James O’Keefe is more than the founder of a whistleblower organization — he is Project Veritas.
Since 2011, O’Keefe’s brainchild investigative journalism nonprofit has exposed some of the most explosive stories and provided the hidden video clips to prove it all.
Now shocking new reports suggest O’Keefe, who is also the on-camera presenter for each bombshell report, is on paid leave while the board mulls his ouster from the organization he began, according to New York Magazine.
Project Veritas Executive Director Daniel Strack initially sent an internal memo saying that O’Keefe would be out enjoying “a few weeks of well-deserved PTO.”
However, New York Magazine said that O’Keefe has not responded to calls and texts on his personal cell phone to verify that, while the company’s subsequent cryptic memo added fuel to worries that he is being forced out.
(O’Keefe has not posted to his official Twitter or Instagram accounts since last week either.)
“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,” a statement posted to Twitter Wednesday said.
“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 added.
“To our supporters: We hear you, we care about you, and we will never give up,” it said while not addressing O’Keefe’s employment status at all.
Can Project Veritas survive without O’Keefe?
Yes: 9% (6 Votes)
No: 91% (58 Votes)
Project Veritas’ Official Response to Today’s News Reports
Despite what the Corporate Media tries to portray about our organization, know this: We have never been more motivated and dedicated to our mission than now. pic.twitter.com/sB7Cz97b5M
— Project Veritas (@Project_Veritas) February 9, 2023
However, Strack has reportedly said in internal communications that the board was meeting during this “distracting time” to discuss “the health of the organization.”
Strack further claimed that they “have not come up with final solutions yet we have made a few immediate decisions.”
One of those decisions may be telling as two top executives at Project Veritas, including CFO Tom O’Hara whom multiple sources have claimed were fired by O’Keefe, have been “reinstated.”
It’s clear that trouble has been brewing at Project Veritas for some time.
The most recent hidden video drop caused a stir on social media, but not for the usual reasons.
A confrontation between an unwitting Pfizer whistleblower, who claimed the company was intentionally mutating the COVID-19 virus, ended up in a physical altercation.
Some questioned whether the mark worked for the company in a capacity where he’d be privy to that information in the first place, and Pfizer later refuted his claims leaving some to question whether O’Keefe’s homework was as thorough this time.
Other problems for O’Keefe include legal battles with former employees amid allegations that he’s demanding, angry, and at times erratic.
Project Veritas has also faced its share of investigations, including the recent probe after the stolen diary of President Joe Biden’s daughter Ashley Biden ended up with the organization.
The company has struggled with being banned from online platforms, and perhaps all of this has led to a coup being perpetrated from the inside to throw O’Keefe overboard.
Online personality Swig, founder and COO of Old Row brands, claimed as part of a lengthy Twitter thread that a “whistleblower” told him O’Keefe has been “put on leave and stripped of all authority at Project Veritas.”
“James is a bit of a victim of poor corporate structure, as PV is 2 separate orgs a 501c3 which had very FEW board members and the majority of the $$$ and a 501c4, which had significantly more board members but less $$$,” he claimed of the nonprofit’s structure.
“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 wrote in a follow-up.
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 🇺🇸 (@OldRowSwig) February 9, 2023
It’s still unclear what really happened and what O’Keefe’s future at Project Veritas will be, if he has any at all.
What is clear is that there will be no Project Veritas without him, and that is a frightening prospect for the conservative movement.
There is nobody else so willing and able to expose the evil things happening in our world the way O’Keefe and Project Veritas have done over the last decade-plus.
And, after all that O’Keefe has endured — up to and including possibly losing the company he created — it will be a long time before anyone else even attempts it.
