Monday’s ouster of James O’Keefe from Project Veritas, the news and norms breaking investigative team he founded 13 years ago, leaves new questions around an organization that has long urged us to ask them.
In a 45-minute video of his goodbye remarks to Veritas staff, O’Keefe said he had not resigned but rather been removed from his position as chief executive officer by the board. Two potential reasons for this include the recent recording of a Pfizer executive boasting how his pharmaceutical giant boss is allegedly mutating the COVID-19 virus to generate more business for itself, and what some staff complaints claim was O’Keefe becoming a “power-drunk tyrant” who overspent on luxuries.
“I don’t ask you how your Thanksgiving was. I don’t ask you the names of your siblings,” he said. “I haven’t always been the most compassionate leader, perhaps a fault of mine,” O’Keefe conceded in the video.
One staff complaint alleged that O’Keefe had once eaten a pregnant woman’s sandwich.
In its statement, the Veritas board said O’Keefe was neither fired nor asked to resign in what media have speculated was an effort to leave open a door to work things out with the group’s founder.
During his farewell video, O’Keefe recounted some of what he has been through over the course of the organization’s work to get subjects to reveal to hidden cameras things they wouldn’t otherwise say publicly. This has included being handcuffed by the FBI, having his own personal information divulged, his home and office searched, and even being the target of a high-speed chase by an education union leader.
Last year a Florida couple pleaded guilty to illicitly selling First Daughter Ashley Biden’s diary to the group. Veritas grew to fame after its videos of employees of liberal groups like ACORN and Planned Parenthood appearing to admit to behaviors that shock the conscience.
O’Keefe stated that he will be continuing his investigative efforts even if that means starting from scratch.