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m →‎NPR: Removed stammering from O'Keefes quote. When quoting someone you don't include ums, etc... Seems like someone is trying to make it sound like he is stammering.
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Responding to this question by NPR's [[Bob Garfield]]:
Responding to this question by NPR's [[Bob Garfield]]:
<blockquote>So let's just recap for a moment the ACORN scenario. You lie to get into &ndash; the offices. You lie, subsequently, about the lie you told to get into the offices. You edit the pimp shot into the trailer to create the illusion that you were somehow wearing it during your sting. You go on television wearing the same pimp outfit and let interviewers observe, uncorrected, that that’s what you were wearing when you confronted the ACORN employees. If your journalistic technique is the lie, why should we believe anything you have to say?</blockquote>
<blockquote>So let's just recap for a moment the ACORN scenario. You lie to get into &ndash; the offices. You lie, subsequently, about the lie you told to get into the offices. You edit the pimp shot into the trailer to create the illusion that you were somehow wearing it during your sting. You go on television wearing the same pimp outfit and let interviewers observe, uncorrected, that that’s what you were wearing when you confronted the ACORN employees. If your journalistic technique is the lie, why should we believe anything you have to say?</blockquote>
&ndash; O'Keefe told Garfield:<blockquote>Investigative reporters have used, you know, quote unquote, false pretenses like ''To Catch a Predator,'' ABC’s ''Primetime Live.'' Even Mike Wallace at ''60 Minutes'' went undercover. You go undercover in order to get to the truth. Now, is it lying? It’s a form of guerrilla theater. You’re posing as something you’re not, in order to capture candid conversations from your subject. But I wouldn't characterize it as, as lying.<ref>{{cite news|url = http://www.onthemedia.org/transcripts/2011/03/18/05|publisher = [[NPR]]|title = ''On the Media'' Transcript of "James O'Keefe"|date = March 18, 2011|authorlink = Bob Garfield|first = Bob|last = Garfield}}</ref></blockquote>
&ndash; O'Keefe told Garfield:<blockquote>Investigative reporters have used, quote unquote, false pretenses like ''To Catch a Predator,'' ABC’s ''Primetime Live.'' Even Mike Wallace at ''60 Minutes'' went undercover. You go undercover in order to get to the truth. Now, is it lying? It’s a form of guerrilla theater. You’re posing as something you’re not, in order to capture candid conversations from your subject. But I wouldn't characterize it as lying.<ref>{{cite news|url = http://www.onthemedia.org/transcripts/2011/03/18/05|publisher = [[NPR]]|title = ''On the Media'' Transcript of "James O'Keefe"|date = March 18, 2011|authorlink = Bob Garfield|first = Bob|last = Garfield}}</ref></blockquote>


==Political and personal beliefs==
==Political and personal beliefs==

Revision as of 17:53, 7 July 2011

For the Irish politician, see James O'Keeffe. For the cardiologist, see James O'Keefe (cardiologist).
James O'Keefe
Born
James E. O'Keefe III

(1984-06-28) June 28, 1984 (age 39)
Bergen County, New Jersey, U.S.
CitizenshipUnited States
EducationB.A. in Philosophy
Alma materRutgers University,
(2006)
Occupation(s)Conservative movement exposé-documentarian, lecturer, and activist
Years active2006–present
OrganizationProject Veritas
Known forActivism and Videography
Notable workHidden camera videos of ACORN workers (2009), NPR videos (2011)
Height6 ft 2 in (188 cm)[1]
Websitewww.theprojectveritas.com

James E. O'Keefe III (born June 28, 1984) is a conservative American activist who has produced videos of public figures that were shot undercover. He came to national attention after publishing recordings of workers at Planned Parenthood in 2008 and at ACORN in 2009. The videos were shot via hidden camera in order to capture his targets' unguarded behavior, and he has used the videos to represent his targets as unethical, irresponsible or biased.

Some of O'Keefe's projects have generated controversy and have influenced Congressional votes. Some of his sting operations have been discovered by his targets, with one resulting in O'Keefe's arrest and conviction; others have resulted in lawsuits filed against him.[3] O'Keefe's videos have been examined by law enforcement agencies and news organizations, and they were found to have been selectively edited to misrepresent his subjects and deceive viewers.[4][5][6][7][8] His example has motivated a public debate on what it means to be a journalist and on what constitutes good journalistic practice when false pretenses are used.[9]

O'Keefe became politically active while at Rutgers University. He cofounded a conservative student paper, the Rutgers Centurion, which publicized his first undercover video in 2005. After graduating he continued to produce videos, partnering with pro-life activist Lila Rose in 2007. In 2009 Andrew Breitbart paid him for the option to publish new videos on BigGovernment.com exclusively. In June 2010, O'Keefe formed a 501(c)(3) organization, Project Veritas, with the stated mission to "investigate and expose corruption, dishonesty, self-dealing, waste, fraud, and other misconduct." [10]

He has been called a guerrilla documentarian, a gonzo journalist and a conservative provocateur.[11][12][13][14]

Early life

O'Keefe is the elder of two children born to James E. O'Keefe Jr., a materials engineer, and Deborah O'Keefe, a physical therapist.[15][16][17] His younger sister is a painter and sculptor. He grew up in Bergen County, New Jersey, in a home that was politically "conservative but not rigidly so," according to his father. He graduated from Westwood High School, where he showed an early interest in the arts, theater and journalism. He played the leading role in his high school's 2002 production of the musical Crazy for You and attained the highest rank, Eagle Scout, in the Boy Scouts of America.

Career

Rutgers

O'Keefe matriculated to Rutgers University in 2002 and would major in philosophy. His sophomore year he wrote a bi-weekly opinion column for The Daily Targum, the university's student paper. He left the Targum and founded a conservative student paper, the Rutgers Centurion, supported by a $500 "Balance in the Media" grant from the The Leadership Institute. It was to generate content for the Centurion that he began shooting hidden camera videos.

The first video was a satire of political correctness. O'Keefe and other Centurion writers met with Rutgers dining staff to demand they ban the cereal Lucky Charms from dining halls because of its offense to Irish-Americans. The leprechaun mascot on the cereal box, O'Keefe said, portrays an Irish man "as a little green-cladded gnome or huckster." He continued, referring to height: "As you can see, we’re not short and green–we have our differences of height–and we think this is stereotypical of all Irish-Americans." He put them in an impossible situation where either way they would lose; either they would appear insensitive to members of a racial group, or they would agree with the ridiculous conclusion that Lucky Charms can't be served in the dining hall.[18] Though the group of students expected they would be laughed at,[19] the Rutgers official took notes and said their concerns would be considered. Rutgers staff say the cereal was never taken off the menu.[16]

The video was an effort to expose liberals as preposterous, which would become a theme of O'Keefe's work. Another theme is what The New York Times called his "absurdist improvisational style".[14][failed verification] O'Keefe found he could say almost anything to people who sit in an official capacity — "Nothing shocks a bureaucrat."

Leadership Institute

After graduating, O'Keefe worked for a year under Ben Wetmore at the Leadership Institute in Arlington, Virginia. The institute sent O'Keefe to various colleges to train students to start up independent newspapers. It was at such a visit to UCLA that he met the budding pro-life activist Lila Rose. The institute became increasingly uncomfortable with his work and asked him to leave after a year; according to Morton Blackwell, the institute's president and founder, there was a concern his videos threatened LI's tax exemption as a nonprofit by trying to influence legislation.[15]

Blackwell said O'Keefe's longstanding ambition was to catch liberals in videos "breaking the law."[16] O'Keefe told the Los Angeles Times that his videos "are not supposed to necessarily show people breaking laws. They are supposed to change hearts and minds".[20]

After LI, O'Keefe attended Western State law school for one year.[citation needed]

Institutions I’ve gone after are the institutions that investigative reporters have refused to investigate.

— James O'Keefe, Newsweek, March 20, 2011[21]

Planned Parenthood

O'Keefe helped plan and produce undercover videos with pro-life activist Lila Rose in 2006 and 2007 that showed several Planned Parenthood workers willing to circumvent state laws requiring that abortion clinics report statutory rape. The videos received national attention. O'Keefe met Rose, a UCLA student, while he was visiting the university as a Leadership Institute campus representative in 2006. With O'Keefe's support and advice Rose launched her first foray in activism at the UCLA campus health center. Soon he came up with the idea to have her pose as an underaged pregnant teenager, go to Planned Parenthood clinics for advice, and record the conversations that followed. Their expectation was that the clinics would try to get around reporting laws concerning statutory rape or engage in other illegal behavior. Two videos resulted. In the first, a Santa Monica clinic advised Rose to "figure out a birthdate that works" and lie about her age to make her eligible for an abortion.[22]

O'Keefe phoned several Planned Parenthood clinics posing as a donor in 2007, specifying his gift should go to fund abortions of minorities because "the less black kids out there the better."[23] Clinics in seven states reportedly agreed to accept his donation under those terms.[24] After audio recordings of the conversations were made public in 2008, Planned Parenthood apologized for the behavior of its staffers, calling it "inappropriate".[23] In a call to an Albuquerque office, O'Keefe discussed affirmative action and said there were too many black people competing with white Americans for admission to schools; the clinic's representative replied, "Yes, yes, it's a strange time for sure."[25][26] A representative of Planned Parenthood of Ohio replied, "For whatever reason we'll accept the money."[27] Planned Parenthood of Idaho's vice president, Autumn Kersey, was suspended after the recordings divulged her laughing, placating the caller by saying, "understandable, understandable" and "Excuse my hesitation, this is the first time I've had a donor call and make this kind of request, so I'm excited and want to make sure I don't leave anything out." She then attempted to have the call traced and recorded.[28]

O'Keefe's recordings led to demands by black leaders to withdraw public financing of Planned Parenthood,[29] and to a protest in Washington D.C. by African-American pastors who accused Planned Parenthood of perpetrating "genocide".[24] Alveda King, a black minister and a niece of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., who had had two abortions herself,[30] also supported the campaign.[27][29]

ACORN

Further information: ACORN 2009 undercover videos controversy

In September 2009, O'Keefe and his associate, Hannah Giles, published edited hidden camera recordings in which Giles posed as a prostitute and O'Keefe as her boyfriend in an attempt to elicit damaging responses from employees of the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), an advocacy organization for persons of low and moderate income.[31] The videos were recorded during the summer of 2009[32] and showed low-level ACORN employees in six cities purportedly providing advice to Giles and O'Keefe on how to avoid detection by authorities of tax evasion, human smuggling and child prostitution.[15] After the videos were made public, the U.S. Congress voted to eliminate federal funding to ACORN.[33] The Census Bureau and the IRS also terminated their relationships with ACORN.[34][35] An internal ACORN investigation concluded that ACORN had poor management practices that contributed to unprofessional actions by a number of its low-level employees.[36][37][38][39][40] In March 2010, ACORN announced it would dissolve due to loss of funding from government and private sources.[41]

On March 1, 2010, the district attorney for Brooklyn concluded that there was no criminal wrongdoing by the ACORN staff there.[42][43] O’Keefe received immunity from prosecution in exchange for providing the full, unedited videotapes to California authorities.[31] An investigative report by California Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. released on April 1, 2010 found the videos from Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Bernardino to be "severely edited" and did not find evidence of criminal conduct or intent to aid or abet criminal conduct on the part of ACORN employees.[31] Brown stated, "things are not always as partisan zealots portray them".[44] The California report also found that one of the employees shown as apparently aiding in O'Keefe's human smuggling proposal had reported his encounter with O'Keefe and Giles to a police detective. That employee, who was fired by ACORN after the video's release, later sued O'Keefe and Giles alleging invasion of privacy, and citing a California law that outlaws recordings without consent of all parties involved.[45] On June 14, 2010, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) released its findings which found no evidence that ACORN, or any of its related organizations, had mishandled any of the $40 million in federal money which they had received in recent years.[46][47]

Several members of Congress introduced a resolution praising O'Keefe and Giles' work in October 2009.[48][49] The resolution was not considered in committee and was not voted on. It has not been reintroduced for consideration.[50]

As of January 2010, O'Keefe had a column on Andrew Breitbart's BigGovernment.com, and Breitbart remarked that he paid O'Keefe a salary for his "life rights".[51] In 2010 O'Keefe formed his own organization, Project Veritas, whose stated mission is "to investigate and expose corruption, dishonesty, self-dealing, waste, fraud, and other misconduct in both public and private institutions in order to achieve a more ethical and transparent society."[52]

Arrest in Sen. Landrieu's office

O'Keefe and three other conservative activists were arrested by the U.S. Marshals Service in New Orleans, Louisiana on January 25, 2010 on federal felony charges of attempting to maliciously interfere with the office telephone system of U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu. Two of the activists had entered the federal building dressed as telephone repairmen, claiming they were responding to complaints that the phones were out of order. One of Landrieu's staff members told them "that she did not report any phone problems and that the office was not experiencing any issues with the phone system."[53] They were apprehended after they attempted to gain access to the telephone equipment closet. O'Keefe was present, admittedly recording the events on his cell phone.[54] The four men were jailed and arraigned the following day on charges that carried a maximum sentence of ten years in prison followed by three years of probation, and a fine of $250,000.[55] O'Keefe and the other men were released on $10,000 bond pending further court proceedings.[56][57]

The Christian Science Monitor noted that liberals immediately portrayed the incident as another Watergate, while conservatives asked the public to hold off on judging the incident.[58] In a post-arrest interview on Fox News, O'Keefe said he entered Landrieu's office to investigate accusations she was ignoring phone calls from constituents during the debate over President Barack Obama's health care bill.[59] According to O'Keefe, the group devised a plan involving disguises because they believed that if they simply entered Landrieu’s office and identified themselves as journalists, they would likely not receive truthful answers.[60] Landrieu’s office denied ever ignoring calls and pointed out that many senators' voicemail systems had been strained from a flood of calls during the most contentious weeks of the debate.[59]

Several months later, the charges were reduced from a felony to a single misdemeanor count of entering a federal building under false pretenses,[61][53][62][63] with U.S. District Judge Stanwood Duval Jr. admonishing the defendants that "perceived righteousness of a cause does not justify nefarious and potentially dangerous actions."[64] Entered with his guilty plea on May 26 was a factual basis which found no "evidence that the defendants intended to commit any felony after the entry by false pretenses", and the "defendants misrepresented themselves and their purpose to orchestrate a conversation about phone calls to Landrieu's staff and capture the conversation on video, not to actually tamper with the phone system, or to commit any other felony."[53] O'Keefe was sentenced to three years' probation, 100 hours of community service and a $1,500 fine. The other three men received lesser sentences of two years' probation, 75 hours of community service and a $1,500 fine.[65] U.S. Magistrate Daniel Knowles III ordered the video footage removed from O'Keefe's cell phone before it was returned to him.[66]

U.S. Census

O'Keefe posted a video on the Internet in June 2010 claiming that payroll fraud was occurring at Census offices.[67][68][69] He had obtained a temporary job with the 2010 Census and secretly recorded part of his training course for door-to-door census takers.[70][69] In O'Keefe's video, the supervisors apparently instruct O'Keefe and other trainees to submit time sheets for more hours than they had worked.[68] O'Keefe is seen protesting to supervisors that he had worked 16 hours at the office but was going to be paid for 19.5 hours which included a lunch break that was 40 minutes longer than the time sheets indicated.[71] The video portrayed the supervisors as unconcerned with the discrepancy,[70] even when O'Keefe pointed out the criminal penalties for filling out forms falsely.[67] O'Keefe quit on the third day of training.[69]

The Census Bureau responded that trainees are expected to work eight hour days, but that they are paid for travel time and study time to review the manuals, as well as for time spent in the office,[71] and that this policy was no different than it was when O'Keefe attended training sessions in 2009, during which time O'Keefe had not complained or made allegations.[68] The Census Bureau also said it did not condone falsifying time sheets and that it would investigate and take action if warranted.[67][68][69] A Census Bureau spokesman said that O'Keefe had quit after his criminal background check had come back;[70][68] O'Keefe said he quit due to privacy concerns.[69] The Washington Post reported that Census Bureau directives forbid the secret recording of conversations by employees.[69][72]

O'Keefe said he recorded the training sessions because he was concerned about government's misuse of taxpayer dollars and that if all the 600,000 temporary Census workers had been overpaid by just four hours, as he had been, "that's $48 million in waste".[69] In an e-mail to AOL News, O'Keefe said "I was the only one in my training group who ethically recanted the false hours I was instructed to submit early each day I worked, despite objection from a payroll supervisor who told me not to worry because they 'don't audit at that level.' Additionally, two supervisors instructed all of us to report our travel times as one hour, though many of us lived five minutes away from the training center."[68]

Abbie Boudreau

In August 2010, CNN correspondent Abbie Boudreau, who was doing a documentary on young conservative activists, agreed to meet O'Keefe at his office in Maryland to discuss an upcoming video shoot of O'Keefe.[73][74] When Boudreau arrived at the address given by O'Keefe, she saw that it was a house located on a river with a boat docked behind it.[73] She was intercepted by one of O'Keefe's co-workers, Izzy Santa, who warned Boudreau that O'Keefe was planning to "punk" Boudreau on the boat by engaging in a bizarre attempt to seduce and embarrass her—which he would be filming on hidden cameras.[73][75] Santa had also expressed her concerns to a donor that day, stating "James has staged the boat to be a palace of pleasure with all sorts of props."[73] Boudreau never boarded the boat, and soon left the area.[76][77]

CNN later published a 13–page plan it had obtained, written by O'Keefe's mentor Ben Wetmore,[78] that listed the props as including pornography, sexual aids, condoms, a blindfold and "fuzzy" handcuffs.[73][76][79] According to the document, O'Keefe was instructed to record a preface to his encounter with Boudreau, during which he was to say,

"... I've been approached by CNN for an interview where I know what their angle is: they want to portray me and my friends as crazies, as non-journalists, as unprofessional and likely as homophobes, racists or bigots of some sort.... Instead, I've decided to have a little fun. Instead of giving her a serious interview, I'm going to punk CNN.... This bubble-headed-bleach-blonde who comes on at five will get a taste of her own medicine, she'll get seduced on camera and you'll get to see the awkwardness and the aftermath."[73][79]

CBS News described the plan as including a way for O'Keefe to deal with potential fallout: "make sure to emphasize Abbie's name and overall status to help burden her career with this video, incident and her bad judgment in pursuing you so aggressively."[76][79] O'Keefe admitted that he attempted to get Boudreau onto the boat, but denied that he was going to follow the plan, telling CNN that he had not personally written it, that "he wasn't really going to follow through with the plan", and that he found parts of it inappropriate and objectionable.[76][74] O'Keefe also pointed to his dress and appearance on the day as further evidence that he was not following the plan.[80] Several days after the documentary aired, O'Keefe wrote that he gets outrageous plans sent to him all the time, some of which he approves of in principle, like the "CNN idea", but that he never considered using the "over-the-top language and symbolism" in the memo,[80] and was never going to threaten or faux seduce Boudreau, "unless she wanted to be."[80] Boudreau commented "that does not appear to be true, according to a series of emails we obtained from Izzy Santa, who says the e-mails reveal James' true intentions."[74]

New Jersey Teachers' Union

Starting on October 25, 2010, O’Keefe began posting a series of videos entitled “Teachers Unions Gone Wild,” investigating the New Jersey Education Association. The releases came as the union was locked in a struggle with New Jersey Republican Governor Chris Christie over teacher pay benefits and tenure.[81]

In the first video, released on October 25, 2010, O’Keefe recruited several “citizen journalists” to attend the NJEA’s week-long summer leadership conference at the New Brunswick Hilton, where they made undercover recordings of meetings and conversations with teachers.[81] The videos published highlighted footage of teachers gloating about the difficulty of firing a tenured teacher.

In a second video, also released on October 25, another "citizen-journalist" posed as a parent and called Lawrence E. Everett, assistant superintendent of the Passaic City Schools,[81][82] to ask whether a teacher would be fired for using the “n-word” against his child. Everett responded that the teacher would likely be demoted, but not fired. The assistant superintendent also offered to move the parent's child from the class.[82]

A third video released on October 26, 2010 featured audio of a voice identified as NJEA Associate Director Wayne Dibofsky alleging voter fraud during the 1997 Jersey City mayoral election.[81] Jersey City municipal clerk Robert Byrne, who was also heard talking in the same video, said that election was monitored by lawyers for both candidates.[81]

After watching the video, Governor Christie said "nothing on it surprises me".[83] However, NJEA spokesman Steve Wollmer called O'Keefe's videos a "complete fabrication" and "a calculated attack on [the NJEA] organization and its members". Wollmer said that the man who recorded Ploshnick "was offering her both romance and a glass of wine to get her to open up", and he called O'Keefe "flat-out sleazy".[83]

NPR

In March, 2011 O'Keefe's partners Simon Templar (an alias) and Shaughn Adeleye[84] secretly recorded a discussion with Ronald Schiller, National Public Radio's then-senior vice president for fundraising, and an associate. Subsequent analysis of the raw videos showed that O'Keefe's video was heavily edited to present only one point of view, much of the context of the conversation was changed, and elements were transposed and chronology shifted.[85] The veracity of the video has been disputed and it has undergone analysis including comparison of the edited video with the raw videotape. On the edited video, it seems the NPR executives were led to believe they would be meeting with representatives of a self-described Muslim group that wished to donate money to NPR, "partly out of concern for the defunding process the Republicans are trying to engage in." On the recording, Schiller said that he would speak personally, and not for NPR; then he appears to contrast the fiscally conservative Republican party of old that didn't get involved in people's personal and family lives with "the current Republican Party, and in particular the Tea Party, that is fanatically involved in people's personal lives and very fundamental Christian — I wouldn't even call it Christian. It's this weird evangelical kind of move." Schiller said some highly-placed Republicans believed the Republican Party had been hijacked by this radical group, and the Republicans characterized them as "Islamophobic" and "seriously racist, racist people". On March 17, USA Today reported: "According to The Blaze analysis, Ron Schiller's most inflammatory remarks, that Tea Party members are "seriously racist," were made as he was recounting the views of Republicans he has spoken with — although he does not appear to disagree. It also shows Schiller appearing to laugh about the potential spread of Islamic sharia law, when the longer version shows he laughed in reaction to something completely different."[86]

Later in the edited video, Schiller seems to say he believes NPR "would be better off in the long run without federal funding, and the challenge right now is that we'd have a lot of stations go dark", explaining that removal of federal funding would allow NPR more independence, and remove the widely held misconception that NPR is significantly funded by the public. However the USA Today analysis reports that the unedited tape is substantially different. On the raw tape, Schiller says that withdrawing federal funding would cause local stations to go under and that NPR is doing "everything we can" to keep it.[87]

Further comparison with the raw video revealed editing that was characterized as selective and deceptive by Michael Gerson, opinion writer in the Washington Post, who claimed "O’Keefe did not merely leave a false impression; he manufactured an elaborate, alluring lie."[88] Time magazine notes that the video "transposed remarks from a different part of the meeting", was "manipulative" and "a partisan hit-job".[89]

According to NPR, in a statement released before the O'Keefe video was revealed to be heavily edited, "Schiller's comments are in direct conflict with NPR's official position" and called his comments appalling. They also stated that, "The fraudulent organization represented in this video repeatedly pressed us to accept a $5 million check with no strings attached, which we repeatedly refused to accept." A second recording released a couple days later by O'Keefe showed that after phone and e-mail communications, the senior director of institutional giving at NPR, Betsy Liley, checked with senior management and said MEAC was cleared to make donations anonymously, but added that in order to proceed, additional background information would be required, including an IRS Form 990.[90][91] In the video, Liley also advises the man that NPR executives would investigate them before accepting any large donation, examining tax records and checking out other organizations that have received donations from them.[92] Liley further raises the possibility of NPR turning down substantial gifts and stresses the "firewall" between the revenue-generating part of NPR and its news operation.[92] Schiller had submitted his resignation on January 24, before the recorded meeting, and announced a week before the video was released that he was leaving NPR for the Aspen Institute, but he was immediately put on "administrative leave" by NPR.[93][94][95][96][97][98] The next day NPR's CEO Vivian Schiller (no relation) announced she was resigning her position, effective immediately.[99] Ronald Schiller made his resignation from NPR effective immediately on the evening of the video's release and the next day decided also to cede his new position at the Aspen Institute.[100]

Responding to this question by NPR's Bob Garfield:

So let's just recap for a moment the ACORN scenario. You lie to get into – the offices. You lie, subsequently, about the lie you told to get into the offices. You edit the pimp shot into the trailer to create the illusion that you were somehow wearing it during your sting. You go on television wearing the same pimp outfit and let interviewers observe, uncorrected, that that’s what you were wearing when you confronted the ACORN employees. If your journalistic technique is the lie, why should we believe anything you have to say?

– O'Keefe told Garfield:

Investigative reporters have used, quote unquote, false pretenses like To Catch a Predator, ABC’s Primetime Live. Even Mike Wallace at 60 Minutes went undercover. You go undercover in order to get to the truth. Now, is it lying? It’s a form of guerrilla theater. You’re posing as something you’re not, in order to capture candid conversations from your subject. But I wouldn't characterize it as lying.[101]

Political and personal beliefs

O'Keefe described his politics as "progressive radical",[102] though media coverage consistently describes him as a conservative.[103][15][104][105]

O'Keefe expresses admiration for the philosophy of British writer G.K. Chesterton.[1][15][106]

O'Keefe refers to himself as a muckraker.[107][108]

Praise and criticism

O'Keefe's supporters, including his media mentor, Andrew Breitbart, call him the right wing's answer to a long line of left-leaning "hybrid troublemakers who get put on the cover of Rolling Stone, like Paul Krassner and Abbie Hoffman."[109] His detractors include NY Magazine, saying his videos are "edited in a highly misleading way"[110], and conservative website The Blaze which called O'Keefe "unethical" because he calls himself an "investigative journalist" but "uses editing tactics that seem designed to intentionally lie or mislead about the material being presented".[85]

He caricatures the political and social values of his enemies by carrying them to outlandish extremes.[111]

References

  1. ^ a b "James O'Keefe on G.K. Chesterton and 'The Free Press'" (VIDEO). VertiasVisuals. August 12, 2010.
  2. ^ Transcripts: James O'Keefe; On The Media; March 18, 2011
  3. ^ Citing 'Punk'd,' James O'Keefe Questions Calif. Recording Law In ACORN Sting Suit; TPM; March 17, 2011
  4. ^ ACORN set up by vidiots; New York Post; March 2, 2010
  5. ^ O'Keefe teaches Media a Lesson (Again); Columbia Journalism Review; March 15, 2011
  6. ^ "Statement from Stuart Schear on Live Action's Latest Dishonest Videos". Planned Parenthood. Planned Parenthood. February 8, 2011. Retrieved April 26, 2010.
  7. ^ Memmott, Mark (March 13, 2011). "Questions Raised About O'Keefe's Editing Of NPR Sting Video". NPR. Retrieved April 26, 2011.
  8. ^ Shifrel, Scott (March 01, 2010). "B'klyn ACORN cleared over giving illegal advice on how to hide money from prostitution". Daily News. New York. Retrieved May 25, 2011. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  9. ^ Kroeger, Brooke (March 15, 2011). "Brooke Kroeger on James O'Keefe and Undercover Reporting: A CJR Podcast". Columbia Journalism Review. Columbia University Press. Retrieved April 26, 2011.
  10. ^ "About Project Veritas". Retrieved May 27, 2011.
  11. ^ Shachtman, Noah (March 11, 2010). "How Andrew Breitbart hacks the media". WIRED. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  12. ^ AP staff (February 2, 2010). "U.S. attorney has left Landrieu phone caper case". USA Today. Associated Press. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  13. ^ Star-Ledger Staff (October 26, 2010). "Hidden video by conservative activist James O'Keefe renews NJEA, Gov. Christie dispute". Star-Ledger Today. Star-Ledger. Retrieved November 1, 2010.
  14. ^ a b Robertson, Campbell; Robbins, Liz (2010-05-27). "James O'Keefe". The New York Times. Retrieved 2011-03-16.
  15. ^ a b c d e Shane, Scott (September 18, 2009). "A Political Gadfly Lampoons the Left via YouTube". The New York Times. p. A9. Retrieved September 20, 2009.
  16. ^ a b c Michael Rispoli (September 17, 2009). "ACORN sting 'pimp' is N.J. man who attended Rutgers University". Newark, N.J.: The Star Ledger. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  17. ^ Horwitz, Jeff (May 25, 2005). "My Right-Wing Degree: How I learned to convert liberal campuses into conservative havens at Morton Blackwell's Leadership Institute, alma mater of Karl Rove, Ralph Reed, Jeff Gannon and two Miss Americas". Salon.com. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  18. ^ What the Media Can Learn From James O'Keefe; On The Media; March 18, 2011
  19. ^ Walker, Greg (April 17, 2005, updated February 22, 2009). "Absurdities and Ironies". Rutgers University: Daily Targum. Retrieved October 3, 2010. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  20. ^ Abcarian, Robin (April 26, 2009). "Anti-abortion movement gets a new media twist". Article Collections. The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  21. ^ Kurtz, Howard (March 20, 2011). "What's Killing NPR". Newsweek.
  22. ^ Burchfiel, Nathan (May 16, 2007). "Planned Parenthood Threatens to Sue Undercover Activist". CNS News. Retrieved October 4, 2010.
  23. ^ a b Ryan, Josiah (July 7, 2008). "Planned Parenthood Agreed to Accept Race-Motivated Donations". CNS News. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  24. ^ a b Beaucar Vlahos, Kelley (April 24, 2008). "Pastors Accuse Planned Parenthood for 'Genocide' on Blacks". Fox News. Retrieved April 24, 2008.
  25. ^ Steven Ertelt (April 2, 2008). "More Planned Parenthood Abortion Businesses Accept Overtly Racist Donations". Life Site News. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  26. ^ LiveAction.org (April 2, 2008). New Mexico: Planned Parenthood Racism Investigation. You Tube.
  27. ^ a b CNA staff (February 28, 2008). "UCLA student sting exposes racism at Planned Parenthood". CNA. Catholic News Agency. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  28. ^ Jones, Susan (February 28, 2008). "Planned Parenthood Apologizes for Its Handling of 'Offensive Call'". CNSNews.com.
  29. ^ a b Dewan, Shaila (February 26, 2010). "To Court Blacks, Foes of Abortion Make Racial Case". New York Times. Retrieved March 20, 2010.
  30. ^ Alveda King (1/22/2008). Alveda King talking about abortion. In front of the Supreme Court building. Retrieved 10/05/2010. {{cite AV media}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  31. ^ a b c "Report of the Attorney General on the Activities of ACORN in California" (PDF). California Dept of Justice. April 1, 2010. p. 28. Cite error: The named reference "CA AG Report" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  32. ^ According to the California Attorney General's investigation report, page 8, the recordings occurred in ACORN offices in eight cities: Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, D.C., Brooklyn, Miami, Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Bernardino.
  33. ^ McGreal, Chris (September 21, 2009). "Congress cuts funding to embattled anti-poverty group Acorn". The Guardian. London. Retrieved September 22, 2009.
  34. ^ "Census Bureau Drops Acorn From 2010 Effort". The New York Times. September 12, 2009.
  35. ^ AP News Wire, Associated Press News - Salon.com
  36. ^ Sharon Theimer (September 16, 2009). "Embattled ACORN orders independent investigation". The Seattle Times. Associated Press. Retrieved 2010-10-17.
  37. ^ Rutenberg, Jim (2009-09-23). "Acorn Hires Former State Law Enforcer". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-10-17.
  38. ^ James, Frank (December 7, 2009). "ACORN Workers Cleared Of Illegality By Outside Probe". NPR. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  39. ^ Kaminer, Wendy (December 8, 2009). "ACORN and the Ethics of Leadership". Atlantic Monthly. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  40. ^ The Editor (Spring 2010). "NPQ on ACORN Investigation Results". The Nonprofit Quarterly. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  41. ^ Tarm, Michael (March 22, 2010). "ACORN disbanding because of money woes, scandal". ABC News. Associated Press. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  42. ^ Newman, Andrew (March 1, 2010). "Advice to Fake Pimp Was No Crime, Prosecutor Says". New York Times. Retrieved March 7, 2010.
  43. ^ Madde, Mike (March 1, 2010). "Brooklyn prosecutors clear local ACORN office". Salon.com. Retrieved March 7, 2010.
  44. ^ "Brown Releases Report Detailing a Litany of problems with ACORN, But No Criminality". California Office of Attorney General. April 1, 2010. Retrieved April 3, 2010. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  45. ^ Maass, Dave (July 9, 2010). "ACORN worker sues O'Keefe and collaborators". San Diego CityBeat. Retrieved July 13, 2010.
  46. ^ John Atlas (June 15, 2010). "ACORN Vindicated of Wrongdoing by the Congressional Watchdog Office". Huffington Post. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  47. ^ The CNN Wire Staff (June 15, 2010). "Preliminary report clears ACORN on funds". CNN. Retrieved October 3, 2010. {{cite news}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  48. ^ Any Birkey (January 26, 2010). "Kline co-sponsored resolution honoring the 'exemplary' James O'Keefe". The Minnesota Independent.
  49. ^ H. Res. 809: Honoring the fact-finding reporting done by Hannah Giles and James O'Keefe III in their... (GovTrack.us)
  50. ^ "H. Res. 809: Honoring the fact-finding reporting done by Hannah Giles and James O'Keefe III in their..." H. Res. 809:. govtrack.us. Retrieved march 19,2011. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); line feed character in |title= at position 13 (help)CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link)
  51. ^ Hewitt, Hugh (January 26, 2010). "An Interview With Andrew Breitbart About The O'Keefe Arrest". HughHewett.com. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  52. ^ "About Project Veritas". TheProjectVeritas.com. Retrieved October 7, 2010.
  53. ^ a b c "Factual Basis in United States of America v. Joseph Basel, Stan Dai, Robert Flanagan, James O'Keefe" (PDF). United States District Court Eastern District of Louisiana. May 26, 2010. p. 6.
  54. ^ Affidavit of arresting agent Steven Rayes: File:PPM145 joseph basel et al.pdf, January 25, 2010
  55. ^ "Four Men Arrested for Entering Government Property Under False Pretenses for the Purpose of Committing a Felony". U.S. Department of Justice (Press release). The FBI - New Orleans Division. January 26, 2010. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  56. ^ Pierre Thomas & Jack Cloherty. "'Louisiana Watergate' Activist Free on Bond, Awaits Hearing: James O'Keefe Free on Bond Today After 'Sting' Operation Backfired". ABC News. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  57. ^ U.S. District Court Eastern District of Louisiana (January 26, 2010). "Order Setting Conditions of Release".
  58. ^ Jonsson, Patrik (January 28, 2010). "Four charged in incident". Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved October 26, 2010.
  59. ^ a b Robertson, Campbell (March 26, 2010). "4 Charged in Incident at Office of Senator". The New York Times. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  60. ^ "O'Keefe gives his side". BigJournalism.com. May 29, 2010.
  61. ^ Ramon Antonio Vargas (May 27, 2010). "James O'Keefe remains defiant despite pleading guilty in failed Mary Landrieu office caper". The Times-Picayune. Retrieved June 6, 2010.
  62. ^ Gerstein, Josh (March 26, 2010). "Minor charges filed in Landrieu office flap". Politico. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  63. ^ Russell, Gordon (May 20, 2010). "Handling of Mary Landrieu office caper case called very unusual". The Times-Picayune. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  64. ^ Kunzelman, Michael (May 20, 2010). "Judge Chides Suspects in Sen. Landrieu Office Case: Federal judge scolds suspects in Sen. Landrieu office case, but lets magistrate resolve it". ABC News. Associate Press. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  65. ^ "Four Men Plead Guilty to Entering Federal Property Under False Pretenses Entered Senator Mary Landrieu's Office to Secretly Record Office Staff Conversations". Department of Justice Press Release. The FBI - New Orleans Division. May 26, 2010. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  66. ^ "Video gone from activist James O'Keefe used in La. caper". Associated Press. May 29, 2010. Retrieved October 17, 2010.
  67. ^ a b c "Activist Filmmaker Targets Census Bureau, Cites Payroll Fraud". Fox News. June 1, 2010. Retrieved October 4, 2010.
  68. ^ a b c d e f Andrea Stone (June 2, 2010). "Census Hits Back at Conservative Filmmaker's 'Expose'". AOL News. Retrieved October 5, 2010.
  69. ^ a b c d e f g O'Keefe, Ed (June 1, 2010). "Conservative activist James O'Keefe alleges fraud by Census Bureau". The Washington Post. {{cite news}}: More than one of |work= and |newspaper= specified (help)
  70. ^ a b c Chris Vlasto, Jay Shaylor, Vanessa Weber and Sarah Netter (June 1, 2010). "Exclusive: Conservative Filmmaker James O'Keefe Goes Undercover to Target Census Bureau". ABC News. Retrieved October 3, 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  71. ^ a b Haya El Nasser (June 10, 2010). "Census Bureau makes changes after sex offender hired". USA Today. Retrieved October 5, 2010.
  72. ^ The Washington Post linked to this Census Bureau directive Monitoring Conversations, Effective Date: 2008-03-10
  73. ^ a b c d e f Zamost, Scott (September 29, 2010). "Fake pimp from ACORN videos tries to 'punk' CNN correspondent". CNN. Retrieved September 30, 2010.
  74. ^ a b c Boudreau, Abbie (September 29, 2010). "Our Documentary Takes A Strange Detour". Special Investigations Unit. CNN. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  75. ^ Montopoli, Brian (September 29, 2010). "ACORN Foe James O'Keefe Sought to Embarrass CNN's Abbie Boudreau on Porn-Strewn "Palace of Pleasure" Boat". CBS News. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  76. ^ a b c d Montopoli, Brian (September 29, 2010). "ACORN Foe James O'Keefe Sought to Embarrass CNN's Abbie Boudreau on Porn-Strewn "Palace of Pleasure" Boat". Political Hotsheet. CBS News. Retrieved October 2, 2010.
  77. ^ As of September 29, 2010 Izzy Santa reportedly remained on the Veritas Project payroll, though with no responsibilities.See, ACORN Foe James O'Keefe Sought to Embarrass CNN's Abbie Boudreau on Porn-Strewn 'Palace of Pleasure' Boat, CBS News.
  78. ^ Pareene, Alex (October 4, 2010). "James O'Keefe defends "sex boat" prank by saying it wouldn't have been that gross". Salon. Retrieved October 5, 2010.
  79. ^ a b c "Punking' CNN: The following highlights the relevant portions of a 13-page document obtained by CNN outlining a plan to 'punk' CNN". CNN. September 29, 2010. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  80. ^ a b c O'Keefe, James (October 4, 2010). "Statement Regarding CNN". BigGovernment.com. Retrieved October 5, 2010.
  81. ^ a b c d e Rundquist, Jeanette and Megan DeMarco (October 27, 2010). "Video puts NJEA in hot seat". The Star-Ledger. Retrieved October 28, 2010.
  82. ^ a b Method, Jason (October 26, 2010). "Teacher's Union Gone Wild: James O'Keefe digs into NJEA with new 'undercover' video". Asbury Park Press. Retrieved October 28, 2010.
  83. ^ a b Hidden video by conservative activist James O'Keefe renews NJEA, Gov. Christie dispute
  84. ^ Hagey, Keach (March 8, 2011). "NPR exec: tea party is 'scary,' 'racist'". Politico.
  85. ^ a b Baker, Scott. "Does Raw Video of NPR Expose Reveal Questionable Editing & Tactics?". The Blaze. Retrieved March 21,2011. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  86. ^ Moore, Martha (march 17, 2010). "NPR sting raises questions about media ethics, influence". USA Today. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  87. ^ Moore, Martha (march 17, 2010). "NPR sting raises questions about media ethics, influence". USA Today. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  88. ^ Gerson, Michael (March 24, 2011). "The NPR video and political dirty tricks". The NPR video and political dirty tricks. The Washington Post.
  89. ^ Poniewozik, James. "Hatchet Job: The Video Hit Piece that Made Both NPR and Its Critics Look Bad". Time magazine. Retrieved March 17,2010. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  90. ^ New NPR Video; Daily Caller; March 10, 2011
  91. ^ NPR Publishes E-Mails From Top Staff Stating Problems With "Muslim Group's" Offer of $5 Million
  92. ^ a b CNN Wire Staff (2011-03-11). "Activist releases another recording with an NPR fundraising executive". CNN. Retrieved 2011-03-12. {{cite news}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  93. ^ Video of Ronald Schiller Project Veritas; March 8, 2011
  94. ^ What James O'Keefe's Latest Video Means for NPR Funding
  95. ^ NPR executive calls Tea Party supporters 'racist'
  96. ^ In Video: NPR Exec Slams Tea Party, Questions Need For Federal Funds
  97. ^ NPR Executive Caught Calling Tea Partiers ‘Racist’
  98. ^ NPR exec caught on tape calling Tea Partiers 'racist'
  99. ^ Mark Memmott (2011-03-09). ""NPR CEO Vivian Schiller resigns"". NPR. Retrieved 2011-03-09.
  100. ^ Russel Adama (2011-03-09). "NPR Executive Cedes New Role at Aspen Institute". WSJ.
  101. ^ Garfield, Bob (March 18, 2011). "On the Media Transcript of "James O'Keefe"". NPR.
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  104. ^ Whittell, Giles (September 18, 2009). "Anti-poverty group that helped Obama 'advises prostitutes'". London: The Times. Retrieved September 29, 2009.
  105. ^ Elliott, Debbie (February 4, 2010). "Debate Over Activists' Actions In Senator's Office". NPR.org. Retrieved February 4, 2010.
  106. ^ Besse, Gail (March 31, 2010). "Changing the World by the Time He's 30: James O'Keefe Discusses His Undercover Videos and Acorn's Fall". National Catholic Register. Retrieved April 12, 2010.
  107. ^ "James O'Keefe Requests Nonprofit Status For Project Veritas". The Huffington Post. 2011-03-22. Retrieved 2011-03-22.
  108. ^ "About Project Veritas". TheProjectVeritas.com. Retrieved November 1, 2010.
  109. ^ James O'Keefe, NPR-Slayer, What Kind of Journalist is This?, by Tim Kenneally & Daniel Frankel, The Wrap Media, March 9, 2011
  110. ^ Rovzar, Chris. "The Inevitable Backlash Against James O'Keefe's Heavily Edited NPR 'Sting' Begins". NY Magazine. Retrieved March 21, 2011.
  111. ^ Rutenberg, Jim; Robertson, Campbell (January 30, 2010). "High Jinks to Handcuffs for Landrieu Provocateur". The New York Times. Retrieved October 3, 2010.

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