This is FRESH AIR. And so Sofia's picture was up there. But it was not her real name. The emails refer to other operations, including weekly case updates, along with training activities that involved operational targeting. Project Veritas redacted specifics about those operations from the messages. Do we know? At the center of the scheme was an unusual cast: a former British spy connected to the security contractor Erik Prince, a wealthy heiress to the Gore-Tex fortune and undercover operatives like. She was attending, you know, Democratic fundraisers. In more recent years, Prince has remained a mover and shaker and a controversial figure on the international stage. if (document.context) document.write ("&context=" + escape(document.context)); 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. Last year, the group received a $1 million contribution made through the law firm Alston & Bird, a financial document obtained by The New York Times showed. There was a billionaire in - well, a very - I don't know if he was a billionaire. 1-307-754-2221. 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. - where you have people in your organization who aren't who they say they are, you know, collecting intelligence, if that's what you want to call it. So he had pitched this idea of a private security force to largely replace American troops in Afghanistan. A spokesman for Mr. DAVIES: Right. Princes parents, Elsa Prince and the late Edgar Prince, bought the 940-acre Double E Ranch in the Wapiti Valley in the early 1990s. if (document.referrer) document.write ("&referer=" + escape(document.referrer)); You know, you say in one of these stories, this operation's use of spy craft to manipulate the politics of several states over the years greatly exceeds the tactics of traditional political tricks operations. Prince invited Project Veritas operatives including Mr. OKeefe to his familys Wyoming ranch for training in 2017, The Intercept reported last year. 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. She actually got a contract fundraising gig with the Democrats, right? GOLDMAN: Well, as we started reporting on Erik Prince and Richard Seddon, I became deeply interested in learning who, in fact, was working for this organization. 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. And they would find people, and they would go out with them. There were steps taken to advance this plan, but in the end, it didn't happen because McMaster was fired. And they both say they didnt interview anyone in the state for the article. The Powell Tribune was unable to learn Prince's voter history from 2002 and 2017. You know, they were always - you know, always on the lookout for connections they could make. Mr. Seddon launched his privately funded spying effort after leaving Project Veritas in 2018. Reached by phone, Ms. Halverson said: Frankly, I have nothing to say on the subject. She then hung up. She said the support she got from other teams was 'overwhelming. O'Keefe writes about it in his book. Did it expand their operations? Friday crash claims lives of Powell sisters, Powell resident now leads open lands organization, Authorities say they caught Cody man selling meth, Game and Fish plan set for aquatic invasive species threat, 128 South Bent StreetPowell, WY 82435 Mr. Part of it involved a rented, rather large house in Georgetown in Washington, D.C., right? You know, there seemed to be - what it showed was, you know, Prince is well-traveled and is always looking for business opportunities. And it would - you know, and make an enormous amount of 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. That's how you found them, and that's what raised the question? Prince might have approached for money for Mr. Seddons venture besides Ms. Gore. I mean, people did shoot guns. But I think - you would think that Democrats and Republicans would all be united, that this is a bipartisan issue, right? I don't know. McMaster, Trump's second national security adviser. DAVIES: Let's talk about some of the people who are behind this. DAVIES: So an active player in the Trump world. Last month, Project Veritas made public secretly recorded video of a longtime ABC News correspondent who was critical of the networks political coverage and its emphasis on business considerations over journalism. They - you know, there's a wide range of targets, and many of them have been exposed. And it was interesting to hear some of these Wyoming Republicans, you know, thank us for our reporting, you know, being The New York Times, because Trump has, you know, vilified us. No one tells Project Veritas who or what to investigate, he said. This is FRESH AIR. You mentioned that he was recruited by Erik Prince. In a Jan. 15 order, U.S. District Court Judge Alan Johnson of Cheyenne tossed out Prince's defamation lawsuit against The Intercept. Mr. Erik Prince Recruits Ex-Spies to Help Infiltrate Liberal Groups, https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/07/us/politics/erik-prince-project-veritas.html. He was asked whether he had provided any of the groups secret recordings of Democracy Partners to the Republican National Committee or any member of the Trump family. Do we know why? His willingness to support Mr. Seddons operation is fresh evidence of his engagement in political espionage projects at home during a period when he was an informal adviser to Trump administration officials. 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.. This includes participating in marches or rallies in support of a movement or giving money to, or raising money for, any political candidate or election cause. Now, you mentioned Project Veritas. It's my understanding he designed the training exercises, which could have included, like, you know, going out to bars in Cody and trying to get people's names and numbers, how to pitch somebody in an elevator, how to spot people who could potentially provide you information. GOLDMAN: That's a good question. document.write ("?zoneid="+zoneId+"&block=1&blockcampaign=1"); But before the parties get to the lawsuits merits, The Intercept is contending, among other arguments, that Wyoming is not the right place for the case to be heard. GOLDMAN: You know, individuals - we're not exactly sure who was behind this effort - but it's clear that they believe that, you know, H.R. (SOUNDBITE OF GOGOL BORDELLO'S "NOT A CRIME"). 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. Did you receive the spare camera yet?. During the 2018 meeting with Ms. Gore, according to one person familiar with it, Mr. Later that year, Mr. Read more about the operation and its cast of characters at The New York Times. Richard Seddon, trained conservative operatives first at the Prince family ranch in Wyoming, then at a large, $10,000-a-month house near Georgetown University. document.write ("'><\/scr"+"ipt>"); 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. In 2016, Republican operatives believed they had obtained deleted Hillary Clinton emails from the dark web, and sought Mr. Princes assistance to authenticate them, an episode investigated by Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel in the Trump-era Russia inquiry. We know that political operatives will gather opposition research as it's called - right? His contributions to the 2022 Whitney Biennial, on view through Sept. 5 three fanciful portraits of Erik Prince, the financier and founder of the private security firm Blackwater depict a. Despite making multiple comments about Princes ties to Virginia, The Intercepts legal team said its immaterial to their jurisdictional arguments, which center on the publications own lack of ties to Wyoming. And, you know, there were a whole range of people they went after. They make significant political contributions, right? So somebody was just waiting - and it turned out to be me and Mark - to come along and make the connection between the Sofia de LaRocca (ph) out in Wyoming and "Maria," quote, unquote, on the Project Veritas Exposed website. We're speaking with New York Times reporter Adam Goldman, one of a team of Times reporters who've been writing about an effort by conservatives to train operatives in undercover operations to infiltrate progressive groups, unions and the offices and campaigns of Democratic and moderate Republican candidates and elected officials. Erik Prince, the founder of private military company Blackwater, whose sister Betsy DeVos was Trump's education secretary, trained the spies Their job was to find out who was disparaging Trump. For example, a 2017 meeting he attended with a crown prince of the United Arab Emirates and an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin became a part of the impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump, whom he has served as informal adviser. Why did they want to embarrass him and get him out of the government? And Beau eventually divorced his wife. Our understanding of the operation is that Mr. Seddon, while employed, in fact, at Project Veritas, was involved in this. Meanwhile, Prince is once again registered as a Park County voter. (Photo: Gerry Broome/AP) MIDDLEBURG, Va. A cheery fire warmed the glass-walled conservatory of the Goodstone Inn in Virginia's. Published October 16, 2017. So while Times staff members may vote, they are not allowed to endorse or campaign for candidates or political causes. One February 2019 report said that a new undercover will be joining the team and tasked with targeting Mr. Harshman. Mr. Chamberlain and Mr. Thomas were on the list. The group has also become intertwined with the political activities of Mr. Trump and his family. DAVIES: Right. She went to meetings. 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. Mr. Halderman was copied on several messages providing updates about the Michigan operation, and in one message, he gave instructions to Ms. Jorge. I mean, he - it seems that - it's our understanding that Prince introduced Seddon to Project Veritas. They also did the secret interviews at the airport in Cody in the - at the Prince hangar. And as the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press summarizes, New York provides absolute protection from forced disclosure of materials received in confidence by a professional journalist, including the identity of a source.. 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. And we've written about that. The Defense Department didn't go for it. And they were doing this - it appears that they were doing this from the house where Beau and Sofia lived with others. In 2018, an operative working for Project Veritas infiltrated the campaign of Abigail Spanberger, who went on to win a congressional seat. So O'Keefe's Instagram photo, you know, led people to realize that, you know, Prince had played a role, at least in letting Project Veritas use the ranch for training. I don't know. 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. Prince said he regularly host[s] customers, investors, employees and other business associates at my Wyoming ranch.. DAVIES: He was at a meeting in the Seychelles, the islands in the Indian Ocean, January of 2017. In particular, you know, Sofia targeted a employee with the GAO. 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