When Project Veritas founder James O’Keefe was unceremoniously fired from the organization earlier this year, the situation sparked widespread speculation regarding the cause and ramifications of the decision.
For his part, the investigative journalist indirectly hinted in February that his ouster was somehow connected to the sting operation targeting Pfizer that had been released just days earlier.
“That is the only thing that has changed,” O’Keefe said at the time. “And then, suddenly, an unusual emergency happened just a few days after that.”
O’Keefe has gone on to launch another endeavor and conduct new investigations in the subsequent months as Project Veritas has languished, facing continued internal turmoil.
CEO Hannah Giles has attracted acute criticism for her leadership, including from former employees laid off earlier this month.
One ex-employee even acknowledged that O’Keefe’s removal from the company seemed appropriate at the time but noted that Giles’ subsequent behavior has been indefensible.
“I don’t know what the f— happened here,” the individual said.
Quite an update from conservative undercover group Project Veritas’s official account. Hannah Giles is PV’s CEO, hired after James O’Keefe was pushed out earlier this year and was the other half of O’Keefe’s ACORN pimp sting. pic.twitter.com/tlyv9oxP7i
— Will Sommer (@willsommer) August 17, 2023
As for the internal investigation into O’Keefe’s behavior prior to his departure, Giles and other leaders have maintained secrecy, as evidenced in leaked audio from a board meeting.
“The one thing that I will talk about is the audit report,” board member Joe Barton said. “The board decided not to release that. No one’s going to see that except for the board for reasons that do not have to be disclosed.”
This admission only heightened speculation that O’Keefe’s termination was unjustified, and an independent journalist known as SageOps attempted to get some additional information directly from the CEO.
Confronting Giles in public, SageOps noted that he had heard the leaked audio and asked about the decision to keep the audit private as well as allegations that Project Veritas had stopped providing legal aid to two former employees after promising to continue supporting them in a legal battle over the release of a diary that reportedly belonged to President Joe Biden’s daughter, Ashley Biden.
Instead of providing any additional clarity, however, Giles told him to contact Project Veritas’ media department and claimed: “If you guys want to have a sit-down interview with me, I’m fine with that.”
At this point, however, the true nature of the company’s current mission remains the subject of significant uncertainty — even for those who, until recently, worked there.
