Project Veritas Executive Director Daniel Strack released a statement on behalf of himself and the board of directors to address the continuing turmoil over James O'Keefe's position at the undercover news outlet. O'Keefe has reportedly been placed on paid leave over allegations of misconduct.
This is the first statement from Project Veritas that mentions O'Keefe since their previous statement only mentioned the work the company has been doing and the board of directors evaluating the path forward for the site. The new statement confirms a number of employees presented to them a list of complaints over O'Keefe's management style.
"The narrative that is being portrayed by referencing this letter is patently false. James has not been removed from Project Veritas. Nowhere in that letter was there ever a suggestion to remove James from the organization," Strack wrote.
"James is the hardest working person I have ever met. Those who know him well know that he will not take time off unless forced to," he added.
Stack went on to say the various theories why O'Keefe was being investigated has nothing to do with their recent stings against Pfizer or any candidates running for political office.
— Project Veritas (@Project_Veritas) February 15, 2023
The Project Veritas statement does not mention specifically what O'Keefe is currently doing or the specific allegations that prompted the whole ordeal. A donor for the company was mentioned in the complaint as an example of O'Keefe acting unprofessionally.
The incidents involved Diana Remmers and her husband claiming O'Keefe rudely asked for $75,000 on the spot during a meeting and refused to take a picture with Remmers at an event, where she was "humiliated to the point of tears." The author of the complaint said they were worried O'Keefe's behavior was going to turn them off from being donors to Project Veritas. Remmers released a video while on vacation to say the what was described was completely false and she will only support the network if O'Keefe stays.