However, he ultimately did not challenge Barrasso in 2018 nor did he vote in those off-year elections, Prince acknowledged in Octobers revised declaration. Blackwater Worldwide founder Erik Prince is considering a Republican primary challenge to Wyoming Senator John Barrasso, a senior member of the Senate GOP leadership team, in a race that could pit the party's establishment against insurgents inspired by allies of President Donald Trump. Oct. 21, 2020. We'll talk about Project Veritas in a moment. And they would find people, and they would go out with them. Drawing on information from three unnamed sources, The Intercept reported Prince met with a top official from Russias Wagner Group at an undisclosed location earlier this year and offered his mercenary forces to support the firms operations in Libya and Mozambique.. Did it expand their operations? Presented with the details of the operation, Ledeen told the Times she was just a messenger, "not part of a plot.". They had a - someone came to the Post. GOLDMAN: It's not clear they're actually being trained in firearms training. Given Mr. Princes extensive personal and professional ties to Wyoming, it is certainly plausible that some or all of [The Intercepts] sources to the extent they exist at all were located in Wyoming, Princes legal team wrote. And this website is devoted to revealing the identities of Project Veritas operatives. 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. As the founder of Blackwater USA, now Academi, a private military company, Prince headed the organization. Mr. That got a lot of attention, was investigated by Robert Mueller. They were going to bug it. What was going on there? 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. We rely on our journalists to be independent observers. The document is dated December 2018 and said that Mr. Talbott was another of the names of corrupt individuals from Marti.. Last year, the group received a $1 million contribution made through the law firm Alston & Bird, a financial document obtained by The New York Times showed. At the center of the scheme was an unusual cast: a former British spy connected to the security contractor Erik Prince, a wealthy heiress to the Gore-Tex fortune and undercover operatives like. And this photo of James O'Keefe, who's, you know, the founder of Project Veritas, firing a weapon with a silencer, apparently, at Erik Prince's ranch - were they being trained in firearms there? zoneId = '3'; Private property rights are a major cornerstone to how Wyoming operates, but so is prioritizing a rural, quiet lifestyle - ultimately, the former won out in Sublette County. Prince might have approached for money for Mr. Seddons venture besides Ms. Gore. We're going to take a break here. Mr. Seddon owns a cabin that he keeps stocked with guns, food and other supplies as preparation for a cataclysmic event in the United States. However, the story quoted a former U.S. Treasury official who suggested simply making an offer to assist Wagner might have violated current U.S. sanctions in place against the Russian firm. GOLDMAN: I think - yeah, I think the latest is - you know, he's worked - his latest adventure is in Libya. So flesh out the picture a bit. GOLDMAN: Yeah, and the Justice Department prosecuted a number of individuals. The Intercept, however, wants the complaint dismissed. Did it expand the number of people that they had? And he comes from a wealthy, conservative family in Michigan, right? DAVIES: Right. They targeted somebody from the Justice Department, and I wrote they also targeted FBI employees. We'll continue our conversation in just a moment. He's a reporter for The New York Times. Princes attorneys responded that, if the judge has any doubts about Wyoming being the appropriate venue for the case, they should be allowed to learn the identity of The Intercepts confidential sources. Over the past year and a half, The New York Times has reported on an effort by conservatives to train operatives in undercover spy techniques to infiltrate progressive groups, political campaigns, unions and the offices of Democratic and moderate Republican elected officials. After Mr. 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. And as the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press summarizes, New York provides absolute protection from forced disclosure of materials received in confidence by a professional journalist, including the identity of a source.. That's a name some people will know. I'm Dave Davies, in for Terry Gross, who's off this week. And they - the purpose for - they themselves will launch this undercover operation and then, you know, secretly record you - audio, video - and then make a video out of it and, you know, expose what they describe as wrongdoing. 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? James OKeefe, a conservative activist, founded Project Veritas. If he enters the race, he would be challenging Republican incumbent John Barrasso in the 2018 primaries, with the encouragement of Steve Bannon. How Times reporters cover politics. A former British spy and Republican mega-donor Erik Prince, a founder of the private military contractor Blackwater (now rebranded as "Academi) and brother to former U.S. Education Secretary. I knew something was off immediately. 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. And so Sofia's picture was up there. Ms. Jorge was eventually exposed and kicked out of the campaign office. I don't know. ', 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. Prince submitted his own declaration to presiding U.S. District Judge Alan Johnson in September, disputing The Intercepts reporting and laying out some of his bona fides as a Wyomingite. 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. Mr. OKeefe and others shared social media photos of taking target practice with guns at the ranch, including one post from Mr. OKeefe saying that with the training, Project Veritas will be the next great intelligence agency. Mr. The list included John Cox, then the director of the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services, and Scott Talbott, then the director of the Wyoming Game and Fish Department. document.write ("&loc=" + escape(window.location)); He'll be back to talk more about his stories on undercover operations by conservatives to infiltrate democratic and progressive groups after this short break. And last year, I learned that Beau and Sofia had been working out of this house in Georgetown. Connor Wroe Southard. Ms. Jorge, 25, did not respond to email addresses associated with her Liberty University account. They need some spy training and covert military, paramilitary training at his ranch. Meanwhile, Prince is once again registered as a Park County voter. Reaching out to several intelligence veterans and occasionally using Mr. Seddon to make the pitch Mr. 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. DAVIES: That's the Government Accountability Office. State records show Moyock Medical Supplies was formed in Wyoming by an associate of Princes on April 15 two days after The Intercept published its article. You know, Princes are pretty savvy. 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." But what we know is there was an arrangement made, and Erik Prince allowed Project Veritas to use his farm to train its operatives. if (document.MAX_used != ',') document.write ("&exclude=" + document.MAX_used); GOLDMAN: Richard Seddon is a former MI6 spy. Mr. Chamberlain and Mr. Thomas were on the list. I mean, if the idea was to get inside information, which would be useful to, you know, Republicans and conservatives, did they succeed? So he's certainly moved in this world before. DAVIES: This is FRESH AIR, and our guest is Adam Goldman. And he was pitching that plan, but it never got anywhere. And then I started Googling them and doing some research on them. 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? And I realized they were giving money to Democrats in Wyoming, Arizona and Colorado. Why did they want to embarrass him and get him out of the government? More stories from theweek.comThe Republican theory of unemployment is classic MarxThere's growing speculation that Meghan Markle and Prince Harry will name their daughter 'Philippa'A short history of White House cats, American businessman and founder of Blackwater USA (born 1969), New Zealand politician and Prime Minister (18451906), 26th United States National Security Advisor, Read more about the operation and its cast of characters at, The Republican theory of unemployment is classic Marx, There's growing speculation that Meghan Markle and Prince Harry will name their daughter 'Philippa', Chicago Mayor Lightfoot ousted; Vallas, Johnson in runoff, King asks Duke and Duchess of Sussex to move out of Frogmore so Prince Andrew can move in, Biden Mocks Marjorie Taylor Greene With 1 Simple Hand Gesture, A Nebraska high-school cheerleader competed on her own after the rest of her squad quit. contractor who is best known as the founder of the private military firm Blackwater and whose sister, Betsy DeVos, was Mr. Trumps education secretary has drawn scrutiny over the years for Blackwaters record of violence around the world and his subsequent ventures training and arming foreign forces. But it was not her real name. But we were unaware of that. And Mr. O'Keefe disclosed that Foster Friess had actually given Project Veritas money. GOLDMAN: What - the training they got was when they worked for an outfit called Project Veritas. Once a small operation running on a shoestring budget, Project Veritas in recent years has had a surge in donations from both private donors and conservative foundations. Prince had hired a former MI6 officer to help train the Project Veritas operatives, The Intercept wrote, but it did not identify the officer. 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. What does that tell us about Erik Prince? So O'Keefe's Instagram photo, you know, led people to realize that, you know, Prince had played a role, at least in letting Project Veritas use the ranch for training. From 1986 through the present, hes made roughly 100 contributions totaling more than $630,000 to Republican causes and Congressional candidates, according to Federal Election Commission records. Erik Prince, founder of private security contractor Blackwater and brother of former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, recruited a former British spy in 2016 to professionalize the undercover. His willingness to support Mr. Seddons operation is fresh evidence of his engagement in political espionage projects at home during a period when he was an informal adviser to Trump administration officials. However, lawyers for the publication say they should not have to reveal who told them about Princes alleged meeting with Wagner Group or where they were told it occurred. McMaster, Trump's second national security adviser. She was doing outreach to, you know, Democratic figures in Wyoming. Prince registered to vote in Park County back in 1992, but that registration lapsed after he failed to vote in the countys 2002 elections, according to county records. [CDATA[ And that one was made public. It's not clear, though, if any of that was actually used in a way that thwarted anybody's candidacy or damaged their political reputation. Seddon left the project in 2018, before O'Keefe started releasing low-impact "unmasking the deep state" videos. McMaster. And they both say they didnt interview anyone in the state for the article. Despite making multiple comments about Princes ties to Virginia, The Intercepts legal team said its immaterial to their jurisdictional arguments, which center on the publications own lack of ties to Wyoming. A man named Samuel Chamberlain who matched the description of the one employed by Mr. OKeefe denied he worked for Project Veritas. For example, the co-authors of the piece in dispute, Cole and Alex Emmons, say theyre New York and Washington, D.C., residents whove never been to Wyoming. DAVIES: Right. And there was, you know, another individual from the Emirates who was there. DAVIES: Wow. Most notably, Prince had incorrectly asserted under the penalties of perjury he had been registered to vote in Wyoming since 2017.. 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 identified the site as the Prince ranch in a 2019 article. GOLDMAN: No. The two men had known each other since Mr. Princes days running Blackwater, and shared an affinity for guns and the American West. The parties are currently awaiting a ruling from Judge Johnson, who could choose to allow the case to proceed in Wyoming; permit some more limited fact-gathering about the appropriate jurisdiction; transfer the case to New York; or throw it out entirely. On Sept. 30, Prince personally visited the Park County Elections Office, registered and cast a general election ballot, according to the clerks office. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. It also seems, to me, murky. James OKeefe, the head of Project Veritas, declined to answer detailed questions about Mr. Mr. Seddon was a longtime British intelligence officer who served around the world, including in Washington in the years after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. ADAM GOLDMAN: They went there after making sizable donations to the DNC, the Democratic National Committee - $10,000 each - at the request of a Colorado businessman who was a - he's a fundraiser for the Democrats and basically said, if you make this donation, you can come and hang out in Las Vegas. DAVIES: This is FRESH AIR. And GOLDMAN: Involving Roy Moore - exactly. GOLDMAN: You know, individuals - we're not exactly sure who was behind this effort - but it's clear that they believe that, you know, H.R. WASHINGTON Erik Prince, the security contractor with close ties to the Trump administration, has in recent years helped recruit former American and British spies for secretive. They were certainly using attractive women to lure people out on dates. What are traditional political dirty tricks? WASHINGTON A British former spy recruited by Erik Prince, the security contractor close to the Trump administration, played a central role in a secretive effort to hire dozens . If you're a print subscriber, but do not yet have an online account, click here to create one. Mr. Seddon wrote that Ms. Jorge copied a great many documents from the file room, and Mr. OKeefe bragged that the group would be able to get a ton more access agents inside the educational establishment.. And it would - you know, and make an enormous amount of money. And they said, well, you know, she worked for Project Veritas. And they targeted a reporter, a Washington - a very good Washington Post reporter named Stephanie McCrummen, who - they picked up on it very, very, very quickly GOLDMAN: And figured out that this woman was not who she said she was. Mr. And Glenn Beck, Beau's uncle, gave a toast. Their attorneys wrote that the story did not focus its efforts on or in Wyoming, nor would it have any reason to do so . Cole pointed to various records, including a campaign finance document from earlier this year, in which Prince listed his address as being in Virginia. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. He is married to an American diplomat, Alice Seddon, who is serving in the American consulate in Lagos, Nigeria. And, yeah, people steal lawn signs. Prince also allowed Project Veritas to use his familys Wyoming ranch for training. So, you know, this is not something I had ever done as a - you know, this is not something journalists do. 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? He was leading training. Last month, Project Veritas made public secretly recorded video of a longtime ABC News correspondent who was critical of the networks political coverage and its emphasis on business considerations over journalism. I also think that - I think recently, too, O'Keefe, did a photo op or made a video with Donald Trump. Ms. Gore ended up rejecting the proposal because it was too expensive people with knowledge of the plan said it would start in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Mr. (SOUNDBITE OF FRANK ZAPPA'S "EAT THAT QUESTION"). While the state is currently solidly Republican, Mr. Seddon and Ms. Gore believed it was in danger of turning toward the Democrats, as Colorado has. Wagner which The Intercept described as a semi-private military force that operates in countries or conflicts where the Russian government seeks plausible deniability for its activities reportedly turned down Princes offer. So he's going to pop up in all sorts of different places. And in the end, you know, O'Keefe would release them and, you know, make a big deal out of them. var m3_r = Math.floor(Math.random()*99999999999); Ledeen said "someone she trusted" contacted her to help with the McMaster operation. document.write ("'><\/scr"+"ipt>"); Mr. 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. Prince appears to have become interested in using former spies to train Project Veritas operatives in espionage tactics sometime during the 2016 presidential campaign. But I didn't reveal that I knew Beau and Sofia had lived at that house at the time because we were working - concurrently, we were working on this larger story about them. In apparent response to inquiries from the Tribune about the two companies ties to Wyoming, Princes revised declaration said he misidentified the names of the entities. 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