An operative with Project Veritas, a conservative organization that attempts to expose media bias, had been working for months to infiltrate the Washington Post and other media organizations, according to a new report.
The Post revealed Monday that a woman had contacted them claiming GOP Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore impregnated her when she was 15 years old. But the Post became wary when details from her story didn’t match up and she tried to get Post reporters to say Moore would lose the election because of her story.
This effort was part of a larger campaign targeting media outlets in Washington, D.C., and New York, interviews, text messages, and now-deleted social media posts reveal, the Post reported Wednesday.
Jaime Phillips, who is tied to Project Veritas, joined more than 20 journalist or left-leaning networking groups starting in July. She attended many related events and often went with a male companion. The Post reported she appeared at events with Post employees on at least two occasions.
Phillips used three different names and phone numbers when she attended these events with journalists, where she said she was either the owner of a startup and was interested in rounding up writers, a graduate student pursuing national security, or a contractor that just relocated to the area.
Phillips’ encounters with journalists often occurred at networking events or as send-offs for colleagues.
Phillips even communicated with a Post employee via text message over the course of five weeks, asking if she and her husband were available to make dinner plans with Phillips. The employee never got dinner with Phillips and explained that she was going through a family tragedy. Phillips offered to help and send flowers or a donation.
Post reporters saw Phillips walk into Project Veritas headquarters on Monday, casting doubt on her motivations for accusing Moore.
Project Veritas President James O’Keefe did not confirm outright to the Post that Phillips was an employee, but following the Post’s report Monday, he implied that there was a connection in a fundraising email.
“This morning as I walked to Project Veritas’ office, I was ambushed by reporters and a camera crew from The Washington Post. What were they after? Following months of undercover work within The Washington Post, our investigative journalist embedded within the publication had their cover blown,” O’Keefe said in an email to supporters.
