Connor Wroe Southard. Two other employees, Gaz Thomas and Samuel Chamberlain, were also identified in emails and appeared to play important roles in the Michigan operation. DAVIES: Adam Goldman is a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter for The New York Times. And, you know, eventually she starts using this to meet other prominent Democrats in the state. They were critical of Donald Trump and his agenda. So while Times staff members may vote, they are not allowed to endorse or campaign for candidates or political causes. Now, you mentioned Project Veritas. In more recent years, Prince has remained a mover and shaker and a controversial figure on the international stage. And then Mark Mazzetti, you know, my colleague, who just is an extraordinary journalist, we - you know, we managed to suss out what was going - we think - to a great degree what was going on in Wyoming and these other states. DAVIES: Adam Goldman, thank you so much for speaking with us. She and Mr. Prince a former C.I.A. Mr. Seddon wrote that Ms. Jorge copied a great many documents from the file room, and Mr. OKeefe bragged that the group would be able to get a ton more access agents inside the educational establishment.. I also think that - I think recently, too, O'Keefe, did a photo op or made a video with Donald Trump. Erik Prince decides that Project Veritas needs something new. Prince said he should have named a different company Moyock Medical Supplies LLC as an example of an entity he owns thats registered to his address in Wapiti. Adam Goldman reports on the FBI and national security for the Times and was part of a team that won a Pulitzer Prize in 2018 for national reporting on Russia's meddling in the presidential election. Prince have ties to President Trumps aides and family. Is that what these interviews were about? Why did they want to embarrass him and get him out of the government? GOLDMAN: That's a good question. You know, she attended that. At the time, Prince was exploring the possibility of mounting a Republican primary challenge to incumbent U.S. Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo. For example, Rolling Stone published an investigative piece in October, The New York Times broke the news of Princes potential run on Oct. 8, 2017, in another interview with Breitbart a few days later, identified the site as the Prince ranch in a 2019 article, asserting Prince participated in a plan to dampen turnout among Black voters, Powered by Creative Circle Media Solutions. A former British spy and Republican mega-donor Erik Prince, a founder of the private military contractor Blackwater (now rebranded as "Academi) and brother to former U.S. Education Secretary. Tell us about them. We'll talk about Project Veritas in a moment. And he ends up giving, you know, $6,000 to Wyoming Democratic Party and also money to other political figures. For his part, Prince swears he never met with anyone from Wagner Group a denial The Intercept included in its reporting. What's interesting about that Instagram post - and you can see it yourself, it's still out there - they like to describe themselves as journalists. I believe he was involved in an effort to battle pirates in Somalia. DAVIES: Right. And then I started Googling them and doing some research on them. GOLDMAN: I was going to say, you know, talking to Republicans, moderate Republicans, I mean, moderate - these guys are pretty conservative, by the way - when we're describing it as moderate Republicans they were targeting. The financial document also listed the names of others who gave much smaller amounts to Project Veritas last year. DAVIES: Right - Erik Prince, the security contractor who we'll talk more about. What were they trying to get? One of the former spies, an ex-MI6 officer named Richard Seddon, helped run a 2017 operation to copy files and record conversations in a Michigan office of the American Federation of Teachers, one of the largest teachers unions in the nation. And the operatives had to give a - you know, had to give a cover story under duress. NY Times reporter Adam Goldman describes an undercover effort, headed up by an avid Trump supporter, that trained conservatives in espionage techniques and sent them to dig up dirt on progressives. 'https://powellbanners.creativecirclemedia.com/www/delivery/ajs.php':'http://powellbanners.creativecirclemedia.com/www/delivery/ajs.php'); DAVIES: Did any of them have opinions about whether these two had done damage? New details reveal the ambitions of an operation intended to infiltrate opponents of Donald Trump, including moderate Republicans as well as progressives and Democrats. Let me reintroduce you. Mr. Seddon regularly updated Mr. OKeefe about the operation against the Michigan teachers union, according to internal Project Veritas emails, where the language of the groups leaders is marbled with spy jargon. The special counsels report said that Mr. By Derek Royden - July 2, 2021 2466 SOURCE NationofChange DAVIES: Did any of these result in resignations, firings, criminal investigations GOLDMAN: You know, and in the end, the people who were involved, I think, were, you know, slightly humiliated. So, you know, this is not something I had ever done as a - you know, this is not something journalists do. The next year, during a presidential debate with Hillary Clinton, Mr. Trump claimed without substantiation that videos released by Mr. OKeefe showed that Mrs. Clinton and President Barack Obama had paid people to incite violence at rallies for Mr. Trump. They were going to bug it. There's an annual one, Nellie T. Ross Banquet, and I believe it's in Cheyenne every February. A document that month said that Mr. Seddons operatives had identified three potential sources in the new governors administration and have begun accelerated cultivations with a view to early recruitment., Later in January, the operatives wrote that they had successfully recruited another source with a role in the new governors administration, adding that the source has agreed to provide insights, help expose corruption and assist with eventual placement of undercovers.. DAVIES: So an active player in the Trump world. But what is clear is if Beau and Sofia made these campaign contributions - right? You know, she used that to hobnob with people. But her picture was on this website. if (document.MAX_used != ',') document.write ("&exclude=" + document.MAX_used); He was dismayed, three former Project Veritas employees told the Times, with "O'Keefe's desire to produce quick media content rather than to run long-term infiltration operations." GOLDMAN: To my understanding, there was a disagreement in how Project Veritas should be run. James OKeefe, the head of Project Veritas, declined to answer detailed questions about Mr. And Beau's mom is the ranch cook at the Erik Prince family's ranch near Cody, Wyo. Prince grew up in Michigan, where their father made a fortune in the auto parts business. More stories from theweek.comThe Republican theory of unemployment is classic MarxThere's growing speculation that Meghan Markle and Prince Harry will name their daughter 'Philippa'A short history of White House cats, American businessman and founder of Blackwater USA (born 1969), New Zealand politician and Prime Minister (18451906), 26th United States National Security Advisor, Read more about the operation and its cast of characters at, The Republican theory of unemployment is classic Marx, There's growing speculation that Meghan Markle and Prince Harry will name their daughter 'Philippa', Chicago Mayor Lightfoot ousted; Vallas, Johnson in runoff, King asks Duke and Duchess of Sussex to move out of Frogmore so Prince Andrew can move in, Biden Mocks Marjorie Taylor Greene With 1 Simple Hand Gesture, A Nebraska high-school cheerleader competed on her own after the rest of her squad quit. We're going to take a break here. The life of Erik Prince has been a complicated globe-trotting journey complete with extensive mercenary activities, spying on American citizens, brokering arms deals with despotic regimes and essentially taking advantage of any situation he can in order to line his personal pockets. And this photo of James O'Keefe, who's, you know, the founder of Project Veritas, firing a weapon with a silencer, apparently, at Erik Prince's ranch - were they being trained in firearms there? And it would - you know, and make an enormous amount of money. She was doing outreach to, you know, Democratic figures in Wyoming. And another individual named Barbara Ledeen, who worked for a prominent senator, his committee - Chuck Grassley - she admitted her involvement, and she had actually said she had met with a Project Veritas operative. I'm not sure that just because he's a conservative, this is something he wanted to help. The documents give new details about efforts to manipulate the politics of Wyoming. While the state is currently solidly Republican, Mr. Seddon and Ms. Gore believed it was in danger of turning toward the Democrats, as Colorado has. contractor who is best known as the founder of the private military firm Blackwater and whose sister, Betsy DeVos, was Mr. Trumps education secretary has drawn scrutiny over the years for Blackwaters record of violence around the world and his subsequent ventures training and arming foreign forces. Mr. DAVIES: Coming up, rock critic Ken Tucker reviews new songs by veteran artist Tom Jones, Jackson Browne and John Mayer. Richard Seddon, in 2018, I guess, decided to stop working with Project Veritas. And this website is devoted to revealing the identities of Project Veritas operatives. The website for Mr. OKeefes coming wedding listed Donald Trump Jr. as an invited guest. So he's certainly moved in this world before. The teachers union is asking for more than $3 million in damages, accusing the group of being a vigilante organization which claims to be dedicated to exposing corruption. But then January 6 happened, you know, the insurrection. He did not mention the inquiries from the Powell Tribune about his lapsed registration that preceded his vote. The list included John Cox, then the director of the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services, and Scott Talbott, then the director of the Wyoming Game and Fish Department. Anyone can read what you share. Were just trying to hold them accountable for this industrial espionage.. We'll talk more about his stories on undercover operations by conservatives to infiltrate Democratic and progressive groups after a short break. An attorney for The Intercept reportedly told Princes lawyer in the spring the piece was one in a series of planned articles concerning Mr. Princes activities, though it has not published any further pieces to date. Did it help, you know, Project Veritas raise more money? I mean, we know that Erik Prince was trying to sell a plan to the Trump administration to put these - for him, in fact, to put a private, you know, army of a bunch of mercenaries in Afghanistan and sort of take over those responsibilities from the government, sort of, in some ways, replace the U.S. forces on the ground there. Meanwhile, Prince is once again registered as a Park County voter. And they both say they didnt interview anyone in the state for the article. Valued at roughly $12 million by the Park County Assessors Office, the property includes a 17,470-square-foot residence that ranks among the largest in the area; county records show Prince owns a smaller home on an adjoining 10-acre parcel. You'd have to ask Mr. O'Keefe. The parties are currently awaiting a ruling from Judge Johnson, who could choose to allow the case to proceed in Wyoming; permit some more limited fact-gathering about the appropriate jurisdiction; transfer the case to New York; or throw it out entirely. This couple, Beau and Sofia - they spent real time and effort trying to ingratiate themselves with Democrats and progressives. And I got swept away reporting on that and eventually was able to come back to it. Private property rights are a major cornerstone to how Wyoming operates, but so is prioritizing a rural, quiet lifestyle - ultimately, the former won out in Sublette County. NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. It's not clear, though, if any of that was actually used in a way that thwarted anybody's candidacy or damaged their political reputation. Prince invited Project Veritas operatives including Mr. OKeefe to his familys Wyoming ranch for training in 2017, The Intercept reported last year. This item is available in full to subscribers. And, you know, I'm not sure when the relationship started. WASHINGTON Erik Prince, the security contractor with close ties to the Trump administration, has in recent years helped recruit former American and British spies for secretive intelligence-gathering operations that included infiltrating Democratic congressional campaigns, labor organizations and other groups considered hostile to the Trump agenda, according to interviews and documents. For instance, Princes 2014 memoir said he splits his time between homes in Virginia and Abu Dhabi, where he pursues a variety of business ventures.. But I didn't reveal that I knew Beau and Sofia had lived at that house at the time because we were working - concurrently, we were working on this larger story about them. WASHINGTON During the summer of 2018, as Richard Seddon, a former British spy, was trying to launch a new venture to use undercover agents to infiltrate progressive groups, Democratic campaigns and other opponents of President Donald J. Trump, he turned for help to a longtime friend and former colleague: Erik Prince, the private military contractor. That was the idea. They've targeted CNN. Adam Goldman is a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter for The New York Times. //]]>-->. Mr. Princes role in the effort, which has not been previously disclosed, sheds further light on how a group of ultraconservative Republicans employed spycraft to try to manipulate the American political landscape. GOLDMAN: I think - yeah, I think the latest is - you know, he's worked - his latest adventure is in Libya. And, you know, and he is - you know, he's an international businessman. Previously, he covered national security for The Washington Post and worked on the investigative team at the Associated Press, where he and his colleagues revealed the New York Police Department's Muslim spying programs. Both Project Veritas and Mr. contractor who is best known as the founder of the private military firm Blackwater and whose sister, Betsy DeVos, was Mr. Trump's education secretary has drawn. Mr. - trying to find, you know, damaging information on, you know, on political rivals, you know, using, you know, private investigative firms. The companys principal office is listed as being at the Prince familys ranch in Wapiti, though the mailing address is a property in Virginia. According to Prince, the tech adviser determined that the emails were not authentic.. I don't know. We still don't know everything about it, and we're trying to learn more about exactly who was behind this and if money was paid and so on. I knew something was off immediately. GOLDMAN: In some instances, they were on, you know, these social - these dating apps, right? I have a Wyoming drivers license, I am a Wyoming resident, and exploration is underway, Prince said of his potential Senate bid. Separately, Ms. Gore unsuccessfully tried to raise money for the project from Foster Friess, a billionaire Wyoming businessman, during a January 2019 meeting, three people said. WASHINGTON Erik Prince, the security contractor with close ties to the Trump administration, has in recent years helped recruit former American and British spies for secretive. [I] was a Wyoming resident for many years,, That same day Oct. 9, 2017 Prince obtained a Wyomings drivers license, which he touted, In early 2017, Prince reportedly welcomed James OKeefe and others from the conservative group Project Veritas, which describes itself as an army of guerrilla journalists. That February, OKeefe tweeted an image of himself taking aim with a silenced handgun amid snowy mountains, saying the team was undergoing intense training from a classified location as we make Project Veritas the next great intelligence agency. The Intercept ultimately, Other outlets, however, have continued writing about the contractor. And Mr. O'Keefe disclosed that Foster Friess had actually given Project Veritas money. They targeted The Washington Post. Last year, the House Intelligence Committee made a criminal referral to the Justice Department about Mr. Mr. Seddon owns a cabin that he keeps stocked with guns, food and other supplies as preparation for a cataclysmic event in the United States. The two men had known each other since Mr. Princes days running Blackwater, and shared an affinity for guns and the American West. Why are they there? DAVIES: This is FRESH AIR. DAVIES: Let's talk about some of the people who are behind this. And last year, I learned that Beau and Sofia had been working out of this house in Georgetown. I have always understood him to be a resident of Northern Virginia, the lead writer of The Intercepts April story, Matthew Cole, wrote in a declaration. In a YouTube video, Mr. OKeefe described the lawsuit as frivolous and pointed to a portion of the deposition in which David Hecker, the president of AFT Michigan, said that one of the goals of the lawsuit was to stop Project Veritas from doing the kind of work that it does., Randi Weingarten, the president of the American Federation of Teachers, said in a statement: Lets be clear who the wrongdoer is here: Project Veritas used a fake intern to lie her way into our Michigan office, to steal documents and to spy and they got caught. One target in particular was Gov. During a meeting in a Las Vegas suburb last April of employees of Ms. Gores organization, the Wyoming Liberty Group, Mr. Seddon pitched a proposal to build a website where other so-called preppers could buy their own supplies and communicate with each other in the event of what he called a Black Swan moment a major terrorist attack, another pandemic or a civil war. That's a strawman campaign donation. If Judge Johnson concludes he lacks jurisdiction to hear the case in Wyoming, Princes attorneys say the suit should be transferred to the Southern District of New York, where The Intercept is based. document.write ('&cb=' + m3_r); Remind us who he is. And Glenn Beck, Beau's uncle, gave a toast. Set some context for us here. The New York Times published an article chronicling a Wapiti, Wyoming-based espianoge effort. DAVIES: That's the Government Accountability Office. And they start trying to make inroads in the Wyoming Democratic Party. And Las Vegas was the - you could almost say it was the pinnacle, the apex of their operation. And it's a fascinating story. What was this about? And, you know, these were - they were not really long-term operations. Of course, everybody's familiar with Watergate, right? GOLDMAN: Well, that's a great question and one we struggle with at the Times in trying to put this in context. Its among a number of issues and motions that will have to be sorted out before a judge or jury would consider the accuracy of The Intercepts April article. And as part of this effort, Richard Seddon was brought on to handle training and really professionalize Project Veritas' undercover operations. And they would find people, and they would go out with them. Mr. OKeefe earned about $387,000. But I think - you would think that Democrats and Republicans would all be united, that this is a bipartisan issue, right? 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