were James, and I were innocent as I assume him to be - because he's given me no reason to believe that he isn't, and that all of the work he's done hasn't been legitimate - I would figure out a way to blow the lid off of PV and do to them exactly what he has done to every other scumbag organization that he's exposed over the years.

And for the record I'm not necessarily politically aligned with James O'Keefe, but I think he's doing good work. Just the same as I feel about Glenn Greenwald and Matt Taibbi.

[GlennwaldSnowdenAssanged]

Project Veritas Exposes Project Veritas
https://rumble.com/v296fha-project-v...t-veritas.html

"I spent two hours making that sandwich." WTF? a peanut butter and jelly sandwich!
If I was working with this guy and people like this in my company, I would close down. Why would I hire and or retain people like this? I wouldn't. So who hires and retains them? I would guess it is very difficult to be a huge success without some serious capital. Infiltrating organizations with whistleblowers is much more expensive than Glenn Greenwald doing an hour show in his home or Ron Paul doing liberty report. Lots of cogs in that PV wheel. Too bad when the underlings have more power than the mastermind. kcuf that.Write a book, make a movie. GTF out of that scenario. Problem is all those woke employees will end up suing him and that will cost him all his cash and smear him. They are taking him down just like Alex Jones. That is the game plan. This will not end with James O'Keefe riding off into the sunset with a retirement. They want him smeared and broke.

[Occam's Banana]

"I spent two hours making that sandwich." WTF? a peanut butter and jelly sandwich!
[...]

[AngryCanadian]

"I spent two hours making that sandwich." WTF? a peanut butter and jelly sandwich!
If I was working with this guy and people like this in my company, I would close down. Why would I hire and or retain people like this? I wouldn't. So who hires and retains them? I would guess it is very difficult to be a huge success without some serious capital. Infiltrating organizations with whistleblowers is much more expensive than Glenn Greenwald doing an hour show in his home or Ron Paul doing liberty report. Lots of cogs in that PV wheel. Too bad when the underlings have more power than the mastermind. kcuf that.Write a book, make a movie. GTF out of that scenario. Problem is all those woke employees will end up suing him and that will cost him all his cash and smear him. They are taking him down just like Alex Jones. That is the game plan. This will not end with James O'Keefe riding off into the sunset with a retirement. They want him smeared and broke.

Project Veritas is not Veritas without James Keefe.
As others had already said it.

[TheTexan]

2 hours does seem excessive for a PB&J. Unless I guess you're making the peanut butter yourself?

[ClaytonB]

[ClaytonB]

Project Veritas Exposes Project Veritas
https://rumble.com/v296fha-project-v...t-veritas.html

I literally can't tell what's real and what's fake anymore. I thought this was satire. But I guess it's real? WTAF

[Occam's Banana]

I literally can't tell what's real and what's fake anymore. I thought this was satire. But I guess it's real? WTAF

[Brian4Liberty]

Project Veritas Exposes Project Veritas
https://rumble.com/v296fha-project-v...t-veritas.html

"I spent two hours making that sandwich." WTF? a peanut butter and jelly sandwich!
If I was working with this guy and people like this in my company, I would close down. Why would I hire and or retain people like this? I wouldn't. So who hires and retains them? I would guess it is very difficult to be a huge success without some serious capital. Infiltrating organizations with whistleblowers is much more expensive than Glenn Greenwald doing an hour show in his home or Ron Paul doing liberty report. Lots of cogs in that PV wheel. Too bad when the underlings have more power than the mastermind. kcuf that.Write a book, make a movie. GTF out of that scenario. Problem is all those woke employees will end up suing him and that will cost him all his cash and smear him. They are taking him down just like Alex Jones. That is the game plan. This will not end with James O'Keefe riding off into the sunset with a retirement. They want him smeared and broke.

I literally can't tell what's real and what's fake anymore. I thought this was satire. But I guess it's real? WTAF

[Brian4Liberty]

https://twitter.com/TomFitton/status...40051287805954

[AngryCanadian]

https://twitter.com/TomFitton/status...40051287805954

I wouldn't be surprised.

[Occam's Banana]

James O'Keefe to leave Project Veritas following Board dispute
James O'Keefe founded Project Veritas in 2011 and was its CEO. His brand of provocative journalism changed the face of investigative reporting.
https://thepostmillennial.com/breaki...-board-dispute
Libby Emmons (20 February 2023)

Founder and CEO of investigative journalism organization Project Veritas is reportely leaving the company he founded in 2011. This comes after some 16 staffers tried to oust him from leadership of his own company, claiming, among other things, that he was difficult to work for and once even stole a sandwich, resulting in a dispute within the Board of Directors.

Neil McCabe of OAN broke the story on Twitter, saying that O'Keefe delivered his resignation in person to his staff at their Mamaroneck, New York office.

https://twitter.com/NeilWMcCabe2/sta...11907636383745

[additional matter hidden to save space]

 

After the 16 staffers sent sent the letter to the Project Veritas board of directors in early February, "James O'Keefe IS Project Veritas" began to trend on Twitter. Many supporters and donors all balked at the idea that Veritas could continue without O'Keefe at the helm and prominent conservatives gave their support for O'Keefe.

"The undersigned are troubled and frustrated with James’ management style and business acumen," the letter began. "These behaviors and actons are antithetial to our core values, and it came to a head this week. Most recently, the treatment of Barry Hinckley and Tom O’Hara."

In the letter, the 16 staffers, listed as Michael Villani, Eric Spracklen, Mario Balaban, Jake Mantel, Patrick Van Duyne, Sal Gueli Journalists: Arden Young, Preston Scagnelli, Bobby Harr (Lithium), Bethany Rolando, Joanne Sumner, Gillian Pietrowski, Jonathan Bailey, Joshua Hughes, Nick Mehaj, and Angelo Martinez, say that "James has become a power drunk tyrant and he is exactly who he pontificates on who we should be exposing."

Other statements also cite professional relationships that apparently soured between O'Keefe and others, including an instance where O'Keefe called Spencer Meads a "pussy."

"James went as far as to call Spencer a pussy in Vegas, and Spencer heard him say it. Both of these guys were mission driven and suffered through it. They were raided and James still called Spencer that name - he never forgave them for making a decision to leave for their own mental wellbeing," the letter reads.

Issues cited include that "airing grievances" has led to termination, which has prevented the undersigned from previously speaking up. Lack of transparency in decision making was a concern, as well we O'Keefe being difficult to work with, belligerant, and mean, with "bullying" listed as a concern.

Project Veritas hemmoraged followers in the wake of the news, with staff and board attempting to continue without the man who made the company what it is.

Veritas said that they were confident in their ability to stay the course and continue to deliver on the mission O'Keefe set out for them, whether he was in charge the project or not. Now they are likely to find out.

A Cease and Desist letter went out to the Project Veritas Board of Directors by law firm Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders, saying that the "firm represents a large group of significant donors to Project Veritas."

These donors, it goes on to say "have grave concerns about the Board of Directors' reported action to remove Founder and CEO James O'Keefe from his leadership position, change the structure of the Project Veritas entities and their Boards (raising risks for the entities' charitable status), and operate Project Veritas for purposes other than those for which the organization was established."

"The big wig donors to Project Veritas are not taking the board actions against James O’Keefe lying down," says a source, according to Swig. "Looks like they have hired a big name law firm that sent a letter which seems to suggest the board is running afoul of Virginia law and exposing themselves to substantial liability!"

"By threatening or taking these actions," the letter went on to say, "the Board is straying from its roots and the express purpose for which it raised considerable funds from the public, including our clients."

"We are concerned that the Board may already be acting in violation of Virginia charitable solicitation and trust law and ask that the Board refrain from taking further actions to fundamentally undermine the purposes for which Project Veritas be established." They further asked that no money be spent in the meantime.

They said plainly that the Board must "cease and desist" from any actions to remove O'Keefe from the company, and state that the letter also represents "a request to preserve all tangible evidence, whether held by the Board or by its members, personally, including all documents related to the subject matter of this letter."

The rumor mill began to swirl after the release of the letter as factions began to form, with some saying that further, more damning allegations could be in the offing, primarily concerning financial dealings. Those have not yet come to pass.

Following a statement released by Project Veritas Executive Director Daniel Strack, Project Veritas retweeted a photo from Robert F Kennedy Jr showing himself with Project Veritas founder James O'Keefe in Santa Monica. "Of course [James O’Keefe] is alive and well. Why wouldn’t he be?" Project Veritas wrote. "We’re sure many of you can agree, there is nothing better than enjoying a well deserved vacation."

The retweet came hours after a statement from Strack on behalf of five board members saying that O’Keefe has not been removed from Project Veritas.

"At Project Veritas, we believe in radical transparency coupled with respect, empathy, and honesty," the statement began. "A few weeks ago, a number of our staff members provided leadership with some verbal feedback describing real management concerns regarding the treatment of people and our internal processes."

Strack wrote that this feedback "prompted the board to solicit feedback from additional staff members," noting that an internal letter was leaked. "The narrative that is being portrayed by referencing this letter is patently false."

"James has not been removed from Project Veritas. Nowhere in that letter was there ever a suggestion to remove James from the organization," the statement continued.

Strack said that more than 16 employees provided feedback, and that "this letter was not the only feedback collected." 16 members signed a letter outlining complaints about O'Keefe's leadership. It was reported that O'Keefe was on paid leave.

"James is the hardest working person I have ever met. Those who know him well know that he will not take time off unless forced to," Strack said.

"The Project Veritas Board of Directors is made up of seasoned and active members of their communities with many years serving on other 501c3 boards. They do not get paid by Project Veritas. They are multi-year donors. They all love James. They are volunteers hand-picked by James," the statement continued. "As a 501c3 non-profit entity, the Board takes their responsibilities seriously."

Strack stated that as Executive Director, "I am an officer of the organization. My role is to manage our team and help create better processes and procedures to help address the concerns of our team, our board and James O'Keefe."

"While I do understand the timing of this situation alongside the biggest story in our organization's history is confusing and very easy to come up with conspiracy theories, I assure you we are still, in no way, and will never be, 'Brought to you by Pfizer.' Nor do we have any political preferences for any candidates running for office," he added.

"I have always been, and remain, committed to working with James and the PV team, who I am so proud to be a part of, to continue our mission to expose corruption and deliver truth to the American people without fear or favor," Strack concluded.

The letter was issued by Strack on behalf of five board members: Steven Alembik, Joseph Barton, John Garvey, George Skakel, and Matthew Tyrmand.

Investigative journalism was changed forever when James O'Keefe walked into an ACORN office in 2009 posing as a pimp, Hannah Giles posing as a prostitute, and exposed workers there actively assisting the duo to set up sex trafficking operations. The workers exposed on video were fired, ACORN lost its government contracts, and the whole operation shut down within a year.

From that investigation, O'Keefe founded Project Veritas, a journalistic enterprise that relies on donations to carry out their work exposing educators, media figures, elected officials, and most recently Pfizer executives giving away information that they never would have if they'd known they were speaking to undercover reporters.

[Occam's Banana]

Leaked letter details James O'Keefe's response following removal as CEO of Project Veritas
"I asked the board to resign for their conduct-- they did not. So currently, I have no position at PV based on the board's actions."
https://thepostmillennial.com/exclus...roject-veritas
Andy Ngo (20 February 2023)

A leaked letter exclusively obtained by The Post Millennial reveals Project Veritas' founder James O'Keefe's statement to staffers on Monday after he was effectively removed from the organization by the board.

"I was asked to be gone until the 20th-- it is now the 20th," wrote O'Keefe. "I asked the board to resign for their conduct-- they did not. So currently, I have no position at PV based on the board's actions. So, I'm announcing to you all that today on President's day — I'm packing up my personal effects from headquarters, and I'm intending to start anew."

The letter includes screenshots of the board's meeting on Feb. 10 in which they voted three-to-two for his "indefinite suspension as CEO without compensation" pending an "audit."

Earlier this month, Project Veritas staffers had made allegations to the board that O'Keefe's curt leadership style was offensive to staff and donors. One large allegation of him being rude to a "high-net-worth" Oregon donor couple was refuted by the couple itself.

"I'm really, very disappointed in the petty allegations towards him, they're actually completely false and ridiculous," Dianna Remmers said in an Instagram video identifying herself as the donor in the list of allegations. "Without James, Project Veritas is nothing." Her husband also sent a letter to Project Veritas calling the staffer's allegations about O'Keefe's interactions with him and his wife "fabricated" and "gross exaggerations."

O'Keefe's 4,600-word letter to staffers details the emotional turmoil he and the organization have experienced in the 13 years since its founding from his parent's carriage house in New Jersey. They include what he believes are years of lawfare and corrupt criminal investigations aimed at stopping his organization from exposing powerful individuals and organizations. He also concedes to the staffers' main grievances about his leadership style.

"I haven't always been the most ostensibly compassionate leader - and that is admittedly a fault, something I need to work on," he wrote.

Since being suspended by the board, supporters of O'Keefe have speculated about the timing given that only days earlier Project Veritas had broken the most-viewed story in its history about a Pfizer executive who said that the pharmaceutical company worked on mutating the Covid-19 virus. O'Keefe references this in his letter.

"I don't have answers to why they've been doing what they've been doing, or why board members were going directly to employees to collect a list of grievances on the week of our biggest story ever. Or why our board members were going to employees directly to discuss removing me from Project Veritas – on the same week of our biggest story of all time."

O'Keefe continues sharing his side of the internal dispute and closes the letter by suggesting he is prepared to start a new organization.

"So our mission continues on — I'm not done. The mission will perhaps take on a new name, and it may no longer be called Project Veritas. I'll need a bunch of people around me and I will make sure sure you know how to find me."

Project Veritas spokesman RC Maxwell said in a statement to TPM: "I unfortunately don’t have any answers for you, the Project Veritas board is in charge now."

Read O'Keefe's letter here: https://www.scribd.com/document/6269...am-Google-Docs

James O'Keefe declined to comment.

[tod evans]

[nobody's_hero]

Damn ya beat me by a minute

[jmdrake]

It's not necessarily DeSantis behind it.
But he's buddies with the people who are.
Much of what he does in FL is meant to set him up to bait and switch people in order to get rid of Trump.

Trump was a bait and switch to stop Rand. Note had Biden used Trump's executive order to ban a gun accessory playbook to ban pistol braces.

[jmdrake]

I am guessing that back in the day James O'Keefe started his endeavor and then wanted it to be bigger and better but didn't have the financial wherewithal to do it without investors or partners. Once you have a financier, you are beholden to them.

Sounds like the rise and fall of VeggieTales.

[AngryCanadian]

Paid leave not too bad

Believe they have over 60 employees. Let’s hope they keep on keeping it on

Lesson dont hire employees that have pronouns.

[Anti Globalist]

There is no Project Veritas without James O'Keefe.

[Mach]

There is no Project Veritas without James O'Keefe.

All he has to do is go start up a new one, everyone knows who he is, but nobody knows "the board."

He probably already has investors approaching him.

[nobody's_hero]

All he has to do is go start up a new one, everyone knows who he is, but nobody knows "the board."

He probably already has investors approaching him.

He gets a donation from me as soon as he announces something. Won't be much but I doubt I'd be alone.

But he needs to do it soon before he fades into obscurity. He's obviously not going to get any help from the MSM on exposure.

I knew the board was feeding bull$#@! with their releases whenever they started out with the standard "we at project veritas believe .. . ." That is textbook management-about-to-send-turds-rolling-down-the-hill opening statement.

[Swordsmyth]

Trump was a bait and switch to stop Rand. Note had Biden used Trump's executive order to ban a gun accessory playbook to ban pistol braces.

Nobody needed to stop Rand, he did a fine job of that all by himself.
And he has since shown that he just doesn't have what it takes to take on McConnell and the rest of the swamp anywhere near as well as the minimal amount Trump did.

[vita3]

"anywhere near as well as the minimal amount Trump did."

John Bolton! "operation warp speed" my pillow guy to the rescue... LOLOLOL

cut the act.

[GlennwaldSnowdenAssanged]

The smear is sure to tie O'Keefe up with many accusations and legal fees. It is only the beginning. Unfounded allegations require the same if not more of a defense than true one. I can only hope that James has his own records of every dollar that went thru his fingers because it appears that they will stop at nothing to discredit him.

[Swordsmyth]

"anywhere near as well as the minimal amount Trump did."

John Bolton! "operation warp speed" my pillow guy to the rescue... LOLOLOL

cut the act.

You only list the bad things and there were far more good things.
Neither Bolton nor Lindell even count as anything bad, Trump didn't let Bolton do anything and Lindell is right about fraud while Rand defends the supposed right of the states to cheat.

[jmdrake]

Nobody needed to stop Rand, he did a fine job of that all by himself.
And he has since shown that he just doesn't have what it takes to take on McConnell and the rest of the swamp anywhere near as well as the minimal amount Trump did.

LOL. With Trump's support of gun control by executive order, COVID lockdowns, and greasing the skids for big pharma to push through experimental vaccines, Trump became his own swamp.

[jmdrake]

You only list the bad things and there were far more good things.

That's far more true for Rand Paul than for Donald Trump.