Samuel Case, FISM News
The American Civil Liberties Union released a statement on Sunday condemning the FBI’s raid on Project Veritas founder James O’Keefe’s home, while also taking a swipe at the undercover journalist organization:
Project Veritas has engaged in disgraceful deceptions, and reasonable observers might not consider their activities to be journalism at all. Nevertheless, the precedent set in this case could have serious consequences for press freedom.
During the early hours of Nov. 6 the FBI barged into O’Keefe’s apartment in Mamaroneck, New York, where they proceeded to search the residence for over two hours and ultimately seized two of his phones.
The FBI investigation into Veritas, centers around a diary belonging to Joe Biden’s daughter, Ashley Biden, which the organization purchased the publishing rights of from a tipster. Veritas eventually turned the diary into law enforcement after they were unable to verify its contents. It remains unknown if the diary was stolen.
“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,” the ACLU wrote. “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 defense of Veritas is somewhat surprising for the ACLU, which has become increasingly progressive and at times antagonistic to free speech.