Project Veritas has served James O’Keefe – the original founder of the organization – with lawsuit paperwork, as revealed in a video O’Keefe posted to X/Twitter on Friday.
O’Keefe stated that that a colleague of his heard a “loud banging” on his front door on Thursday, and captured video of a man standing at the entrance with some paperwork.
“So I guess Project Veritas has attempted to serve a lawsuit against me on this day, September 21st,” O’Keefe said while examining the documents. “A lawsuit. They’re suing me. The company that I founded. When I left, there was something to the effect of between 6 and 8 million dollars cash on hand. They’ve apparently spent all of it, raising almost no money at all since they ousted me.”
This occurred middle of the day yesterday, Thursday September 21st.
— James O'Keefe (@JamesOKeefeIII) September 22, 2023
In May of 2023, it was first reported that Project Veritas was filing a lawsuit against O’Keefe. The organization claimed in the filing that “Being known as the founder of an organization does not entitle that person to run amok and put his own interests ahead of that organization,” and “Defendant James O’Keefe (“O’Keefe”) failed in his duties to Plaintiff, Project Veritas, causing it serious and significant damage.”
It was reported earlier this week that Project Veritas has fired all of its reporters and shuttered its operations months after the group ousted its founder, James O’Keefe, claiming that he created a hostile work environment and consumed an outsized portion of company resources.
The news was broken by former Project Veritas employee Bobby Harr, who is now an independent reporter. Harr wrote that Project Veritas suspended its operations, effective immediately, on September 21.
Harr claimed that CEO Hannah Giles, who was involved in the ACORN sting video with O’Keefe and returned to the company in his absence, reportedly cited “financial ruin” as the reason for the final layoffs, and reported that all investigations have been halted.
Reporting from The Post Millennial indicates those remaining employees who were not fired in August were terminated in a mass firing on Wednesday, adding that those who remained until that point were mostly administrative staff, or those charged with fundraising.
A post that was briefly published, then deleted, on the official Project Veritas X/Twitter account on August 17 read “SOS Hannah Giles just fired us all.” The company did not comment on the post’s meaning.
Another source told the outlet that “the donations dried up” after O’Keefe left the group. The source claimed Project Veritas’s board was “desperate to bring Hannah on board because they thought it would be cute but the problem is she’s a charlatan and a fraud.”
O’Keefe has not responded directly to the statement, nor has his new O’Keefe Media Group (OMG), but he did share a statement provided to MediaIte by his lawyer on X, formerly Twitter.
“It appears that in the few months since Project Veritas ousted James, it continued to spend money at the same rate, blowing through the many millions of dollars James had previously raised for it – despite PV having no new sources of fundraising,” said attorney Jeffrey Lichtman to the outlet. “This is highly suspect and we would welcome a full audit of PV’s finances to learn where that money was actually spent.”
Paul
September 22, 2023 at 6:09 pm
They fired him from his own company and like democrat’s they want to blame everyone but their self’s. What a bunch of greedy little woke children. Maybe they should grow up and start acting like responsible adults. Quit your crying put your big kids panty’s on and admit your not a smart as you thought you were.
Sandra Lee Smith
September 22, 2023 at 10:05 pm
What a shame those chose the tear apart what used to be a good news source. But that wasn’t enough for them, clearly… I’m not surprised they folded so soon; they stopped focusing on the job, just on”revenge”.
Elizabeth Davis
September 23, 2023 at 1:14 am
Be careful what you wish for. She wasn’t as savey or important as she thought. Just what did she expect. now she wants to sue him. He needs to sue her for destroying the company. Where did all the money go?
Glee
September 23, 2023 at 12:34 pm
I am thrilled to have watched the death throes of Project Veritas finally take its last vile gasp and to watch that corrupted ship sink. I’m also thrilled to see that even though they threw “Jonah” O’Keefe off the ship and watched him be temporarily swallowed by the Deep State whale, he was simply spewed back up to complete his mission, with hardly a ripple. I hope this lawsuit meant for evil turns out for O’Keefe’s good. Maybe the perpetrators will not just be exposed but also be jailed, embezzled money found, and O’Keefe’s new organization be given a huge windfall by the courts. Poetic justice is good, but real justice is the best!