James O'Keefe

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James Edward O'Keefe III (born June 28, 1984) is an American conservative political activist.

He conducts undercover audio and video recordings in academic, government, and social service companies, all purporting to highlight bullying or allegedly illegal conduct by employees and/or representatives of those organizations.

He has selectively edited videos to misrepresent the context in the discussions and the subjects' responses, giving the false appearance that people said or did things they did not do.

Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA) was under false pretenses, as well as the publication of misleading videos of interviews with two high-ranking, now retired NPR executives in 2011. Congress quickly voted to freeze funds for the non-profit after his videos portraying ACORN workers allegedly assisting a couple in criminal preparations hit the 24-hour cable news cycle.

The national scandal resulted in the non-profit losing the majority of its private funding before investigations revealed that no unlawful activity had occurred.

ACORN was close to bankruptcy in March 2010 and had to close or rename most of its locations.

The California State Attorney General's Office and the US Government Accountability Office released their related investigative reports just short of.

O'Keefe had misrepresented the behavior of ACORN workers in California, according to the Attorney General's Office, who found that the employees had not broken any laws.

The GAO's preliminary inquiry found that ACORN had effectively handled its federal budgets.

One of the fired ACORN employees sued O'Keefe for privacy invasion; O'Keefe later pleaded guilty and decided to pay $100,000 in a settlement. Right-wing and conservative media outlets, as well as interest organizations, have endorsed O'Keefe.

Andrew Breitbart commissioned him in 2009 to post new videos exclusively on BigGovernment.com.

Project Veritas, a 501(c)(3) group, was founded by O'Keefe in June 2010.

Early life and education

James Edward O'Keefe III was born in Bergen County, New Jersey, the elder of two children of James, a materials engineer, and Deborah O'Keefe, a physical therapist. He has a younger sister.

O'Keefe grew up in Westwood, New Jersey. According to his father, his house was politically "conservative but not rigidly so." He graduated from Westwood High School, where he demonstrated an early interest in the arts, theatre, and journalism. He attained Eagle Scout, the highest rank in the Boy Scouts of America. O'Keefe began studying philosophy at Rutgers University in 2002 and majored in philosophy. He began writing a bi-weekly opinion column for The Daily Targum, the university's student newspaper, beginning in his sophomore year. He left the Targum and founded the Rutgers Centurion, a conservative student paper funded by a $500 "Bachelor in the Media" grant from The Leadership Institute.

He and other Centurion writers met with Rutgers dining staff to ask that the cereal Lucky Charms be banned from dining halls due to its insensitivity to Irish Americans. According to O'Keefe, the leprechaun mascot portrayed a stereotype. He wanted to have officials lose either way: to be sensitive to an ethnic group or to be silly by agreeing to ban Lucky Charms. They were supposed to be kicked out of school, but a Rutgers official was polite, took notes, and said their concerns would be addressed. The cereal was never taken off the menu, according to Rutgers workers.

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Career

O'Keefe served at the Leadership Institute (LI) in Arlington, Virginia, under media specialist Ben Wetmore, whom O'Keefe referred to as his mentor after graduating from Rutgers. After a year of LI government, the institute sent him to colleges to educate students to start conservative independent newspapers, but he was forced to leave. According to LI president and founder Morton Blackwell, O'Keefe was "very positive and upbeat" after a year, but he was asked to leave because government believed his advocacy work jeopardized the organization's non-profit status by trying to influence legislation.

O'Keefe has created and distributed illicitly recorded and edited videos and audio files made during staged interactions with individuals or groups. His investigations have taken the form of undercover stings aimed at liberal groups and lawmakers. He attempted to "embarrass" and "damage" his targets, including Landrieu and ACORN.

He has sought to raise money by releasing undercover footage over several days or months, most often in connection with campaign approvals or other legislative actions relating to the subject company. Many videos generated significant reactions, including videos of ACORN employees being fired, several ACORN employees being fired, and several ACORN employees being fired, as well as videos of National Public Radio (NPR) executives that resulted in CEO Vivian Schiller's resignation shortly after congressional funding hearings concerning NPR.

O'Keefe started writing a column on Breitbart's website, BigGovernment, in January 2010. In an interview, Andrew Breitbart said he paid O'Keefe a salary for his "life rights" to ensure the publication of O'Keefe's videos first on his website. In 2010, O'Keefe founded Project Veritas, whose stated aim is to "investigate and disclose misconduct in both public and private companies in order to create a more ethical and transparent society."

A large part of the funds for Project Veritas comes from anonymous contributions to Donors Trust, a conservative, American nonprofit charitable foundation that advises charities that it will "keep your charitable giving public, particularly gifts funding sensitive or controversial topics." The Trump Foundation, one of the top contributors in May 2015, has donated $10,000.

O'Keefe, a centrist conservative with a pro-market and anti-government viewpoint, has referred to himself as a "conservative radical" because he wants to change things, not preserve them. He describes himself as a muckraker. O'Keefe has expressed admiration for G. K. Chesterton's philosophy as well as a free press.

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