January 1, FBI searches Project Veritas founder’s home over Ashley Biden’s diary

The Federal Bureau of Investigation raided the New York home of Project Veritas founder James O’Keefe over the weekend.

“I awoke to the news that apartments and homes of Project Veritas journalists, or former journalists, had been raided by FBI agents. It appears the Southern District of New York now has journalists in their sights for the supposed ‘crime’ of doing their jobs lawfully and honestly. Or at least, this journalist,” O’Keefe wrote on the Project Veritas website.

An FBI spokesperson told the New York Times it had “performed law enforcement activity” in O’Keefe’s building on Saturday but did not elaborate further.

The previous day, O’Keefe said that the Justice Department was investigating Project Veritas over the allegedly stolen diary of Ashley Biden, President Joe Biden’s 40-year-old daughter.

Project Veritas, a right-wing activist group, said it at one point had the diary after receiving it from “tipsters” who claimed they found it in a room Ashley had used. O’Keefe said the group attempted to return it to her, but her lawyer “refused to authenticate it,” so they handed it over to law enforcement.

O’Keefe said the group refrained from publishing the diary’s contents because they were unable to authenticate it.

“In what world is the alleged theft of a diary investigated by the President’s FBI and his Department of Justice? A diary! This federal investigation smacks of politics,” O’Keefe wrote.

In Oct. 2020, the Times reported that Ashley Biden informed the Justice Department that her house was burglarized and several personal items were stolen. The DOJ opened an inquiry into the incident.

While Project Veritas didn’t publish the diary, some of its handwritten pages were posted on a right-wing website shortly before last year’s presidential election. According to the Times, the posting was essentially ignored by the mainstream media.

The FBI’s search of O’Keefe’s apartment was preceded by the raid of two of his associates on Thursday.

O’Keefe said that the subpoena and raids were attempts to “silence” him and his peers.

“Our efforts were the stuff of responsible, ethical journalism, and we are in no doubt that Project Veritas acted properly at each and every step,” he said in a video statement posted Friday.

Source:

FBI. Searches James O’Keefe’s Home in Ashley Biden Diary Theft Inquiry