https://jonathanturley.org/202...missing-biden-diary/

From Legal Scholar and George Washington University Law Professor, Jonathan Turley:

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:

1. What was the context for the diary’s loss? (Did Ashley Biden leave the diary in a room or was it stolen?)

2. What is the alleged federal crime (and what is the precedent for a major federal investigation over such an alleged theft)?

3. What precautions were taken by the Biden Administration in light of the claimed media status of the targeted individuals?

4. Why was there a delay in this action being taken if the alleged theft occurred a year ago?

5. 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.

We have no confirmation that the FBI was looking for the diary.

O'Keefe would have a copy of the search warrant specifying the crimes being investigated and the property being searched for and taken, but he so far chosen not to share it. Therefore, as I am with all PV claims in general, I will remain skeptical until further information is released.

quote:

Originally posted by Lefty Sig:
IANAL but can we found a constitutional civil liberties union to defend freedom of speech and press??

ACLJ - The American Center for Law and Justice. Jay Sekulow, President Trump's former personal attorney, is the founder.

FULL RELEASE: Ashley Biden Diary Reveals Child Sex Trauma, Drug Abuse, Resentment For Joe

National File has exclusively released the full 112 pages of the diary our whistleblower identified as belonging to Ashley Biden

At link:

https://nationalfile.com/full-...r-joe-whistleblower/

The fact that excerpts are being published now kinda confuses me. I'm perfectly willing to believe that Project Veritas never published any of the diary. But who is putting those excerpts out there?

My question is why is the diary the pivotal necessity here- shouldn’t the victims word be enough? Isn’t her accusation enough to get charges filed if she’s willing to swear under oath it’s true?

If you're curious about the contents but just don't have the time to read it page-by-page, allow me to synopsize:

113 pages of "My life is an alcohol, drug, and sex-fueled dumpster fire of bad decisions."
3 pages of "I was abused, including inappropriate showers with [the current President of the United States]."

quote:

Originally posted by wcb6092:
"So why the raids? Since when does the FBI conducted raids over missing diaries?"

That's a question that I've been thinking about. I had my own suspicions, but while listening to Larry Elder interview one of James O’Keefe's attorneys confirmed my suspicions when she mentioned that the FBI held him in a hallway in his underwear in view of his neighbors, for two hours while they searched his apartment. They seized several Project Veritas phones that had PV donor contact info, corporate and government insider contact info, several of O'Keefe"s attorneys contact info, and communications on various PV investigations.

His lawyers went to court and won a temporary injunction prohibiting the D.o.J. from accessing the info on the seized phones until a hearing could be held on the matter.

This D.o.J. raid on PV looks like it has little to nothing to do with the Biden diary, and much more to do with harassment and intimidation and also a fishing expedition to identify PV donors, corporate and government insider whistle blowers, and other PV investigations.

[Note: embedded videos and hyperlinks at linked website article.]

Emphasis added in bold.
================================

James O'Keefe home raided by 10 FBI agents: 'Attack on 1st Amendment'

By Bob Unruh
Published November 9, 2021 at 7:15pm

It seems the federal Department of Justice and FBI now are involved in a hunt for the travels of an allegedly "stolen" diary.

And those federal agents have searched homes of several reporters in their work.

James O'Keefe, the founder of Project Veritas and the planner of its undercover reporting on ACORN, CNN, Democrat interests and more, told Fox News' Sean Hannity during an interview that the "investigation" was "an attack on the First Amendment."

Fox News reported that the FBI raided his home as part of a federal investigation into the "missing" diary, which happens to have belonged to President Biden's daughter, Ashley.

"I woke up to a pre-dawn raid," he reported. "Banging on my door, I went to my door to answer the door and there were ten FBI agents with a battering ram, white blinding lights, they turned me around, handcuffed me and threw me against the hallway. I was partially clothed in front of my neighbors. They confiscated my phone. They raided my apartment. On my phone were many of my reporters' notes. A lot of my sources unrelated to this story and a lot of confidential donor information to our news organization."

He said he was in a state of shock while agents spent two hours searching his apartment.

Paul Calli, O'Keefe's attorney, explained that Project Veritas had paid tipsters who had obtained the diary for the right to publish, but the organization never did that, and instead turned the material over to local law enforcement.

He also said it's uncertain whether the diary was "stolen."

O'Keefe, who regularly sends undercover reporters into organizations and then reports on the insider stories it develops, often involving scandal, said, "This is an attack on the First Amendment by the Department of Justice."

He said, "I'm calling upon all journalists to take a stand against this. A source comes to us with information, I didn't even decide to publish it. If they can do this to me, if they can do it to this journalist and raid my home and take my reporter notes, they'll do it to any journalist. This is about something very fundamental in this country. I don't know which direction this country is going in. But journalists everywhere have to rise up because we broke no laws here. If they can do it to me, they'll do it to anybody."

The FBI declined to respond to Fox News' request for comment.

The federal raid on O'Keefe happened just days after other raids focused on two associates of his organization.

The campaign is being conducted by prosecutors in the Southern District of New York over the diary that apparently belonged to Ashley Biden. It went missing before the 2020 presidential election.

O'Keefe explained during the interview his group had already contacted the DOJ and "voluntarily conveyed unassailable facts that demonstrate Project Veritas' lack of involvement in criminal activity."

He said "tipsters" approached his group last year claiming to have the diary – which they said had "explosive" allegations about Joe Biden. The report then was that she had left it behind in a room where she stayed.

But O'Keefe said Project Veritas was unable to verify its authenticity.

"Project Veritas gave the diary to law enforcement to ensure it could be returned to its rightful owner. We never published it," O'Keefe said in the interview. "Now, Ms. Biden's father's Department of Justice, specifically the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, appears to be investigating the situation, claiming the diary was stolen. We don't know if it was but it begs the question: In what world is the alleged theft of a diary investigated by the President's FBI and his Department of Justice? A diary?"

The issue also was addressed by commentator Tucker Carlson.

The New York Times had obtained information about the federal investigation, and reported, "In recent weeks, federal investigators have reached out to at least one person who worked for Project Veritas to question that person about the diary, one of the people briefed on the case said."

"It appears the Southern District of New York now has journalists in their sights for the supposed crime of doing their jobs lawfully and honestly, or at least this journalist," O'Keefe said.

Fox News legal analyst Gregg Jarrett explained there's a difference between stealing a diary and leaving it behind.

"Project Veritas did the right thing,” Jarrett said. “They didn’t publish this because they couldn’t verify the authenticity of the documents, but the other conservative website did publish it but they claimed they did verify it. What is so bewildering about this is why in the world would the feds even involved in it."

Theft of small dollar amount items normally is a "state" crime issue, either misdemeanor or felony.

Jarrett said a lot of details about the federal operation remain unclear, but so far the circumstance "smacks of a political investigation and potential prosecution."

With an item having such potential far reaching implications against this leftist controlled tyrant, I’m a bit surprised Veritas didn’t make copies (photocopy or scan) of the diary. Or why they wouldn’t release it prior to the raid.

And again, is the victim willing to pursue charges? If she is, what difference does her diary make?

^^^^^^
Agreed, that's what I would've done had it had been me... but, to be fair, just because PV decided not to publish the diary doesn't mean they don't have copies of it.

As I mentioned in the post above, I believe this raid has far less to do with a diary lost or stolen a year ago, and much more to do with both harassment/ intimidation of PV staff, donors, and corporate and government insiders who cooperate with PV, and also a fishing expedition to gather info on all those.

Who wants to work for an investigative organization facing enforcement actions and donors and whistle blowers are far less likely to funnel support to PV if they think they might face government enforcement actions. ie criminal charges, I.R.S. audits etc..

Judge Orders FBI To Stop "Extracting" Data From Veritas Devices Amid Mystery Leaks To NYT

https://www.zerohedge.com/poli...eritas-founder-james

A federal judge has ordered the FBI to stop "extracting" information from James O'Keefe's phone following the raids on multiple properties last week, as part of a probe into the alleged theft of President Biden's daughter's diary.

The FBI claims the diary was stolen. O’Keefe has vehemently denied that:

"Late last year, we were approached by tipsters claiming they had a copy of Ashley Biden’s diary," said O'Keefe," adding "the tipsters indicated that they were negotiating with a different media outlet for the payment of monies for 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."

O'Keefe said that they turned the diary over to law enforcement after Ashley Biden's attorney refused to accept or authenticate it.

But that was not enough for 'the establishment', especially in light of O'Keefe's persistent nuisance factor of exposing ugly truths.

Judge Analisa Torres ordered the FBI to stop extracting information contained in O'Keefe's phone and further ordered verification by Friday.

https://twitter.com/willchambe...eritas-founder-james


Will Chamberlain
@willchamberlain
The FBI raided Project Veritas on a pretext and is now leaking their privileged communications to the New York Times

This is a scandal




"Something tells me that the Federal judge who ordered the FBI to stop removing files from Project Veritas devices is going to have some questions as to how attorney-client privileged communications were removed from those devices and sent to the NYT."

This is the Deep State that Trump has warned about for years.

An investigative journalist has private information but doesn't publish it. And turns it over to the authorities. The Fed gov't TAKES privileged information and publishes via leaks.

Knowing the business he is in, the digital information that would be on his devices, and the enemies that he has made, I'm astonished that PV's phones would not be encrypted. I mean, WTF, James O'Keefe?

I'm sure they are - I thought iPhones are, by default.

HOWEVER, you can be compelled to provide a face or fingerprint to unlock a file - no idea if they had a warrant for that, or just ignored it.

And, I don't think either iPhones or stock Androids are that trustworthy.

You don't have to use biometrics. If he had used a PIN code he couldn't be compelled to open the phone.

Amid bias rebuke, FBI raids homes of GOP election clerk, conservative activists in Colorado

FBI raids on Mesa County Clerk and Recorder Tina Peters and Colorado Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert's former campaign manager follow those earlier this month on conservative journalists associated with Project Veritas.

https://justthenews.com/govern...erk-and-rep-boeberts

Even as the Department of Justice Inspector General released a report this week criticizing the politicization of the department, the FBI on Tuesday raided the homes of a Republican election official and several of her associates in Mesa County, Colo., in connection with a dispute about efforts to preserve 2020 election files.

In collaboration with state and county law enforcement, the FBI raided the homes of Mesa County Clerk and Recorder Tina Peters, Colorado Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert's former campaign manager Sherronna Bishop, and two others.

The FBI operations targeting skeptics of the 2020 election results follow the bureau's raids earlier this month on the homes of conservative guerrilla journalist James O'Keefe and several of his associates with Project Veritas.

Numerous elected officials, reporters, and the American Civil Liberties Union have voiced their concerns about potential infringement of press freedom by the FBI and Justice Department in the O'Keefe raid. These fears were exacerbated when information collected in the raid was published in the New York Times, which has been defending itself against a lawsuit filed by Project Veritas.

The DOJ's inspector general released a report this week rebuking the department for straying from its own policies on avoiding the appearance of political bias.

"The Department faces a challenge in addressing public perception about its objectivity and insulation from political influence," Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz wrote in his report. "The Department's efficacy as the guardian of the rule of law depends on maintaining the public trust in its integrity, impartiality, and ability to effectively administer justice."

Horowitz's critique of the department follows Attorney General Merrick Garland directing the FBI to investigate parents protesting policies of their children's schools, the DOJ misleading the FISA court in the Russia collusion case, and declining to prosecute in Hillary Clinton's email probe.

Peters said her home was raided at 6 a.m. on Tuesday and that FBI agents searched it for "about three hours" and took all of her electronics, including her phone.

"[On Tuesday] large teams of heavily armed federal agents, using a battering ram to break down doors, raided the homes of Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters and several of her friends and colleagues, mostly elderly women in their mid 60s," read a statement released Wednesday by Peters' legal defense fund. "This is a level of weaponization of the Justice Department we haven't seen since the McCarthy era. Thank God Tina wasn't protesting critical race theory at a Virginia school board meeting or they might have brought two battering rams."

Bishop, who is a resident of Garfield County and an associate of Peters, told Mike Lindell and and cohost Brannon Howse on Lindell TV Wednesday that her home was also raided by the FBI.

She said she was handcuffed as her 18-year-old daughter was "manhandled" and agents searched the place, confiscating her phone and other electronics.

Bishop said she wasn't told why her home was being searched, but agents left behind documents relating to the search warrant that said it was because she was suspected of causing "intentional damage to a protected computer, wire fraud and conspiracy to cause damage to a protected computer."

"I don't know anything about this," she told Howse. "They couldn't explain any of this. I will tell you why: They were at my home to intimidate me, to shut me up, because I was using my First Amendment rights to advocate for Tina Peters on the issue of Dominion [voting machines] and the damage done in our election. And they'll never be held accountable. Instead they will criminalize this woman who has stood up."

On Wednesday afternoon, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser and 21st Judicial District Attorney Dan Rubinstein released a statement in response to Peters, saying: "Yesterday, the 21st Judicial District Attorney's Office and the Colorado Attorney General's Office — along with our FBI partners — conducted authorized enforcement actions in support of an ongoing investigation into the alleged election system breach in Mesa County.

"We have reviewed a statement from Tina Peters' legal defense fund that claims a level of force during the execution of this joint federal-state law enforcement operation. At no time was force used on Ms. Peters or her home. Ms. Peters was allowed to move around her home and fix herself breakfast while agents gathered items before departing. We are issuing this statement to clear up inaccuracies about what occurred during yesterday's enforcement action. We will continue to conduct a thorough investigation based on facts and the law, including using proper law enforcement tools such as the judicially authorized search that was executed properly in this matter."

The Mesa County Clerk's office has been under investigation by the county district attorney since August for allegedly breaching the security of the county's voting system components. Colorado's Democratic Secretary of State Jena Griswold cited the alleged breach in ordering the county to replace all of its voting machines.

Peters has been accused of aiding the non-employee responsible for taking the software passwords for the machines and posting them on social media during a limited access trusted build installation on May 25, according to Colorado Politics. The installation was a routine update for election systems, and according to Griswold agents discovered the county's surveillance system was turned off prior to the update.

The secretary of state alleges that Peters lied about having the unauthorized person involved in the voting system update as she attempted to expose alleged election irregularities.

Peters said in August at a news conference, "The Mesa County Clerk and Recorder's office directed her staff to turn off the video surveillance of the voting equipment," CBS 4 Denver reported.

Peters explained that she had copied files on the voting machines for security before the update was made.

"I was concerned they were going to delete important election files, I did a backup image before and after they did that," Peters told the news outlet.

She alleges that the images showed numerous voter files were removed during the update and her job was to supervise the files.

In October, Peters was prohibited by a Mesa County judge from overseeing the county's election in a ruling on a lawsuit filed by Griswold, according to Colorado Politics.

quote:

Originally posted by wcb6092:
Amid bias rebuke, FBI raids homes of GOP election clerk, conservative activists in Colorado

FBI raids on Mesa County Clerk and Recorder Tina Peters and Colorado Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert's former campaign manager follow those earlier this month on conservative journalists associated with Project Veritas.

I've been watching the Mesa County Clerk and Recorder scandal with interest. The narrative, from the solidly Blue seat of power in Denver, namely Governor Polis, Attorney General Phil Weisser, and Secretary of State Jena Griswold (to say nothing of the Democrat controlled legislature) is the 2020 election was not tampered with, nothing to see here.

They've been quietly hammering away on Tina Peters and her associates, so the fact that they bring in a Democrat controlled D.o.J. and F.B.I. doesn't really surprise me at all. The only question I have is whether Denver called D.C. or did D.C. call Denver?

The raid on Rep. Boebert's former campaign manager did catch me surprised.

With each additional Biden administration D.o.J. raid on their political opponents, they further erode their professional reputation and credibility, and they only serve as further proof of the political weaponization of federal agencies.

wcb6092, as always, thank you for your efforts to find and post these news articles, and also for the updates on them. I've edited the thread title to include these additional raids.

quote:

"We have reviewed a statement from Tina Peters' legal defense fund that claims a level of force during the execution of this joint federal-state law enforcement operation. At no time was force used on Ms. Peters or her home. Ms. Peters was allowed to move around her home and fix herself breakfast while agents gathered items before departing. We are issuing this statement to clear up inaccuracies about what occurred during yesterday's enforcement action. We will continue to conduct a thorough investigation based on facts and the law, including using proper law enforcement tools such as the judicially authorized search that was executed properly in this matter."

Many (most?) local LEOs are now required to wear body worn cameras, and it's common for the public to see and hear what is recorded during incidents. I'm curious if federal agents are also required to wear them when serving search warrants and conducting raids? If they are required, how come we never see the recordings? If they aren't required, why aren't they required?

quote:

In collaboration with state and county law enforcement, the FBI raided the homes of Mesa County Clerk and Recorder Tina Peters, Colorado Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert's former campaign manager Sherronna Bishop, and two others.

A question for the LEOs here - what percentage of your respective departments do you think would not take part in these travesties?

I know we've seen numerous videos and read various articles of local law enforcement heads refusing to abide by the vaccine "mandate", but has there been any time when a chief, sheriff, patrol officer, or deputy, has refused to participate in these intimidation activities?

I ask because it's incidents like these that reinforce my view that the great majority of individuals in law enforcement will follow any order to preserve career over principles, and it's the ordinary innocents that get arrested, jailed, and bankrupted.

I know we've got some stand-up LEOs here, what's your take on my opinion?

The once great agency is completely compromised. They are a shade of their former selves. The obvious weaponizing of the FBI as a partisan Democrat tool is disgusting in the extreme. We have had the FBI assist in investigations in the past, and luckily none have ever been politically charged. In my line of work, I am very unlikely to see this kind of of behavior so I can’t comment on that. I would say that I would not assist ANY partisan attacks that are clearly politically motivated.

quote:

Originally posted by marksman41:

quote:

In collaboration with state and county law enforcement, the FBI raided the homes of Mesa County Clerk and Recorder Tina Peters, Colorado Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert's former campaign manager Sherronna Bishop, and two others.

A question for the LEOs here - what percentage of your respective departments do you think would not take part in these travesties?

I know we've seen numerous videos and read various articles of local law enforcement heads refusing to abide by the vaccine "mandate", but has there been any time when a chief, sheriff, patrol officer, or deputy, has refused to participate in these intimidation activities?

I ask because it's incidents like these that reinforce my view that the great majority of individuals in law enforcement will follow any order to preserve career over principles, and it's the ordinary innocents that get arrested, jailed, and bankrupted.

I know we've got some stand-up LEOs here, what's your take on my opinion?

The reality is the political bosses on whatever agencies are doing these raids aren’t going to ask the veteran with 20 plus years to do a raid like this, knowing what the answer to the request will be. The conniving political sociopath boss will seek out the new guy, who’s a 20 something that’s been indoctrinated in the public school system, and entice he or she into participating in the raid.