ACLU Accuses James O’Keefe and Project Veritas of ‘Disgraceful Deceptions’ But Defends Group Against FBI Raid

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The American Civil Liberties Union said Sunday it supported Project Veritas founder James O’Keefe in his battle with the Justice Department over “press freedom.”

“Project Veritas has engaged in disgraceful deceptions, and reasonable observers might not consider their activities to be journalism at all,” spokesman Brian Hauss said in a statement, taking the opportunity to shred his organization’s ideological foe. “Nevertheless, the precedent set in this case could have serious consequences for press freedom.”

The FBI raided O’Keefe’s home over allegations about a diary stolen in 2020 from President Joe Biden’s youngest daughter, Ashley Biden. O’Keefe suggested in an interview last week that a source offered the diary to his group, but that he did not accept it or publish any excerpts. A federal court subsequently ordered the feds to cease efforts to extract data from O’Keefe’s electronic devices, which the FBI seized during the raid.

“Unless the government had good reason to believe that Project Veritas employees were directly involved in the criminal theft of the diary, it should not have subjected them to invasive searches and seizures,” Hauss added. “We urge the court to appoint a special master to ensure that law enforcement officers review only those materials that were lawfully seized and that are directly relevant to a legitimate criminal investigation.”

The DOJ opened an investigation into the matter in October 2020, under Attorney General William Barr, after the Biden family reported the theft of the diary. Excerpts from it were published on Oct. 24, 2020 by National File, a blog maintained by former Breitbart writer Patrick Howley. O’Keefe’s legal team told a judge the source who acquired the diary said they took it from Ashley Biden’s residence in Delray Beach, Florida.