Project Veritas Found Liable For Wiretapping, Must Pay $120,000

A jury ruled against the far-right activist group, siding with a Democratic consulting firm that said it was secretly recorded by an undercover operative.
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A far-right activist group known for its flimsy ethics must pay $120,000 to a Democratic consulting firm after it lost a lawsuit over wiretapping and misrepresentation.

On Thursday, a federal jury in Washington found Project Veritas liable for targeting Democracy Partners, Reuters reported. The group is known for engaging in hidden recordings and other deceptive “sting operation” like tactics.

Democracy Partners said in its suit that a Project Veritas operative named Allison Maass infiltrated the firm during the 2016 presidential campaign by lying about her name and background to get an internship. While working there, Maass secretly recorded video and audio of Democracy Partners members to embarrass the firm, according to the complaint.

Democracy Partners, along with co-founder Robert Creamer, said Project Veritas used “heavily edited” footage in videos that falsely suggested the Democratic firm conspired to incite violence and schemed to promote voter fraud.

The firm said in a statement that the jury verdict will help discourage Project Veritas founder James O’Keefe “and others from conducting these kind of political spy operations ― and publishing selectively edited, misleading videos,” according to Reuters.

Project Veritas lost a separate legal battle in March after a federal judge tossed out a defamation lawsuit it filed against CNN.

O’Keefe said in a statement that Project Veritas plans to appeal Thursday’s verdict.

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