Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

EXCLUSIVE: Leaked email shows Project Veritas begging donors to stay after removing James O'Keefe
The Post Millenial ^ | 02/22/2023 | Libby Emmons and Jack Posobiec

Posted on 02/22/2023 7:46:06 PM PST by SeekAndFind

An email obtained by The Post Millennial shows that Project Veritas has reached out to donors to ask them to stay with the company despite founder and CEO James O'Keefe having been pushed out by the board of directors. Project Veritas is a not-for-profit operating entirely on the generosity of donors.

"We hope that you might continue to give us a chance," the email says, pleading with donors. "We can't stress how separate the board's role is from daily operations here at PV. We are still grinding and pursuing stories of great public importance."

The email, sent by Bethany Rolando, who was one of the 16 signers of a letter sent to the Board of Directors reporting personal grievances against O'Keefe, offers the subject line "Update: We hold everyone accountable, especially ourselves."

"We understand and share your frustrations," the email reads. "We all love and respect James and hope he returns. This is difficult for everyone."

The email states that "an independent two-dimensional audit is being arranged" to determine if financial wrong-doing has taken place, and if O'Keefe had broken administrative procedure.

These issues include "Breaking the Bylaws of the organization by unilaterally dismissing the CFO and co-opting another board member's vote by saying that board member supported the dismissal," noting that this second Board member "did not." 

One of the issues listed in the letter from those 16 staffers to the board was that O'Keefe had fired the CFO without board oversight. "Most recently," that letter of February 6 read, "the treatment of Barry Hinckley and Tom O’Hara. These 2 highly respected individuals did what they thought was right for the betterment of the organizaion and got berated in public on Tuesday and effectively terminated by Thursday."

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

Also listed in the email to donors, as a matter for the "independent two-dimensional audit," is whether O'Keefe used "donations for private benefit." In a statement from the board on February 20, concerns over O'Keefe's spending were brought to the fore. Among these were staff morale and what the board claims were excessive expenditures.

"The board included this in its statement what it is aware of so far which clearly warrants this internal audit to ensure your hard-earned, and graciously donated, money is utilized appropriately." The email states that they "hope to know more details around this soon."

They also list concerns "with employment laws/workplaces safety regarding appropriate treatment of the employees was based, in part, on his interaction with senior staff in a Leadership call on January 31, 2023."

Apparently, after this single phone call, "Staff across multiple departments were ready to leave PV immediately if his conduct remained unaddressed."

The email offers that "over the last seven years," the company saw turnover of 140 employees, noting that they either quit or were fired, and that due to 20 of those employees having been in managerial roles, that lead "to potential succession plan issues" that threatened "the long-term viability of the company."

Which leads to O'Keefe. The email to major donors assures them that he was not removed, due to the fact that "he specifically said he did not resign, and the board did not fire him." Instead, they noted that he was placed on "temporary suspension until the audit was completed."

After 16 staffers sent a letter to the board detailing their concerns over O'Keefe's behavior, including an allegation that he once stole a sandwich from a pregnant woman, the board convened a meeting to determine O'Keefe's future with the company he founded.

O'Keefe responded to the board, and the staffers, in his own letter, demanding that the Board resign.

"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," O'Keefe said.

"The board placed him on a temporary suspension until the audit was completed," the email reads, "The board wanted him to delegate management of staff to the department heads so he can focus his true talent, efforts, and best use of his time on the journalism/stories and less on the day-to-day personnel management."

"He has been invited, but has chosen not to, engage in conversations with the board and management following steps taken so far wiht the goal of returning to Project Veritas."

"Instead," the email goes on, "he requested no change in authority and that mose of the officers and all of the board of directors immediately resign."

Project Veritas then appeals to the donors, saying that staff and board efforts at Project Veritas "remail passionately dedicated to James' mission," and that they "cannot control online narratives, and unfortunately cannot chime in to individually defend ourselves in the public sphere at present, we can sure you," it goes on to say, "we remain steadfast and determined to expose corruption."

The email notes that the work of Veritas continues, even if it has not gotten nearly the traction it did under O'Keefe's leadership. The latest expose picks up on the work that immediately precipitated the internal strife between O'Keefe and the board.

Prior to O'Keefe's departure, Veritas' reporting would be shared far and wide over social media with the "Veritas Army," made up of donors and supporters who shared the work on social media. Much of this method of distribution came about because O'Keefe, and Project Veritas, were banned on Twitter.

After Elon Musk took over the platform in October, both O'Keefe and Veritas were restored. In recent days, as Veritas has sought to distance itself from the man who created it, "James O'Keefe is Project Veritas" began to trend on Twitter, and as Veritas hemorraghed Twitter followers, O'Keefe rapidly gained them, outstripping Veritas of its influence, and taking it for his own.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Front Page News; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: barryhinckley; bethanyrolando; donations; jackposobiec; jamesokeefe; libbyemmons; meads; ohara; pferitas; pfizer; projectveritas; spencermeads; tomohara; twitter; veritas
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20 ... 41-6061-8081-100 ... 121-122 next last
To: Widget Jr

Top donors are demanding their money back - fundraising was happening when those PV turncoats knew James was going to be ousted and the donors are not happy.


61 posted on 02/23/2023 1:40:41 AM PST by Cowgirl of Justice
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 31 | View Replies]

To: piasa

I said on another thread:

Really. O’Keefe brought in millions of dollars in donations each year, kept things rolling, etc. Spending some money on limo service and planes in order to best utilize his time seems a wise investment.

Consider the business he’s really in. Whistleblowers at that level take ENORMOUS risks, potentially their lives or freedom. They must have ABSOLUTE trust that the person they deal with won’t sell them out to the Deep State. They trust James. They WON’T trust this board of weasels.


62 posted on 02/23/2023 2:00:22 AM PST by SauronOfMordor (The rot of all principle begins with a single compromise.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 60 | View Replies]

To: SeekAndFind

Bankrupt the joint!


63 posted on 02/23/2023 2:28:50 AM PST by ballplayer
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: SeekAndFind

I heard these charges:

He stole a sandwich.
There’s an audit and maybe he did something wrong.
The isn’t a pleasant person.

I don’t know about O’Keefe, but that behavior would land the rest of us in a federal penitentiary. /sarc


64 posted on 02/23/2023 2:30:09 AM PST by xzins (Retired US Army chaplain. Support our troops by praying for their victory. )
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: SeekAndFind

Donate to James OKeefe! The Hell with the traitors at Project Veritas!,


65 posted on 02/23/2023 2:30:21 AM PST by ballplayer
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: SeekAndFind
""We all love and respect James and hope he returns...."

Huh? That's news... They force him out and then "hope he returns"? Well he did offer a condition to return: the board must resign.

66 posted on 02/23/2023 2:37:07 AM PST by Mr. K (No consequence of repealing Obamacare is worse than Obamacare)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: TakebackGOP

You think O’Keefe is annoying?

Oh, well then let’s forget all the stuff we would NOT know, if it were not for O’Keefe... because TackBack thinks’ he’s “annoying”


67 posted on 02/23/2023 2:43:59 AM PST by Mr. K (No consequence of repealing Obamacare is worse than Obamacare)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 12 | View Replies]

To: Cowgirl of Justice
Thinking out loud and adding it all up (so far...):

  1. The PV board removed the founder, CEO, visionary and top financial draw in what was a Friday Night firing.
  2. They kept the big names and big money donors in the dark about all of it until the deed was done.
  3. Then gave excuses that do not cut it, because sacking the CEO is not a first resort option.
  4. Did this all during a fundraising drive.
By now I know enough to know when a story starts off like this, it only gets worse.
Moves this dumb by a board of directors happen for reasons that are not pretty.
Whatever O'Keefe did, there was more going on at PV than just him.
68 posted on 02/23/2023 2:57:06 AM PST by Widget Jr (🇺🇦 Sláva Ukrayíni 🇺🇦 - No CCCP 2.0)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 61 | View Replies]

To: SeekAndFind

“O’Keefe stole a sandwich from a pregnant woman.” That is awfully thin soup.


69 posted on 02/23/2023 3:02:42 AM PST by Jimmy Valentine (DemocRATS - when they speak, they lie; when they are silent, they are stealing the American Dreams)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: SeekAndFind
"The email states that "an independent two-dimensional audit is being arranged" to determine if financial wrong-doing has taken place, and if O'Keefe had broken administrative procedure. "

Isn't that something that should have been done BEFORE acting?

What is a 'two dimensional audit"?

70 posted on 02/23/2023 3:08:52 AM PST by Mr. K (No consequence of repealing Obamacare is worse than Obamacare)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: SeekAndFind

Were the typos in the many quotes in this article in the original email, or were they introduced by the post millennial?


71 posted on 02/23/2023 3:15:03 AM PST by HamiltonJay
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: SeekAndFind

NOT a freaking chance!!


72 posted on 02/23/2023 3:17:00 AM PST by Ann Archy (Abortion....... The HUMAN Sacrifice to the god of Convenience.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: TakebackGOP

OMG!! You are showing your ignorance of what O’Keefe has done!! Low level people?? Like the PFIZER guy/girl/it??


73 posted on 02/23/2023 3:20:30 AM PST by Ann Archy (Abortion....... The HUMAN Sacrifice to the god of Convenience.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 26 | View Replies]

To: SeekAndFind

“an independent two-dimensional audit is being arranged”

So NOW they’re planning an audit — AFTER they ousted JOK. They sound like people to stupid to manage a hot dog stand, much less Project Veritas.


74 posted on 02/23/2023 4:16:54 AM PST by MayflowerMadam (Stupid is supposed to hurt.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: 17th Miss Regt

I would love to been a fly on the wall when Candace Owens opened her email. Yesterday on Charlie Kirk she said that she and her husband have been huge donors to PV over the years. That stopped immediately.


75 posted on 02/23/2023 4:20:07 AM PST by MayflowerMadam (Stupid is supposed to hurt.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: TakebackGOP

“I think James is annoying.”

So are most Type A, highly successful people. The work they do gives them a pass on their personalities. Of course, one-dimensional, easily triggered, snowflakes would naturally run to their fainting couches.


76 posted on 02/23/2023 4:27:16 AM PST by MayflowerMadam (Stupid is supposed to hurt.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 12 | View Replies]

To: Kevin in California

“Appears the Pfizer checks to the BOD’s cleared.”

Doubtful if checks are involved. Too easy to trace. Direct deposits in to offshore accounts is more like it.


77 posted on 02/23/2023 4:29:19 AM PST by MayflowerMadam (Stupid is supposed to hurt.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 16 | View Replies]

To: SeekAndFind

The idiots killed the goose that was laying the golden eggs. Project Veritas will now die. James O’Keefe will just start another company/foundation and will instantly have a ton of support.


78 posted on 02/23/2023 4:29:29 AM PST by FLT-bird
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Ann Archy

This TakebackGOP person I think must be Mitch McConnell, or maybe some other deep state plant on FR. Their name must mean, “Take back the GOP for the country club mushy RINOS”. No way any true conservative could have that attitude about James O’Keefe’s work.


79 posted on 02/23/2023 4:42:01 AM PST by boxlunch (Red State governors, kick the fednazis OUT of red states! BTW, We are a REPUBLIC not a democracy!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 73 | View Replies]

To: boxlunch

This TakebackGOP person I think must be Mitch McConnell, or maybe some other deep state plant on FR. Their name must mean, “Take back the GOP for the country club mushy RINOS”. No way any true conservative could have that attitude about James O’Keefe’s work.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

^^^^^THIS^^^^^


80 posted on 02/23/2023 4:45:44 AM PST by mlitefan (Long time lurker...)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 79 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20 ... 41-6061-8081-100 ... 121-122 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson