James O'Keefe: The Canary in the Coal Mine

Julie Reeder

Publisher

Last week I wrote about how it seems we are fighting fascism.

I want to explore a bit more on something I mentioned last week. I think it goes without saying, for anyone who has really considered it that the First Amendment is the most important Amendment and the reason it’s first is to protect all our other freedoms. We need free speech in order to discuss ideas and to evaluate their merit. We need a free press as accountability for the government and we need the right to be a watchdog for our government.

Then there’s the Second Amendment.

Two weeks ago, the FBI raided the homes of Project Veritas founder and CEO, James O’Keefe as well as the homes of his employees.

It wasn’t enough to show up in the early morning with a battering ram at the front door and throw him against the wall and parade him outside half dressed in front of his neighbors. They also confiscated his computers, cell phones, etc. along with all his constitutionally protected notes, information and attorney client legal privileged information. It also included his donor lists and other information.

I think any decent person’s reaction to that is to think, “Well, they must have done something to deserve that,” because it’s human nature to believe the best in people. We have a hard time believing that people would be unscrupulous because we wouldn’t act that way. But we have to wake up and realize power does corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Project Veritas didn’t do anything wrong. They were just doing their jobs as journalists to investigate and expose corruption, dishonesty, fraud and other misconduct to achieve a more ethical and transparent society. Serving as government watchdogs is something that all news organizations have done since the beginning of news because that’s what journalists do.

“… The precedent set in this case could have serious consequences for press freedom,” Brian Hauss, senior staff attorney with the ACLU’s Speech Privacy and Technology project, said. “Unless the government had good reason to believe that Project Veritas employees were directly involved in the criminal theft of the diary, it should not have subjected them to invasive searches and seizures. We urge the court to appoint a special master to ensure that law enforcement officers review only those materials that were lawfully seized and that are directly relevant to a legitimate criminal investigation.”

The raids on Project Veritas are alarming because the organization has not been accused of breaking any laws. The FBI was there because Project Veritas had been given a diary supposedly of President Biden’s daughter, something which isn’t illegal. They didn’t steal it. They were given it by the attorney of a tipster. They checked it out and decided they couldn’t verify it’s owner so they tried to give it back to no avail. So before the FBI raid they turned it over to law enforcement to make sure it got back into the hands of it’s rightful owner. They didn’t even report on it.

On the Project Veritas website, O’Keefe states, “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. Like any reporter, we regularly deal with the receipt of source information and take steps to verify its authenticity, legality and newsworthiness. Our efforts were the stuff of responsible, ethical, journalism and we are in no doubt that Project Veritas acted properly at each and every step.”

“However,” he said, “it appears journalism itself may now be on trial.”

Interestingly enough, just as we’ve seen with the Russia Hoax and the Michael Flynn set up, information was leaked to the media. To The New York Times, to be exact, who happens to be a competitor that O’Keefe is suing for defamation.

Someone at the FBI leaked attorney client legal privileged information and used the information to publish in The New York Times.

Put more plainly, the government stole information from O’Keefe and gave it to a rival organization.

In what world is it a priority of the FBI to target and arrest legitimate journalists who are legally doing their jobs and are constitutionally protected but BLM rioters talking about burning the place down are not pursued?

In what world is it a priority of the DOJ to investigate parents who are speaking up at their local school board meetings which is their right?

Who do you call when the FBI is violating your constitutional rights?

How about when they are in bed with the media and big tech?

This is another reason why it is so important that we have Sheriffs and police who understand and protect peoples’ individual and constitutional rights at the local level.

This is why it’s crucial that the Durham investigation and indictments continue to roll out and expose the corruption, collusion and lies on a federal level.

O'Keefe is the Canary in the coal mine. If we lose our legitimate journalists, we lose it all.