(ReclaimingAmerica.net) – James O’Keefe, the now former CEO of Project Veritas, is no longer with the pro-conservative undercover journalism group he founded more than a decade ago.
After some initial social media reports claimed he had resigned, while others said he had been “removed” by the Project Veritas board, in a video statement issued later on Monday, O’Keefe confirmed the latter.
“Since it’s already out there, here are my heartfelt remarks to my staff this morning. I need to make clear I have not resigned from the company, Project Veritas, I founded 13 years ago,” the conservative journalist said.
“I was stripped of my position as CEO and Chairman. I came to the PV office today to remove my personal belongings,” he added.
Earlier this month, James O’Keefe had been put on a paid leave of absence after the group’s board of directors had started an investigation into his management decisions.
The probe came in the wake of a memo by 16 Project Veritas employees who accused the organization’s founder of abusive behavior, Breitbart News reported.
According to their memo, the staff had been “troubled and frustrated” because of O’Keefe’s management style, who could be “outright cruel” to his subordinates.
The employees further accused the PV founder of “public crucifixions” and berating staff members.
However, the initial placing of James O’Keefe led some Project Veritas benefactors to react by sending a letter with a cease and desist demand to the group’s board.
They insisted that his removal violated the organization’s obligations with respect to the use of funds raised with O’Keefe’s participation.
Meanwhile, some conservative commentators used social media to defend the PV founder as “indispensable” to the conservative undercover journalism group. As a result, “James O’Keefe IS Project Veritas” started trending on Twitter.
Last week, Daniel Strack, the Project Veritas executive director, issued a statement defending the investigation into O’Keefe to guarantee that the organization would keep working to benefit the American public.
After, in his farewell video, the Project Veritas founder rejected the board’s accusations against him, the organization’s board of directors issued its own statement.
It claimed that the internal investigation into O’Keefe’s management had found “financial malfeasance.” It argued that “good faith stewardship of donors’ money” was a priority.
“Even with all of this public fallout, the board still wants to speak with James. We did not fire him, nor do we want him to resign. We would like to continue conversations with James to resolve internal matters rather than litigate them publicly,” the board declared.
James O’Keefe, former CEO of Project Veritas, departed on Monday from the undercover journalism organization he founded. https://t.co/uNNhTa30m8
— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) February 20, 2023
