Woman in Project Veritas video faces lawsuit
A Republican candidate for chief justice on the Fourth Court of Appeals is suing a woman who worked for her campaign after she appeared in a secretly-recorded video released this week by a conservative activist group.
Raquel Rodriguez, who did political jobs for several candidates, was recorded telling an interviewer that she was being paid to collect absentee ballots in Bexar County.
Former Judge Renée Yanta filed a lawsuit Friday morning in civil district court accusing Rodriguez of defamation for telling the Project Veritas operatives that she had judges “in her pocket” who were paying for her services.
The video, released Tuesday by Project Veritas, is the subject of an investigation by the Texas Attorney General’s Office because it shows Rodriguez apparently discussing unlawful campaign tactics, and at one point shows her helping an elderly woman fill out her absentee ballot.
The video did not provide details about who Rodriguez believes she’s speaking to. It included parts of what appear to be multiple conversations. Project Veritas frequently has been accused of deceptive editing in previous “stings,” which usually target liberal actors or causes.
The video identifies Rodriguez as a consultant for Mauro Garza, the Republican challenger to U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio. Garza said in an email Tuesday that he welcomed an investigation and said Rodriguez was a volunteer who no longer worked on his campaign. He gave no reason for her departure.
In the video, as she is being questioned about what she does, Rodriguez can be seen boasting that she has four judges calling her, apparently for petition signature gathering services. She names Yanta and attorney Nicole Garza, the Democratic candidate for the 37th Civil District Court bench, as “in her pocket,” and who would “owe” her.
“So between me and you, I’ve got four judges that are calling me right now ... they’re like, ‘We want to be a part of this group. So, if we pay you $3,500 each,’ that’s like 12 grand dude, paying me $3,500 to make sure that their name is on the ballot.”
Shortly after the video came out Tuesday, Rodriguez posted a letter on her Facebook page that stated she lied and knew there was something wrong with the conversation, but continued to “play along,” to discover the source and gather evidence to submit to legal authorites. The elderly lady was her aunt, she said, accusing Project Veritas of invading their privacy.
Rodriguez did not say whether she submitted any details to law enforcement. She has not returned voicemails or texts.
In a statement released late Thursday, Garza adamantly disputed Rodriguez’s characterizations.
“I can tell you the allegations she made regarding me are wholly untrue,” the statement said. “I am deeply troubled by the notion that someone could simply make a false statement about me (or anyone else) on video, and that no one would take the time to ask whether the allegations were true.”
Yanta, who lost re-election to the 150th Civil District Court in 2018, said Friday that she has never harvested absentee ballots or paid anyone to do it.
“She lied,” Yanta said of Rodriguez. “It breaks my heart, obviously, because some people rush to judgment.”
According to campaign finance reports, Rodriguez has done work for other politicians whose names she drops in the video, including state Sen. Pete Flores, RPleasanton and Liz Campos, a Democratic candidate for Texas House District 119. Attempts to reach Flores and Campos were unsuccessful.
Yanta posted a lengthy statement on her Facebook campaign page as the video began to circulate.
“I am shocked and horrified by what I saw on the Veritas videos,” she said, noting that Rodriguez has admitted that her statements in the video are false.
“Even in these times of gutter politics, I am deeply hurt and shocked by such mean-spirited, blatant lies,” she said. “It shows how some people will stop at nothing to try to destroy an honest candidate.”
According to the lawsuit, Rodriguez went to Yanta’s office in early October, before early voting began. Yanta paid Rodriguez $1,500 by check, in advance, to represent her at three polling places during the early voting period: Las Palmas Library, Mission Library and the AT&T Center.
Poll workers are often seen wearing T-shirts of the candidates they support, handing out information at a distance from the voting site.
Yanta provided T-shirts and supplies, periodically checked in with Rodriguez via phone and text to see if she needed anything, the lawsuit states. At Rodriguez’s request, Yanta also visited the Mission Library site on Oct. 23 to provide Gatorade and snacks because the workers were hot and thirsty, the suit states.
On Sunday evening, the suit states, Yanta learned of accusations connecting Rodriguez to questionable election tactics and fired Rodriguez on Monday morning.