In 2018, an operative working for Project Veritas infiltrated the campaign of Abigail Spanberger, who went on to win a congressional seat. You mentioned that he was recruited by Erik Prince. And then I talked to somebody else. Is that what these interviews were about? But I don't know how close they are. We rely on our journalists to be independent observers. Mr. Seddon launched his privately funded spying effort after leaving Project Veritas in 2018. Mr. We'll talk more about his stories on undercover operations by conservatives to infiltrate Democratic and progressive groups after a short break. Erik Prince, the former head of Blackwater Worldwide and the brother of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, has at times served as an informal adviser to Trump administration officials. And then on a parallel but different track, you know, Sofia is trying to make her way through the Young Democrats of Wyoming, the Wyoming Democratic Party, you know, building her bona fides as an eager, young Democrat. He's a former British intelligence officer who served in Washington, D.C., and in Pakistan and eventually leaves the British Secret Intelligence Service and develops some relationship with Erik. Erik Prince, the founder of private military company Blackwater, whose sister Betsy DeVos was Trump's education secretary, trained the spies Their job was to find out who was disparaging Trump. And then Mark Mazzetti, you know, my colleague, who just is an extraordinary journalist, we - you know, we managed to suss out what was going - we think - to a great degree what was going on in Wyoming and these other states. In a YouTube video, Mr. OKeefe described the lawsuit as frivolous and pointed to a portion of the deposition in which David Hecker, the president of AFT Michigan, said that one of the goals of the lawsuit was to stop Project Veritas from doing the kind of work that it does., Randi Weingarten, the president of the American Federation of Teachers, said in a statement: Lets be clear who the wrongdoer is here: Project Veritas used a fake intern to lie her way into our Michigan office, to steal documents and to spy and they got caught. 1-307-754-2221. if( width > 480 ){ You'd have to ask Mr. O'Keefe. Overall, how do conservatives regard Project Veritas? He was dismayed, three former Project Veritas employees told the Times, with "O'Keefe's desire to produce quick media content rather than to run long-term infiltration operations." And they will get, you know, negative information from public records. The whole thing was completely - was really weird. DAVIES: But the idea was that these public officials or FBI agents were secretly - they were part of the deep state. And he was pitching that plan, but it never got anywhere. GOLDMAN: Well, I don't know if he is primarily the guy. And then I started Googling them and doing some research on them. - not quick-hit videos or, you know, shorter-term operations, which I think people say Mr. O'Keefe wanted to do. And we actually - I, you know, I - Mark and I reached out to our - one of great political reporters, Jonathan Martin, and asked him, you know. They targeted NPR. They were critical of Donald Trump and his agenda. And there was, you know, another individual from the Emirates who was there. DAVIES: Wow. Mr. OKeefe and his group have taken aim at targets over the years including Planned Parenthood, The New York Times, The Washington Post and Democracy Partners, a group that consults with liberal and progressive electoral causes. zoneId = 'Array'; Many conservatives have gleefully pounced on Project Veritass disclosures, including one particularly influential voice: Donald Trump Jr., the presidents eldest son. But before the parties get to the lawsuits merits, The Intercept is contending, among other arguments, that Wyoming is not the right place for the case to be heard. What did they show? But the effort is a glimpse of a vigorous private campaign to try to undermine political groups or individuals perceived to be in opposition to Mr. Trumps agenda. Were just trying to hold them accountable for this industrial espionage.. DAVIES: You know, the other thing that I wanted to just clarify to the extent I can is how much of a driving force Erik Prince was in this. (Last week, Trump pardoned the four Blackwater guards who were convicted of crimes in connection with the killings in Baghdad.). Cole pointed to various records, including a campaign finance document from earlier this year, in which Prince listed his address as being in Virginia. In more recent years, Prince has remained a mover and shaker and a controversial figure on the international stage. If you're a print subscriber, but do not yet have an online account, click here to create one. var width = jQuery(window).width(); And ultimately, it did blow up in their face. Using a different alias the next year, the same undercover operative infiltrated the congressional campaign of Abigail Spanberger, then a former C.I.A. Their attorneys wrote that the story did not focus its efforts on or in Wyoming, nor would it have any reason to do so . But we were unaware of that. GOLDMAN: That's a good question. They broke into the DNC. So flesh out the picture a bit. Prince has previously been involved in trying to find dirt on Democratic politicians. One of the former spies, an ex-MI6 officer named Richard Seddon, helped run a 2017 operation to copy files and record conversations in a Michigan office of the American Federation of Teachers, one of the largest teachers unions in the nation. For instance, Princes 2014 memoir said he splits his time between homes in Virginia and Abu Dhabi, where he pursues a variety of business ventures.. Beau picks up - starts working this marijuana legalization angle to try to make contacts with people - elected officials who are, in fact, pushing this bill to legalize marijuana. But if the case was transferred to New York, that states laws could apply. She was doing outreach to, you know, Democratic figures in Wyoming. It argues the article was not defamatory and the challenged statements would be protected as opinion based on disclosed facts., The dispute over jurisdiction could have a direct impact on the case. The next year, during a presidential debate with Hillary Clinton, Mr. Trump claimed without substantiation that videos released by Mr. OKeefe showed that Mrs. Clinton and President Barack Obama had paid people to incite violence at rallies for Mr. Trump. This is FRESH AIR. Prince turned to Mr. Seddon to help train the Project Veritas operatives. contractor who is best known as the founder of the private military firm Blackwater and whose sister, Betsy DeVos, was Mr. Trump's education secretary has drawn. Female undercover operatives tried to entrap FBI agents, sometimes using fake dating app profiles, and State Department employees, the Times reports. [I] was a Wyoming resident for many years,, That same day Oct. 9, 2017 Prince obtained a Wyomings drivers license, which he touted, In early 2017, Prince reportedly welcomed James OKeefe and others from the conservative group Project Veritas, which describes itself as an army of guerrilla journalists. That February, OKeefe tweeted an image of himself taking aim with a silenced handgun amid snowy mountains, saying the team was undergoing intense training from a classified location as we make Project Veritas the next great intelligence agency. The Intercept ultimately, Other outlets, however, have continued writing about the contractor. Prince said he regularly host[s] customers, investors, employees and other business associates at my Wyoming ranch.. Trump, of course, wanted to pull out. He recruited a British commando to help - this guy Gaz Thomas, who I guess had knew Seddon through his days at MI6. It's not clear to us why Prince decided to help Project Veritas. NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. At the time, Prince was exploring the possibility of mounting a Republican primary challenge to incumbent U.S. Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo. Over two years, Mr. Seddons undercover operatives also developed networks in Colorado and Arizona, and made thousands of dollars in campaign donations posing as Democrats, both to the Democratic National Committee and individual campaigns. Mr. Seddon directed an undercover operative to secretly tape the unions local leaders and try to gather information that could be made public to damage the organization, documents show. What are traditional political dirty tricks? And so, you know, I can't tell you right now it hasn't, that somebody else isn't doing this. Emails sent to Mr. Seddon went unanswered. Mr. And, you know, I'm not sure when the relationship started. Princes parents, Elsa Prince and the late Edgar Prince, bought the 940-acre Double E Ranch in the Wapiti Valley in the early 1990s. We'll talk about Project Veritas in a moment. Prince declined to comment. This includes participating in marches or rallies in support of a movement or giving money to, or raising money for, any political candidate or election cause. ', Death toll keeps rising in Greece's deadliest train crash, US Attorney General Merrick Garland testifies before Senate Judiciary Committee, Lineup announced for this years Capitol Hill Block Party, There's no shortage of salt for NYC roads, Temple University students march and protest to demand better safety. And, you know, Seddon was out at the farm. That's how you found them, and that's what raised the question? But what is clear is if Beau and Sofia made these campaign contributions - right? Now, this couple weren't really the committed Democrats they presented themselves as, right? What does that tell us about Erik Prince? And he ends up giving, you know, $6,000 to Wyoming Democratic Party and also money to other political figures. DAVIES: This is FRESH AIR. Most notably, Prince had incorrectly asserted under the penalties of perjury he had been registered to vote in Wyoming since 2017.. Mark Gordon, who was viewed as a RINO in some Wyoming conservative circles. At the time I signed my [September] declaration I believed Jones Creek and CMNS to be Wyoming entities, but I have subsequently learned they are not; I believe they are Delaware entities, Prince wrote in the document, which he signed from California. Accuracy and availability may vary. Prince is separately under investigation by the Justice Department on unrelated matters, according to people familiar with the case. GOLDMAN: To my understanding, there was a disagreement in how Project Veritas should be run. This includes participating in marches or rallies in support of a movement or giving money to, or raising money for, any political candidate or election cause. DAVIES: Right. But he was extremely wealthy conservative in Wyoming named Foster Friess, who had actually run for governor in '18. And it would - you know, and make an enormous amount of money. DAVIES: Let me reintroduce you again. It seems like the Democrats have figured out this party switch deal to their advantage, Mr. Friess wrote in an email obtained by Wyofile, a political news site in Wyoming. Did it expand their operations? DAVIES: Right. However, after the Powell Tribune questioned some apparent inaccuracies in his Sept. 16 statement, Prince acknowledged misstating a couple of his connections to the state. GOLDMAN: Yes, very wealthy and very conservative. GOLDMAN: Well, I think it was - our latest story revealed, you know, at least one person who had been working for the Democrats thought that Sofia likely might have gotten some damaging information about Democratic efforts to help, you know, moderate Republicans. So what I'm saying is from Richard Seddon's standpoint, the fact that she had a picture up on Project Veritas Exposed, that was a real risk they were taking, right? GOLDMAN: Yes, the Government Accountability Office. Mr. Published October 16, 2017. You know, I think part of Mr. O'Keefe's motto - I think it's important for him to have regular and consistent content - right? And they thought McMaster had fired, you know, several people who the president had brought on and - or Mike Flynn, his former - his first national security adviser had brought on. DAVIES: This is FRESH AIR. They need some spy training and covert military, paramilitary training at his ranch. DAVIES: It was a risk because she couldn't effectively work undercover if they'd been exposed by this organization that's critical of Veritas? GOLDMAN: These were videos - you can find them on Project Veritas', you know, website or on YouTube now. Mr. met with White House and Pentagon officials. What were they trying to get? GOLDMAN: She was very active. GOLDMAN: Yeah. The plan was reportedly to send a female operative to Tosca, a restaurant McMaster frequented, to engage him in drinks and conversation and record him disparaging Trump or making other inappropriate remarks on camera. Prince had hired a former MI6 officer to help train the Project Veritas operatives, The Intercept wrote, but it did not identify the officer. We're still trying to fully understand how Project Veritas, which is founded by James O'Keefe, actually came into contact with Erik Prince. } Later that year, Mr. And they start trying to make inroads in the Wyoming Democratic Party. document.write ("&loc=" + escape(window.location)); Anyone can read what you share. Neither party wants to be, you know, exposed to this kind of spycraft - right? And GOLDMAN: Involving Roy Moore - exactly. You know, he's a businessman. 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