Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comSign up Sept 23 (Reuters) – A federal jury has found Project Veritas, a conservative group often accused of using deceptive tactics, guilty of violating wiretapping and tampering laws in a secret effort to target Democratic political consultants. A jury in Washington on Thursday awarded $120,000 to a member of Democracy Partners, co-founded by self-described progressive strategist Robert Creamer. Democracy Partners claimed she was infiltrated by a Project Veritas agent who lied about her name and background to get an internship during the 2016 presidential campaign and secretly recorded conversations while working there. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comSign up The company and Creamer said Project Veritas used “heavily edited” footage in videos that falsely suggested they conspired to incite violence at then-Republican candidate Donald Trump’s rallies and planned to promote voter fraud. According to the complaint, the spying cost the plaintiffs, who supported Trump’s Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton, more than $500,000 in contracts. Project Veritas said it did nothing wrong and will appeal. The Mamaroneck, New York-based group has long characterized its work as journalism and said the verdict threatens the use of hidden cameras by investigative journalists. “Project Veritas will continue to fight for every journalist’s right to gather news, investigate and expose wrongdoing – no matter how powerful the party under investigation may be,” CEO James O’Keefe said in a statement. Democracy Partners said in a statement that it hoped the verdict “will help deter Mr. O’Keefe and others from conducting these types of political espionage operations — and publishing selectively edited, misleading videos.” Media outlets including the New York Times, which Project Veritas is suing for defamation, and Politico earlier reported the verdict. The $120,000 award was for a fraudulent misrepresentation claim. U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman, who oversaw the trial, will assess damages based on the jury’s separate finding that the agent, Alison Maas, intended to breach fiduciary duty, according to the verdict form. Friedman has yet to rule on the defendants’ arguments that they should prevail as a matter of law. “This case involves fundamental First Amendment issues. People to my left prefer to ignore that fact,” the defendants’ attorney, Paul Calley, said in a statement. “We’ll see what the finish line brings.” The case is Democracy Partners LLC et al v. Project Veritas Action Fund et al, U.S. District Court, District of Columbia, No. 17-01047. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comSign up Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York. edited by Jonathan Oatis Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
