# Project Veritas gets their homes searched
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/project-veritas-gets-their-homes-searched/953859
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [November 5, 2021, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/project-veritas-gets-their-homes-searched/953859 "2021-11-05T21:41:44Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 3
### Author:  [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)
#### Post date: [November 6, 2021, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/project-veritas-gets-their-homes-searched/953859/43 "2021-11-06T21:02:25Z")
> [@Loach](#):
>
> It’s not that there are no crimes. The FBI does not investigate state crimes any more than local police investigate federal crimes.
Right, what I’m saying is… the FBI would know they can’t just make a federal case of a local issue because it would probably get tossed on procedural grounds. Yet they are involved. So we can infer that they are (A) wasting their time, or (B), they’ve determined a reason they had jurisdiction. I find the latter to be far more reasonable.
> [@Loach](#):
>
> The investigation was started by AG Barr before the election when he was private citizen and former Vice President Biden.
A private citizen, yes, but also a US Presidential candidate, mere weeks before the election. Any illegal attempt to influence the election would definitely fall under the purview of the FBI.
What if the information is real, and Joe Biden attempted to suppress its release? What if that’s what Bill Barr was trying to develop? If there’s something there, conservatives should be excited to get to the bottom of this. But based on the resistance and dissembling I’m seeing, I think we all know it’s another bullshit smear operation, and conservatives just don’t want to see Veritas impeded in carrying it out.
---
### Author:  [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)
#### Post date: [November 6, 2021, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/project-veritas-gets-their-homes-searched/953859/44 "2021-11-06T21:09:30Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#):
>
> > [@Loach](#):
> >
> > It’s not that there are no crimes. The FBI does not investigate state crimes any more than local police investigate federal crimes.
>
> Right, what I’m saying is… the FBI would know they can’t just make a federal case of a local issue because it would probably get tossed on procedural grounds. Yet they are involved. So we can infer that they are (A) wasting their time, or (B), they’ve determined a reason they had jurisdiction. I find the latter to be far more reasonable.
>
> > [@Loach](#):
> >
> > The investigation was started by AG Barr before the election when he was private citizen and former Vice President Biden.
>
> A private citizen, yes, but also a US Presidential candidate, mere weeks before the election. Any illegal attempt to influence the election would definitely fall under the purview of the FBI.
>
> What if the information is real, and Joe Biden attempted to suppress its release? What if that’s what Bill Barr was trying to develop? If there’s something there, conservatives should be excited to get to the bottom of this. But based on the resistance and dissembling I’m seeing, I think we all know it’s another bullshit smear operation, and conservatives just don’t want to see Veritas impeded in carrying it out.
That’s why I’m asking the questions. I don’t think there are no answers I’m just confused about it at the moment. As more information comes out the questions may become clear. I do suspect they are investigating election tampering. The problem is if the diary is authentic there may be theft and burglary but I don’t see how it can be election tampering. At this point the FBI knows if it is authentic.
---
### Author:  [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)
#### Post date: [November 8, 2021, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/project-veritas-gets-their-homes-searched/953859/45 "2021-11-08T20:03:50Z")
> [@Snarky\_Kong](#):
>
> Project Veritas basically only publishes complete lies. The idea that authentication was what stopped them is laughable.
By not publishing, they get to claim that other things they publish have validity.
---
### Author:  [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)
#### Post date: [November 8, 2021, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/project-veritas-gets-their-homes-searched/953859/46 "2021-11-08T21:31:06Z")
> [@simster](#):
>
> > [@Snarky\_Kong](#):
> >
> > Project Veritas basically only publishes complete lies. The idea that authentication was what stopped them is laughable.
>
> By not publishing, they get to claim that other things they publish have validity.
At this point it’s looking like the diary is authentic. The FBI is certainly proceeding like the theft was real which makes the diary authentic. The New York Times is saying that it’s real. I’ve looked and there are no claims that anyone was peddling a fake diary. That is much more disturbing than anything Project Veritas did.
---
### Author:  [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)
#### Post date: [November 9, 2021, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/project-veritas-gets-their-homes-searched/953859/47 "2021-11-09T00:40:52Z")
Link to the NYT saying that the diary is real?
---
### Author:  [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)
#### Post date: [November 9, 2021, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/project-veritas-gets-their-homes-searched/953859/48 "2021-11-09T00:46:45Z")
Here’s the NYT’s most recent article:
[https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/05/us/politics/project-veritas-investigation-ashley-biden-diary.html?searchResultPosition=1](https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/05/us/politics/project-veritas-investigation-ashley-biden-diary.html?searchResultPosition=1)
> Mr. O’Keefe said in the video that “tipsters” had reached out to Project Veritas in 2020 to alert them to the existence of the diary, saying that they had stayed in a room that Ms. Biden had recently been in. But Mr. O’Keefe said that his group could not authenticate the diary and made an “ethical” decision to not publish it.
>
> He said that Project Veritas gave the diary to “law enforcement” and attempted to return it to a lawyer representing Ms. Biden, who he said “refused to authenticate it.” Mr. O’Keefe portrayed the investigation as politically motivated, questioning why the Justice Department under Ms. Biden’s father was pursuing the case.
I don’t see a clear assertion that it’s real, other than that NYT doesn’t call it “allegedly” hers.
---
### Author:  [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)
#### Post date: [November 9, 2021, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/project-veritas-gets-their-homes-searched/953859/49 "2021-11-09T00:49:04Z")
> [@Loach](#):
>
> That is much more disturbing than anything Project Veritas did.
I don’t understand what you mean by this last part here. Is it just me?
---
### Author:  [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)
#### Post date: [November 9, 2021, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/project-veritas-gets-their-homes-searched/953859/50 "2021-11-09T00:52:03Z")
Ah, here’s another from the next day:
[https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/06/us/politics/james-okeefe-project-veritas-ashley-biden.html?searchResultPosition=2](https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/06/us/politics/james-okeefe-project-veritas-ashley-biden.html?searchResultPosition=2)
It says
> Mr. O’Keefe acknowledged that the group was under investigation by the Justice Department in connection with a diary reported to have been stolen from Ashley Biden, President Biden’s daughter.
Emphasis on “reported to have been.”
---
### Author:  [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)
#### Post date: [November 9, 2021, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/project-veritas-gets-their-homes-searched/953859/51 "2021-11-09T00:55:33Z")
So, to confirm my impression, do we only have O’Keefe’s word that this entire thing has anything whatsoever to do with this “diary”? (The NYT link is paywalled for me.)
---
### Author:  [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)
#### Post date: [November 9, 2021, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/project-veritas-gets-their-homes-searched/953859/52 "2021-11-09T01:06:35Z")
It would be nice if someone in authority would speak a bit on it. “There was a stolen diary.” Something clear and uncomplicated.
That would be nice, so I won’t count on it.
---
### Author:  [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)
#### Post date: [November 9, 2021, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/project-veritas-gets-their-homes-searched/953859/53 "2021-11-09T01:22:40Z")
Why should the investigators tip their hand at all? You not wanting to wait to get the news is irrelevant to them especially if it would compromise their goals.
---
### Author:  [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)
#### Post date: [November 9, 2021, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/project-veritas-gets-their-homes-searched/953859/54 "2021-11-09T01:25:57Z")
He’s saying that the raid proves that the diary floating around is real, and we should be less concerned about what those brave PV journalists did or didn’t do and more concern about the sexual predator in the White House.
---
### Author:  [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)
#### Post date: [November 9, 2021, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/project-veritas-gets-their-homes-searched/953859/55 "2021-11-09T01:37:11Z")
I’m confused. If other news outlets also had copies of the diary, what’s so special about Project Veritas?
Also, it’s not uncommon for journalists to receive unsolicited documents and such from whistleblowers. Is this illegal? And is it a federal matter that should involve the FBI?
O’Keefe says that they actually tried to hand the diary over to a Biden lawyer, but they wouldn’t touch it.
> **[FBI and Southern District of New York Raid Project Veritas Journalists’ Homes...](https://www.projectveritas.com/news/fbi-and-southern-district-of-new-york-raid-project-veritas-journalists-homes)**
>
> Investigating and exposing corruption in both public and private institutions.
> [@](#):
>
> The FBI took materials of current, and former, Veritas journalists despite the fact that our legal team previously contacted the Department of Justice and voluntarily conveyed unassailable facts that demonstrate Project Veritas’ lack of involvement in criminal activity and/or criminal intent.
> …
> Late last year, we were approached by tipsters claiming they had a copy of Ashley Biden’s diary. We had never met or heard of the tipsters. The tipsters indicated that the diary had been abandoned in a room in which Ms. Biden stayed at the time, and in which the tipsters stayed in temporarily after Ms. Biden departed the room. The tipsters indicated that the diary included explosive allegations against then-candidate, Joe Biden. The tipsters indicated that they were negotiating with a different media outlet for the payment of monies for the diary. The tipsters were represented by attorneys who handled the negotiations with Project Veritas.
>
> We investigated the claims provided to us, as journalists do. We took steps to corroborate the authenticity of the diary. At the end of the day, we made the ethical decision that because, in part, we could not determine if the diary was real, if the diary in fact belonged to Ashley Biden, or if the contents of the diary occurred, we could not publish the diary and any part thereof. **We attempted to return the diary to an attorney representing Ms. Biden, but that attorney refused to authenticate it. Project Veritas gave the diary to law enforcement to ensure it could be returned to its rightful owner.** We never published it.
Bolding mine.
So that’s O’Keefe’s story. They received this thing that was being shopped around to other news outlets. They couldn’t verify the information, so they decided to give it to a Biden lawyer, who refused it. They then turned it over to law enforcement, and never published anything.
If true, I don’t see what they did wrong. And his statements should be a matter of record that could be corroborated by the cops and the Biden lawyer.
Also, it sounds like the Bidens reported the ‘theft’ after sections of the diary were made public by others. That raises the possibility that it actually was lost or forgotton, and the claim of theft only cropped up afterwards.
I don’t know what to believe on this, but it’s important to hear both sides.
O’Keefe is also suggesting that the FBI tipped off the NY Times, because they called within an hour of the raid, which was supposed to be secret.
---
### Author:  [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)
#### Post date: [November 9, 2021, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/project-veritas-gets-their-homes-searched/953859/56 "2021-11-09T02:03:11Z")
> [@Leaper](#):
>
> He’s saying that the raid proves that the diary floating around is real, and we should be less concerned about what those brave PV journalists did or didn’t do and more concern about the sexual predator in the White House.
A claim that requires some creative reading.
---
### Author:  [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)
#### Post date: [November 9, 2021, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/project-veritas-gets-their-homes-searched/953859/57 "2021-11-09T02:26:32Z")
OK, fine. He’s saying that since the diary has been proven real, we should be less concerned about Project Veritas’ actions and be spending more time and effort closely investigating President Biden and the sexual claims made against him.
---
### Author:  [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)
#### Post date: [November 9, 2021, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/project-veritas-gets-their-homes-searched/953859/58 "2021-11-09T02:27:48Z")
Which are what? (And let’s stick to the diary.)
---
### Author:  [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)
#### Post date: [November 9, 2021, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/project-veritas-gets-their-homes-searched/953859/59 "2021-11-09T02:44:37Z")
> [@Leaper](#):
>
> Link to the NYT saying that the diary is real?
I have the same paywall problems others have. I saw third party articles saying the NYT confirmed the diary was hers.
> [@bobot](#):
>
> > [@Loach](#):
> >
> > That is much more disturbing than anything Project Veritas did.
>
> I don’t understand what you mean by this last part here. Is it just me?
PV didn’t publish the diary. Another site did. That site has as bad a reputation as PV but a much lower profile. It came out two weeks before the election. If the diary is Ashley Biden’s then we have the current President being accused by his daughter of sexually abusing her. That will have much more impact than who stole the diary. It’s been a year and no statements that the diary is a fraud. That’s troubling.
---
### Author:  [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)
#### Post date: [November 9, 2021, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/project-veritas-gets-their-homes-searched/953859/60 "2021-11-09T02:51:14Z")
> [@Loach](#):
>
> {…} If the diary is Ashley Biden’s then we have the current President being accused by his daughter of sexually abusing her. {…}
We do? Based on what in that diary?\*
Actual question, from what I was able to read that accusation is not there.
---
### Author:  [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)
#### Post date: [November 9, 2021, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/project-veritas-gets-their-homes-searched/953859/61 "2021-11-09T02:58:59Z")
> [@crowmanyclouds](#):
>
> > [@Loach](#):
> >
> > {…} If the diary is Ashley Biden’s then we have the current President being accused by his daughter of sexually abusing her. {…}
>
> We do? Based on what in that diary?\*
> Actual question, from what I was able to read that accusation is not there.
I’m not sure what your question is? If the diary is authentic and written by Ashley Biden then she describes inappropriate showers with her father and says “Have I been abused?” “I think so.”
I have only seen the quotes published out of context. I’m assuming the actual pages are somewhere but I haven’t seen them. It’s just possible that in context with the rest of the diary the quoted parts are not as bad as it seems. I certainly hope so.
---
### Author:  [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)
#### Post date: [November 9, 2021, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/project-veritas-gets-their-homes-searched/953859/62 "2021-11-09T03:08:25Z")
Here is what is purported to be the diary,
[ ](https://nationalfile.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Ashley-Biden-Pg-25-1024x805.jpg)
One will hopefully note the order of, and parenthetical nature of, her comments about her father\*.
Maybe there’s something else but her handwriting is painful to try to read.
I sure as fuck hope no one is trying to turn that alone into "My father sexually abused me!’
[Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/project-veritas-gets-their-homes-searched/953859.md?page=2)
[Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/project-veritas-gets-their-homes-searched/953859.md?page=4)