PROJECT VERITAS SPLITS WITH ITS FOUNDER
Right-wing group known for recording undercover videos
Project Veritas, the rightwing organization known for its undercover sting operations, has split with James O’Keefe, the group’s founder and chair, following a bitter management dispute that pulled back the curtain on allegations of workplace misconduct and mismanagement of donor money.
The group’s executive director, Daniel Strack, informed some staff on Monday that O’Keefe had issued an ultimatum demanding that the board of directors resign for him to stay, according to people familiar with Strack’s account. R.C. Maxwell, a spokesperson for Project Veritas, wrote on Twitter that O’Keefe “was removed from his position as CEO by the Project Veritas board.”
Neither Strack nor O’Keefe responded to requests for comment. O’Keefe notified employees of his exit on Monday morning at the organization’s headquarters in Mamaroneck, N.Y., and proceeded to pack up his office.
He hinted that he would form a rival organization, according to a video of his remarks obtained by The Washington Post, saying “the mission will perhaps take on a new name.”
“I don’t know why this is happening now,” O’Keefe
said of the move against him. Dressed in suit and tie, he accused his internal adversaries of “ruining our reputation in front of supporters and donors and leaking confidential information and fabricating stories.”
O’Keefe’s exit spells an uncertain future for Project Veritas, a controversial organization closely identified with its 38-year-old founder. The group, formed in 2010, has employed deceptive tactics in attempts to expose alleged wrongdoing by journalists, liberals and labor unions. O’Keefe’s secretly recorded videos, sometimes landing their subjects in hot water, have been shown to be selectively edited, often leaving out key context.
O’Keefe’s tactics have sometimes put him in legal jeopardy. He pleaded guilty in 2010 to a misdemeanor charge of entering a federal building under false pretenses; agreed in 2013 to pay
$100,000 to settle a lawsuit arising from his efforts to target a community organizing group; and in 2021 faced a court-ordered FBI search of his apartment in connection with the alleged theft of a diary belonging to President Joe Biden’s daughter, Ashley Biden.
O’Keefe gained clout in conservative circles and found common cause with Donald Trump, which boosted fundraising. By 2020, the nonprofit’s annual revenue had broken $20 million, according to public filings. In 2021, the most recent year for which a tax filing is available, Project Veritas paid O’Keefe about $400,000.
Behind the scenes, O’Keefe struggled to manage his organization.
His exit follows an internal management dispute that pitted O’Keefe against two of the group’s executives — Barry Hinckley, the chief development officer, and
Tom O’Hara, the chief financial officer. Earlier this month, O’Keefe sought to oust Hinckley and O’Hara after they raised concerns about his management style and treatment of staff.
“Last night I stood up to a Bully and was fired,” Hinckley wrote to colleagues in a group chat on Telegram. “Management by shaming and bullying is never acceptable and it doesn’t belong in the workplace.”
The board, after an emergency meeting, brought both executives back and indicated to Project Veritas leadership that it would deliberate over O’Keefe’s fate. Project Veritas staff prepared a memo airing grievances against O’Keefe. The document, which was obtained by the Post, accused O’Keefe of demeaning his employees, mistreating donors and squandering the group’s resources.
Some objected to the use of donor money on highly produced videos featuring O’Keefe. “All the theatre stuff and how that is handled makes me very uneasy,” wrote this unnamed person. “I understand it is rationalized as ‘raising awareness of our brand,’ but the cost of that both in a financial sense as well as personnel and resources, becomes priority over why donors actually give us money, which is to conduct undercover investigations which expose waste fraud and abuse.”