James O’Keefe promised a new undercover video campaign that would expose “illegal activity conducted by high-level employees within Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign.” Tuesday, he released the first video, produced by his group Project Veritas Action.
His group’s big scoop?
That a Canadian citizen spent $75 on Hillary swag at Clinton’s June campaign kickoff event.
Reporters at the press conference O’Keefe held at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., to unveil the latest “gotcha” could not contain their disdain.
“Is this a joke?” one reporter asked O’Keefe.
In the five-minute video, a Project Veritas member approached the booth at the event on New York’s Roosevelt Island alongside an apparent Canadian citizen, who Project Veritas says it did not know but was in line with by “pure happenstance.”
The Canadian citizen asked if she could purchase some campaign gear. The campaign staff at the booth — which included Director of Marketing Molly Barker and Compliance Manager Erin Tibe — informed her that since she was not a U.S. citizen, she could not legally contribute to the campaign. The undercover Project Veritas member then offers to take the Canadian woman’s cash and make the contribution for her.
The video then jumps to a printout of Federal Election Commission laws, which prohibits foreign nationals from contributing to a campaign, directly or indirectly.
“Molly Barker broker the law by allowing our journalist to become the middleman,” the video says.
At an event Tuesday to roll out the video, reporters seemed incredulous at best.
Reporter says to O’Keefe “…this is about 9 t shirts. It doesn’t seem like much of a bombshell…”
— Olivia Nuzzi (@Olivianuzzi) September 1, 2015
Q from @Olivianuzzi: Is this a joke? This feels like a prank.
O’Keefe: The Clinton campaign doesn’t think it’s a joke.
— Emma Roller (@emmaroller) September 1, 2015
I feel like I am inside of a gigantic hoax
— Olivia Nuzzi (@Olivianuzzi) September 1, 2015
When grilled by reporters there, O’Keefe admitted that he did not know the identity of the Canadian, that the campaign contribution made by the Canadian woman was actually $30-$40, and that Project Veritas also likely violated the law.
Q from @Milbank You acknowledge your org broke the law. Is that an acceptable means to this end?
PV: This is a spontaneous, one-time event.
— Emma Roller (@emmaroller) September 1, 2015
Reporter to O’Keefe “you’ve acknowledged that your organization broke the law….”
— Olivia Nuzzi (@Olivianuzzi) September 1, 2015
James O’Keefe says holds himself to same standard as MSM, but won’t reveal name of journo. Says she’s like a “hybrid” source/journalist.
— Alex Seitz-Wald (@aseitzwald) September 1, 2015
PV won’t name woman who did straw purchase
@aseitzwald: So she’s more of a source than a journalist?
O’Keefe: “She’s kind of like a hybrid.”
— Emma Roller (@emmaroller) September 1, 201
Project Veritas spox clarifies that the PV “journalist’s” purchase for the Canadian citizen was actually more like $30-$40.
— Emma Roller (@emmaroller) September 1, 2015
O’Keefe admits he doesn’t know the identity of the Canadian woman
— Olivia Nuzzi (@Olivianuzzi) September 1, 2015
Nevertheless, O’Keefe compared his group to SEAL Team Six.
“These are not amateurs. We have a sort of seal team 6” O’Keefe says of his undercover “journalists”
— Olivia Nuzzi (@Olivianuzzi) September 1, 2015
At the end of Tuesday’s video, O’Keefe promises more videos that will show the Clinton campaign is breaking election law “at every level.”
“Stay tuned Hillary, and check your email,” O’Keefe says.
