[NewYorkMagazine] James O’Keefe, the founder and chairman of Project Veritas, has taken a paid leave from the conservative nonprofit media organization as its board considers whether to remove him from his leadership position, according to current and former employees of the organization.
An internal message sent to Project Veritas employees by the organization’s executive director, Daniel Strack, said that O’Keefe would be taking “a few weeks of well-deserved PTO.” An image of the message was shared by a source familiar with the organization’s internal operations, and its authenticity was confirmed by a current employee. When reached for comment on his personal cell phone, O’Keefe said nothing in response and did not respond to follow-up calls and text messages. Through a Project Veritas spokesman, Strack later released a statement on behalf of the organization. “Like all newsrooms at this stage, the Project Veritas Board of Directors and Management are constantly evaluating what the best path forward is for the organization,” the statement read in part. It did not directly address questions about O’Keefe’s employment status. “There are 65+ employees at Project Veritas dedicated to continuing the mission to expose corruption, dishonesty, waste, fraud, and other misconduct in both public and private institutions,” the statement read. “To our supporters: We hear you, we care about you, and we will never give up.”
O’Keefe is his organization’s guiding ideological force and onscreen face, but his status as its day-to-day manager has become uncertain amid reports of internal turmoil, lawsuits from former employees, leaks about its internal workings, and a federal investigation into its conduct in purchasing a diary stolen from Ashley Biden, the president’s daughter. Strack’s internal message to employees made reference to what he called “a distracting time” and said that a board meeting had been held to discuss “the health of the organization” and that while “we have not come up with final solutions yet we have made a few immediate decisions.” The message said two top Project Veritas executives, including the nonprofit’s chief financial officer, had been “reinstated.” Multiple sources said that the pair had recently been fired by O’Keefe.
A meeting of the Project Veritas board is scheduled for Friday, when O’Keefe’s potential removal is set to be discussed, according to one source familiar with the matter. The source said that Project Veritas was currently divided between a group of employees who are perceived to be loyal to O’Keefe, including his communications adviser, R.C. Maxwell, and the board, which has been dissatisfied with what it perceives as O’Keefe’s mismanagement. Matthew Tyrmand, a conservative journalist who serves on Project Veritas’ board, said he was about to walk into a meeting and could not talk when reached on his cell phone on Wednesday. When asked specifically if O’Keefe was being ousted, he replied: “I just said I was walking into a meeting and this was not the appropriate time. What don’t you understand about that?” He did not respond to subsequent phone calls. Two other board members did not respond to phone messages.
As rumors of O’Keefe’s potential ouster circulated among his friends and enemies on Wednesday, his usually pugnacious Twitter and Instagram accounts were silent. Project Veritas continued to promote the organization’s latest stings, including a series of hidden-camera videos that captured a Pfizer scientist discussing what Project Veritas described as dangerous gain-of-function research related to COVID vaccines. (“Pfizer has not conducted gain of function or directed evolution research,” the pharmaceutical company responded in a statement after the videos appeared.) One video in the series culminated with a physical altercation between O’Keefe and the Pfizer employee. In another video, posted in late January, O’Keefe accosted an investigative reporter for the New York Times, Adam Goldman, whose byline has appeared on multiple stories about the Biden-diary case. “Look how scared he is,” O’Keefe says in the videos, as Goldman holds up an iPhone to record their interaction.
“I’m an investigative reporter, unlike you, you’re a government stooge,” O’Keefe says and tauntingly calls Goldman a “punk” and a “Fed-boy!” (From Goldman’s side of the camera, O’Keefe looks even more hostile.)
Even as O’Keefe continued his confrontational act, long-standing infighting at the Project Veritas headquarters in Mamaroneck was coming to a head. Over the dozen years since he founded the nonprofit in a carriage house behind his parents’ home in suburban Westwood, New Jersey, the group has grown from a shoestring YouTube prank operation into a large, ideologically driven news organization with an annual operating budget of more than $20 million. But former employees describe O’Keefe as an erratic and often angry boss. According to a letter dated February 6, which was circulated by Project Veritas staff who were critical of O’Keefe’s management, he “berated” and fired the organization’s CFO, Tom O’Hara, and its chief strategy officer, Barry Hinckley. Hinckley later wrote a message to the staff saying he had “stood up to a bully” and had lost his job as a result. The letter included an 11-page list of testimonials from anonymous current employees, describing O’Keefe, in the words of one, as a “power drunk tyrant.”
Even many of O’Keefe’s enemies wondered, however, if his organization could survive without him as its leader. “Quite frankly, he’s the company,” one former employee said.
This is a developing story.
Project Veritas, whose public face has always been its founder James O’Keefe, has been hit with a scandal. A whistleblower has come forward regarding the recent news that O’Keefe has been put on leave and stripped of his role in the company. According to this unnamed whistleblower, O’Keefe has fallen victim to a lack of proper corporate structure at Project Veritas, which is divided into two separate organizations with different boards and funding. The whistleblower alleges that two ringleaders, Matt Tyrmand and Barry Hinckley, have taken advantage of the situation to push O’Keefe out. The board members and C-suite officers involved in the attempt to remove O’Keefe are listed in the Twitter thread. The whistleblower describes the board’s decision as a "Stalinesque kangaroo court trial."
Project Veritas has experienced huge success recently with its reinstatement on Twitter and the viral videos exposing corruption at Pfizer. The removal of James O’Keefe comes shortly after this win, and many people have speculated about the reasons behind it.
It’s important to remember that while the Daily Beast has done some good investigative work on other stories, it has a history of publishing misleading information and promoting a leftist agenda. Their report has no corroborating evidence that O’Keefe did these outrageous things, including allegedly taking a sandwich from a pregnant woman.
If true, that’s a ballsy move and also a great quality that led to his massive success. Is there nothing he will not attempt? There’s something humorous about the allegations because they are so weird.
A thread from the founder of Old Row claimed, citing a source within the outlet, that what is happening to O'Keefe is nothing short of a hostile takeover attempt from two members of the board over weak allegations of misconduct.
"According to my source, this situation has allowed to 2 alleged ringleaders of this attempt to push James out to have significant sway over the others despite their reasons to be essentially meritless," Swig tweeted. "Board members and C Suite officers involved in this according to my source are as follows: Board members: Matt Tyrmand - (Ringleader) John Garvey, George Skakel, Joseph Barton (not the congressman), Steve Alembik CFO: Tom O’Hara COO: Barry Hinckley (Ringleader pronouns in bio)."
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