Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

Federal Judge Refuses to Unseal Records of FBI's Raid on Project Veritas Founder

Federal Judge Refuses to Unseal Records of FBI's Raid on Project Veritas Founder

The federal authorities are refusing to shed light on the FBI's raid on Project Veritas' journalists over the supposed theft of a diary belonging to Ashley Biden, the US president's daughter. According to some legal observers, the federal probe under President Joe Biden smacks of a political investigation.

Sarah Cave, a federal magistrate judge in Manhattan, on 7 December declined to unseal records concerning the FBI's raid of Project Veritas founder James O'Keefe's home in November. The request for making the records public was formally submitted by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, a Washington DC-based nonprofit that provides pro bono legal services to journalists.

The FBI raided O'Keefe's apartment in New York early in the morning on 6 November as part of a probe revolving around the alleged theft of a diary belonging to President Joe Biden’s daughter, Ashley Biden.

According to the journalist, federal agents handcuffed him, threw him against the hallway, confiscated his phone, and ransacked his apartment. The FBI also raided the homes of two former Project Veritas journalists.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) on 15 November lashed out at the FBI over the raid in a public statement, suggesting that the federal agency's conduct "could have serious consequences for press freedom."

"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," stated Brian Hauss, senior staff attorney with the ACLU.

The Project Veritas legal team called upon the court to appoint "a special master" to review the seized materials, arguing that it was "necessary to protect core First Amendment interests and attorney-client privileged information," according to The Epoch Times.

However, US government attorneys insisted on 19 November that a federal judge shouldn’t appoint a special master, claiming that the group's lawyers "have offered no persuasive explanation" to back their plea and suggesting that Project Veritas employees aren’t journalists. "Project Veritas is not engaged in journalism within any traditional or accepted definition of that word," the government lawyers claimed.

The government's public filing indicated that it "has reasons" to believe that Project Veritas was involved in acquiring Ashley Biden's diary, according to The Epoch Times.

At the same time, the latest 19-page court ruling referred to O’Keefe as one of the “subjects” of the investigation which purportedly means that the journalist "is not currently seen as likely to be charged," according to Politico.

Politico suggests that if the federal magistrate judge indeed used the term "subject" in the aforementioned sense, "it would raise further questions about the raid on O’Keefe’s home, since prosecutors are not typically permitted to use search or seizure warrants to get unpublished media materials about crimes allegedly committed by others."

According to O'Keefe, neither he nor his group had been involved in stealing the diary as it was handed to Project Veritas in 2020 by two individuals who claimed to have obtained it legally. The persons told the group that they had found the diary "abandoned in a room" where Ashley Biden had been staying.

The tipsters further said that the journal contained "explosive allegations against then-candidate Joe Biden."

O'Keefe highlighted that Project Veritas had never published anything from the journal since it could not confirm that it was authentic. According to the founder of the group, they tried to return the diary to Ashley Biden's lawyer but the latter didn't accept it. Eventually, the organisation gave the journal to "law enforcement to ensure it could be returned to its rightful owner," by O'Keefe's account of events.

Nevertheless, alleged excerpts from the diary were published by a conservative website about two weeks after the New York Post broke the story about Hunter Biden's "laptop from hell," according to The New York Times. The media outlet revealed on 5 November 2021 that the Justice Department has been investigating the supposed theft of the diary since October 2020.

Fox News legal analyst Gregg Jarrett suggested that "Project Veritas did the right thing" as it did not publish the diary. Jarrett further argued that the alleged theft of the diary should have been a subject of a state probe, not a federal investigation. According to the legal analyst, the federal probe has become an "enormous conflict of interest" after Joe Biden assumed office in January 2021.

"A journalist cannot be criminally prosecuted for publishing stolen material unless the journalist himself or herself is involved in the theft," Jarrett said. "There's no indication of that... We don't know a whole lot about this story, but it's deeply troubling. They would barge into the homes of two journalists armed with a search warrant signed off by a federal judge and the Department of Justice, presided over by Joe Biden, this smacks of a political investigation."

AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Putin Celebrates ‘Unprecedentedly High’ Ties with China as Gazprom Seals Power of Siberia-2 Deal
China Unveils New Weapons in Grand Military Parade as Xi Hosts Putin and Kim
Rapper Cardi B Cleared of Liability in Los Angeles Civil Assault Trial
Google Avoids Break-Up in U.S. Antitrust Case as Stocks Rise
Couple celebrates 80th wedding anniversary at assisted living facility in Lancaster
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
The White House on LinkedIn Has Changed Their Profile Picture to Donald Trump
"Insulted the Prophet Muhammad": Woman Burned Alive by Angry Mob in Niger State, Nigeria
Trump Responds to Death Rumors – Announces 'Missile City'
Druzhba Pipeline Incident Sparks Geopolitical Tensions
Cost of Opposition Leader Péter Magyar's Economic Plan Revealed
Germany in Turmoil: Ukrainian Teenage Girl Pushed to Death by Illegal Iraqi Migrant
United Krack down on human rights: Graham Linehan Arrested at Heathrow Over Three X Posts, Hospitalised, Released on Bail with Posting Ban
Asian and Middle Eastern Investors Avoid US Markets
Ray Dalio Warns of US Shift to Autocracy
Eurozone Inflation Rises to 2.1% in August
Russia and China Sign New Gas Pipeline Deal
Von der Leyen's Plane Hit by Suspected Russian GPS Interference in an Incident Believed to Be Caused by Russia or by Pro-Peace or by Anti-Corruption European Activists
China's Robotics Industry Fuels Export Surge
Suntory Chairman Resigns After Police Probe
Gold Price Hits New All-Time Record
UK Fintechs Explore Buying US Banks
Greece Suspends 5% of Schools as Birth Rate Drops
Apollo to Launch $5 Billion Sports Investment Vehicle
Bolsonaro Trial Nears Close Amid US-Brazil Tension
European Banks Push for Lower Cross-Border Barriers
Poland's Offshore Wind Sector Attracts Investors
Budapest Central European Fashion Week Kicks Off
U.S. Celebrates Labor Day
Hungarian National Team Captain Scores Epic Goal
EU is getting aggressive: Four AfD Candidates Die Unexpectedly Ahead of North Rhine-Westphalia Local Elections
Japanese Customer Sways from VW to BYD after “Unbelievable” Test Drive amid Dealership Expansion
Nestlé Removes CEO Laurent Freixe Following Undisclosed Relationship with Subordinate
Pickles are the latest craze among Generation Z in the United States.
Giuliani Seriously Injured in Accident – Trump to Award Him the Presidential Medal of Freedom
Deadline Day Delivers Record £125m Isak Move and Donnarumma to City
Nvidia Reveals: Two Mystery Customers Account for About 40% of Revenue
Woody Allen: "I Would Be Happy to Direct Trump Again in a Film"
Lula and Putin Hold Strategic BRICS Discussions Ahead of Trump–Putin Summit
White House Eyes Budapest for Peace Talks
Cave Diving Beneath the Streets of Budapest
Another American Restaurant Chain Opens in Budapest
Hungarian Opposition Politician Supports Ukrainian Commander
Opposition Leader Threatens Media Outlets
American Airlines Adds New Flights to Budapest
F1 Hungarian Grand Prix Wraps Up
WhatsApp is rolling out a feature that looks a lot like Telegram.
U.S. Trade Representative says Washington still negotiating trade deals after court rules tariffs illegal
Von der Leyen says Europe drawing up 'precise' plans to send troops to Ukraine
Kremlin accuses Europe of hindering Trump’s peace efforts in Ukraine
×