A federal court ruled against Project Veritas in a lawsuit over hidden-camera recordings of Democratic consulting firms targeted by the conservative group.
The court awarded the consulting firms $120,000 in damages after ruling that Project Vertias member Allison Maass breached a fiduciary duty — acting in a party’s best interest — which resulted in fraudulent misrepresentation, according to the verdict.
More results could follow this verdict because U.S. District Court Judge Paul Friedman could still impose damages relating to a wiretapping violation. However, the judge is also considering motions that the Democratic firms did not prove any legal violations.
Maass had applied to work as an intern at Democracy Partners consulting group using a false name and inauthentic resume. She brought in video and audio recordings to gather information on the firm’s efforts to counter some of former President Donald Trump’s rallies before the 2016 general election.
Democracy Partners, along with Strategic Consulting, a similar company, sued Project Veritas for trespassing under misrepresentation.
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Project Veritas released a number of these videos in 2016, stating the firms’ goal was to incite violence at Trump rallies.
The conservative group appealed to have the lawsuit dismissed in 2018, stating that damages to the companies came from their conduct, not trespassing or trickery.
Project Veritas founder James O’Keefe said he believes that Maass and other members who conducted the sting operations are journalists.
In a release, the conservative group announced it will appeal the court’s Thursday ruling, stating that the ruling is a setback of “journalistic integrity — effectively allowing subjects to dictate the ways in which a journalist gathers and reports the news.”
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“Journalism is on trial, and Project Veritas will continue to fight for every journalist’s right to news gather, investigate, and expose wrongdoing — regardless of how powerful the investigated party may be,” O’Keefe said in a statement. “Project Veritas will not be intimidated.”
