Criminal prosecutors could soon gain access to more than 900 documents related to the alleged theft of a diary belonging to President Joe Biden’s daughter after a judge rejected a First Amendment request from the conservative group Project Veritas. Attorney Jeffrey Lichtman said Monday on behalf of the nonprofit that the attorneys plan to appeal the ruling issued last Thursday by U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres in Manhattan. In the written ruling, the judge said the documents could be turned over to investigators by Jan. 5. The documents were produced during searches authorized in November 2021. Electronic devices were also seized from the homes of three members of Project Veritas, including two. cell phones from the home of James O’Keefe, the group’s founder, who has since been fired. Project Veritas, founded in 2010, identifies itself as a news agency. He is best known for leading hidden camera operations that embarrassed the media, labor organizations and Democratic politicians. In their written arguments, lawyers for Project Veritas and O’Keefe said the government’s investigation “does not appear to have been undertaken to further any real interests of justice, but rather to prevent the press from investigating the president’s family. “, they added. The judge rejected the First Amendment arguments, saying in the ruling that they were “inconsistent with Supreme Court precedent.” She also noted that Project Veritas could not claim that it protected the identity of a confidential source from public disclosure after two individuals publicly pleaded guilty in the case. She was referring to the August 2022 guilty pleas of Aimee Harris and Robert Kurlander to conspiracy to commit crimes. interstate acts transportation of stolen property Both are awaiting sentencing The pleas came two years after Harris and Kurlander — two Florida residents who are not employed by Project Veritas — discovered that Ashley Biden, the daughter of president, had stored items, including a diary, at a friend’s home in Delray Beach, Fla. They said they initially hoped to sell some of the stolen goods to the then-president’s campaign, Donald Trump, but a representative refused them and told them to report the documents to the FBI, according to prosecutors. Ultimately, Project Veritas paid the two men $20,000 each to sell them. delivering the diary containing “highly personal entries,” a digital storage card containing private family photos, tax documents, clothing and luggage to New York, prosecutors said. Project Veritas has not been charged with any crimes. The group said its activities were information gathering activities and were ethical and legal. Two weeks ago, Hannah Giles, chief executive of Project Veritas, quit her job, saying in a social media post that she had “got herself into an irremediable mess – a disaster caused by high pressure.” evidence of past illegalities and subsequent financial irregularities. She said she reported what she found to “appropriate law enforcement agencies.” Lichtman said in an email on behalf of Project Veritas and the people whose residences were raided: “As for further investigation, the government is not seeking a jail time. It’s time for either of the defendants who claim to have stolen Ashley Biden’s diary, which speaks volumes in our minds.
Criminal prosecutors could soon gain access to more than 900 documents related to the alleged theft of a diary belonging to President Joe Biden’s daughter after a judge rejected a First Amendment request from the conservative group Project Veritas.
Attorney Jeffrey Lichtman said Monday on behalf of the nonprofit that the attorneys plan to appeal the ruling issued last Thursday by U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres in Manhattan. In the written ruling, the judge said the documents could be turned over to investigators by Jan. 5.
The documents come from searches authorized in November 2021. Electronic devices were also seized from the homes of three members of Project Veritas, including two cell phones from the home of James O’Keefe, the group’s founder, who has since been fired.
Project Veritas, founded in 2010, identifies itself as a news organization. He is best known for leading hidden camera operations that embarrassed the media, labor organizations and Democratic politicians.
In their written arguments, lawyers for Project Veritas and O’Keefe said the government’s investigation “does not appear to have been undertaken to further any real interests of justice, but rather to prevent the press from investigating the family of the president.”
“It is impossible to imagine the government investigating an abandoned diary (or perhaps the other personal effects left with it), if the diary had not been written by someone with the last name ‘Biden’ “, they added.
The judge rejected the First Amendment arguments, saying in the ruling that they were “inconsistent with Supreme Court precedent.” She also noted that Project Veritas could not claim that it was protecting the identity of a confidential source from public disclosure after two individuals publicly pleaded guilty in the case.
She was referring to the guilty pleas of Aimee Harris and Robert Kurlander in August 2022 to conspiracy to commit interstate transportation of stolen property. Both are awaiting sentencing.
The calls came two years after Harris and Kurlander — two Florida residents who are not employed by Project Veritas — discovered that Ashley Biden, the president’s daughter, had stored items, including a diary, in the home from a friend in Delray Beach, Florida.
They said they initially hoped to sell some of the stolen goods to then-President Donald Trump’s campaign, but a representative turned them down and asked them to turn over the documents to the FBI, according to prosecutors.
Ultimately, Project Veritas paid the two men $20,000 each to deliver the diary containing “highly personal entries,” a digital storage card containing private family photos, tax documents, clothing and luggage, to New York. prosecutors said.
Project Veritas has not been charged with any crimes. The group said its activities were information gathering activities and were ethical and legal.
Two weeks ago, Hannah Giles, chief executive of Project Veritas, quit her job, saying in a social media post that she had “found herself in an irreparable mess – a disaster brought on by strong evidence of past illegalities and subsequent financial irregularities.” She said she reported what she found to “appropriate law enforcement agencies.”
Lichtman said in an email on behalf of Project Veritas and the people whose residences were raided: “As for the continued investigation, the government is not seeking any prison time for any of the defendants who claim to have stolen Ashley Biden’s diary, which says a lot. in our minds. »