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.
Anybody ask O’Queef whether this is violating the terms of his probation?
Who is this man, and why am I supposed to care?
This is James O’Keefe:
CNN is producing a documentary on young conservative activists. Reporter Abbie Boudreau wanted to cover a music video O’Keefe and some other guys are making. O’Keefe apparently refused to allow CNN access to the shoot, then formulated a “caper” to embarrass Bougreau. The subject, the setup, the planned payoff — none of it made any sense.
According to the O’Keefe associate who blew the whistle on the dumb prank before it got started:
“I have a problem on my hands that I think has the potential for unnecessary backlash,” Santa wrote. “Today, James is meeting with a CNN correspondent today on his boat. She is doing a piece on the movement of young conservative filmmakers.
“She doesn’t know she is getting on a boat but rather James’ office. James has staged the boat to be a palace of pleasure with all sorts of props, wants to have a bizarre sexual conversation with her. He wants to gag CNN.”
She wrote that “the idea is incredibly bad” and “the more I think about it we should not be doing this.”
O’Keefe had also instructed Santa to print a “pleasure palace graphic” on a large poster, according to an e-mail.
The creep gene is strong in this one.
But, with seals…
http://www.gifs.net/Animation11/Animals/Seals_and_Walruses/Seal_with_ball.gif