Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) sent a letter to Biden’s attorney general demanding information pertaining to the FBI’s investigation into Project Veritas.
QUICK FACTS:
- Sen. Cotton on Monday sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland about “warrants executed by the FBI on members of the news media in the course of investigating the alleged theft of Ashley Biden’s diary,” the letter reads.
- Cotton cited DOJ rules stipulating the unprecedented nature of its own department using search warrants “when investigating members of the media,” namely, Project Veritas and its members, and how such actions are considered to be “extraordinary measures, not standard investigatory practices.”
- Cotton warned AG Garland that he has “concerns about the origins of this investigation” as well as “the motivations of the investigations, and the tactics used by your Department.”
- The senator requested from the attorney general “a detailed description of the steps you took to comply with the Department of Justice regulations governing obtaining information from journalists” as well as a “detailed description of why you failed to follow these procedures” if such regulations were not followed.
- Cotton also asked AG Garland for “all communications between employees of the Department of Justice and the New York Time [sic] concerning the investigation into the disappearance of Ashley Biden’s diary. Please describe any actions the Department has taken to investigate the leaks from the Department of Justice to the New York Times,” the senator went on to request.
- “Please provide all communications between officials from the Department of Justice and the White House concerning the investigation into the disappearance of Ashley Biden’s diary. Did anyone at the White House have advanced notice of the search warrants for the cell phones of journalists affiliated with Project Veritas?” Cotton asked.
- James O’Keefe posted the letter to Instagram (see below).
BACKGROUND:
- The FBI had raided the home of investigative reporting outlet Project Veritas founder James O’Keefe for his organization’s interaction with the allegedly stolen diary of Ashley Biden, Joe Biden’s daughter.
- O’Keefe said he had been informed the book contained “explosive allegations” about the Biden family, but because his outlet couldn’t verify the diary’s origin, he chose not to publish its contents, ultimately giving it back to law enforcement.
- O’Keefe alleged that “within an hour” of the FBI’s raid of the home of a Project Veritas reporter, the New York Times had contacted that reporter for comment, Fox News reports.
- “We do not know how the New York Times was aware of the execution of a search warrant at our reporter’s home or the subject matter of the search warrant as a grand jury investigation is secret,” O’Keefe stated.
- “The FBI took materials of current, former Project Veritas journalists despite the fact that our legal team previously contacted the Department of Justice and voluntarily conveyed unassailable facts that demonstrate Project Veritas’ lack of involvement in criminal activity, and or criminal intent,” he went on to say.
- “Our efforts were the stuff of responsible ethical journalism, and we are in no doubt that Project Veritas acted properly at each and every step.”
Jon Fleetwood is Managing Editor for American Faith and author of “An American Revival: Why American Christianity Is Failing & How to Fix It.“
