- The Washington Times - Tuesday, March 23, 2021

Former President Donald Trump made a pitch Tuesday for Project Veritas while taking a swipe at one of his favorite media targets, The New York Times.

His comments came after the venerable newspaper lost last week its motion in New York state court to dismiss a defamation lawsuit filed by the undercover journalism organization.

“I want to congratulate Project Veritas on their big win on The New York Times,” Mr. Trump said in a video posted by Veritas. “Now the suit will continue, and whatever you can do for their legal defense fund, we’re with them all the way. They do incredible work. They find things that nobody would even believe possible.”

Standing next to Mr. Trump was Veritas President James O’Keefe, who held a copy of the lawsuit filed in New York Supreme Court, the state trial court.

The defamation claim centers on the NYT’s coverage last year of a Veritas investigation into alleged ballot-harvesting in Minneapolis, which the newspaper described in news articles as “deceptive” and “false.”

New York Supreme Court Justice Charles D. Wood ruled Friday that the lawsuit may proceed, finding that Project Veritas is “entitled to try to establish whether NYT’s writers were purposely and/or recklessly inaccurate.”

A New York Times spokesperson said Sunday that the outlet was “disappointed with the court’s decision” and intended to appeal.

“We believe our reporting played an important role in examining the kind of information that was presented to citizens about voting and voting fraud during the election,” the spokesperson said in an email.

Veritas has said it plans to conduct and record depositions of NYT executive editor Dean Baquet and the two reporters who wrote the stories and “expose them for the world to see.”

During his presidency, Mr. Trump routinely took shots at what he called “the failing New York Times” as part of his ongoing narrative against “fake news.”

• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.

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