An emotional James O’Keefe said Monday that he has left Project Veritas, the undercover journalism outfit he founded and led for 13 years, after being effectively forced out by the board of directors amid behind-the-scenes strife.
Mr. O’Keefe said he called for the nonprofit communications company’s board to resign after members stripped him two weeks ago of his authority as CEO, removed him from the board and placed him on leave over allegations of mismanagement and mistreatment of staff.
“I was asked to be gone until the 20th. It is now the 20th,” Mr. O’Keefe said in a 45-minute video filmed at his office that was posted online. “I asked the board to resign for their conduct and they did not. So currently I have no job at Project Veritas. I have no position here based upon what the board has done.”
He choked up as he announced: “I’m packing up my personal things — sorry, I’m getting emotional — from headquarters, and I’m intending to start anew.”
His departure throws into doubt the future of Project Veritas, the irreverent guerrilla journalism outlet known for its hidden-camera video stings against typically left-of-center targets, including political campaigns, teachers’ unions, liberal media outlets, and most recently, the pharmaceutical giant Pfizer.
Mr. O’Keefe said that the effort to oust him began shortly after Project Veritas released what he described as its biggest story ever, undercover footage of a Pfizer executive revealing the company’s internal discussions about plans for future COVID-19 vaccines.
The hashtag #NoJames trended Monday after his announcement as O’Keefe fans posted tweets along the lines of “No James, no Project Veritas.”
“James O’Keefe out at Project Veritas is yet another example of how right media and the donor class have a deep intolerance for creative genius,” tweeted Ben Domenech, The Spectator editor-at-large. “If Andrew Breitbart had lived, they’d have found a way to ditch him, too.”
Watch the full length video of James O’Keefe’s speech to the journalists at Project Veritas. He was removed by the board of directors in a coup. The video is incredibly heartfelt and honest and exposes the dishonesty of the organization’s new heads. pic.twitter.com/2tDkPP3j3S
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) February 20, 2023
The internal turmoil that led to Mr. O’Keefe’s departure erupted three weeks ago when some staff members went to management with “verbal feedback describing real management concerns regarding the treatment of people and our internal processes,” according to a Feb. 15 statement by Project Veritas Executive Director Daniel Strack.
“That prompted the board to solicit feedback from additional staff members, and that internal letter was leaked,” he said.
He referred to an 11-page document with testimonials from about 16 staff members accusing Mr. O’Keefe of alienating employees and donors with his behavior.
The comments included “James has become a power drunk tyrant,” and “Rule #1: You can’t spit in an employee’s face over a tweet. True story,” as reported by the Daily Beast. New York Magazine broke the story.
One comment accused Mr. O’Keefe of taking a pregnant woman’s sandwich during a 2022 jury trial over the group’s undercover probe into the political consulting group Democracy Partners.
“I was yelled at in front of jurors because he was hungry and then he took the 8-month pregnant woman’s sandwich,” said the comment.
Mr. Strack responded to the reports by saying that the board of directors and management are “constantly evaluating what the best path forward is for the organization” without giving details about Mr. O’Keefe’s employment status.
“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 said. “To our supporters: We hear you, we care about you, and we will never give up.”
In the Monday video, Mr. O’Keefe said he was told to take two weeks’ leave after a 6 1/2-hour board meeting that included some donors and employees that he described as a “listing of grievances” about his management style, his travel and even “girls I’ve dated in the past.”
He said he offered to send an apology letter “for my tone of voice in the office at the leadership meeting the week before,” but that the board refused to accept his apology.
Mr. O’Keefe acknowledged that “I’m a hard guy to work for sometimes,” saying that he logged 80-hour work weeks for more than a decade to build Project Veritas, but that he has never asked his staff to do anything that he himself has not done or would not do.
“As a former board member told me 10 years ago, Project Veritas will never be stopped from the outside. It will only be because we stopped ourselves,” Mr. O’Keefe said. “Prophetic as it may be, that is exactly where we find ourselves in this situation today.”
Based in Mamaroneck, New York, Project Veritas raised $22 million in 2020, nearly doubling the $12 million collected in 2019.
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.
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