Constitutional law expert Jonathan Turley reports…
There is a curious story out this weekend on reported FBI raids of writers or associates of Project Veritas, the conservative investigative journalism outfit. Project Veritas has been described variously as “Gonzo” or “guerilla” journalism and some insist it is more of a political than a press organization. However, it fits the definition of journalism, in my view, and that makes the raids troubling. All the more troubling is the cause: the missing diary of President Biden’s daughter Ashley.
The New York Times reported that the FBI searched two locations in New York in search of the “stolen” diary that went missing days before the 2020 presidential election. Project founder James O’Keefe questioned how the Times received the story within an hour of the first raid.
O’Keefe says that the organization actually received a tip that the diary was abandoned in a room, an allegation that harkened back to the abandoned laptop of Hunter Biden. However, Ashley reportedly insisted it was stolen.
The use of the FBI is also reminiscent of the still unexplained use of the FBI when Joe Biden was Vice President to search for a gun discarded by Hunter Biden behind a restaurant.
Project Veritas decided not to run the story because it could not verify that the diary belonged to Biden. (The FBI may have just offered that confirmation). Instead, it alerted the police, according to O’Keefe: “Project Veritas gave the diary to law enforcement to ensure it could be returned to its rightful owner. We never published it.”
So why the raids? Since when does the FBI conducted raids over missing diaries?
The FBI can cite the interstate elements of the alleged theft as raising a federal crime. However, what is the crime? It is not clear if they are suggesting that the responsible parties were seeking to sell the diary or that there was some national security element (which would be bizarre since Biden’s daughter was writing before her father ever became president).
Journalist organizations are routinely given material removed from businesses, agencies, or private owners without permission by confidential sources. If this is a federal crime subject to FBI raids, what happened to the new media policies of the Biden Administration after the Tucker Carlson controversy?
There are a host of unanswered questions. Here are five to start with:
- What was the context for the diary’s loss? (Did Ashley Biden leave the diary in a room or was it stolen?)
- What is the alleged federal crime (and what is the precedent for a major federal investigation over such an alleged theft)?
- What precautions were taken by the Biden Administration in light of the claimed media status of the targeted individuals?
- Why was there a delay in this action being taken if the alleged theft occurred a year ago?
- Has this matter been under investigation for a year and did the White House request the intervention of the FBI?
Regardless of how one feels about Project Veritas, there should be calls from media outlets for some answers to these basic questions. Likewise, Congress should be seeking such answers as part of its oversight responsibilities.
National File reports…
A week and a half before the 2020 election, a Project Veritas whistleblower provided a digital copy of Ashley Biden’s diary to National File.
(…) While the vast majority of the media ignored the bombshell revelations, perhaps dismissing their verifiability, The New York Times on Friday reported that the FBI had engaged in two raids on addresses as part of an investigation into how Ashley Biden’s diary was obtained.
Conservative Brief added…
But, true or not, does anyone not think if this was the alleged diary of Ivanka Trump it would not be the top story on every mainstream media news organization’s website?
First Rep. Lauren Boebert chimed in on the alleged diary.
“So if the FBI raided someone’s house over Ashley Biden’s diary being stolen, that means Ashley Biden’s diary and the accusations in it were real. Are there any real journalists willing to ask Joe about it?” she said.
So if the FBI raided someone's house over Ashley Biden's diary being stolen, that means Ashley Biden's diary and the accusations in it were real.
Are there any real journalists willing to ask Joe about it? pic.twitter.com/5PgMxKUqxb
— Lauren Boebert (@laurenboebert) November 5, 2021
And even as the entries from the purported diary of Ashley Biden have not been verified, what has been verified is that the FBI is cracking down on Project Veritas CNBC reported.
“Late last year, we were approached by tipsters claiming they had a copy of Ashley Biden’s diary,” Project Veritas founder James O’Keefe said. “The tipsters indicated that they were negotiating with a different media outlet for the payment of monies for the diary.”
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