People Tied to Project Veritas Scrutinized in Theft of Diary from Biden’s Daughter

The Justice Department searched 2 locations associated with the blimpish radical Project Veritas arsenic portion of an probe into however a diary stolen from President Biden’s daughter, Ashley, came to beryllium publically disclosed a week and a fractional earlier the 2020 statesmanlike election, according to radical briefed connected the matter.

Federal agents successful New York conducted the court-ordered searches connected Thursday — 1 successful New York City and 1 successful suburban Westchester County — astatine places linked to radical who had worked with the radical and its leader, James O’Keefe, according to 2 of the radical briefed connected the events. The probe is being handled by F.B.I. agents and national prosecutors successful Manhattan who enactment connected nationalist corruption matters, the radical said.

Project Veritas did not people Ms. Biden’s diary, but dozens of handwritten pages from it were posted connected a close helping website connected Oct. 24, 2020, astatine a clip erstwhile President Donald J. Trump was seeking to undermine Mr. Biden’s credibility by portraying his son, Hunter, arsenic engaging successful corrupt concern dealings. The posting was mostly ignored by different blimpish outlets and the mainstream media.

The website said it had obtained the diary from a whistle-blower who worked for a media enactment that refused to people a communicative astir it earlier the election. It claimed to cognize wherever the existent diary was located and that the whistle-blower had an audio signaling of Ms. Biden admitting it was hers.

The Justice Department, past led by Attorney General William P. Barr, opened an probe into the substance soon aft a typical of the Biden household reported to national authorities successful October 2020 that respective of Ms. Biden’s idiosyncratic items had been stolen successful a burglary, according to 2 radical briefed connected the matter.

In caller weeks, national investigators person reached retired to astatine slightest 1 idiosyncratic who worked for Project Veritas to question that idiosyncratic astir the diary, 1 of the radical briefed connected the lawsuit said.

Project Veritas has a past of targeting Democratic legislature campaigns, labour organizations, quality media and others. The radical conducts sting operations, utilizing hidden cameras and fake identities. At 1 point, Project Veritas relied connected a former British spy named Richard Seddon to assistance bid its operatives, teaching them espionage tactics specified arsenic utilizing deception to unafraid accusation from imaginable targets.

Flyover Media, the institution that owns the website that published the pages from the diary, is registered to the aforesaid Sheridan, Wyo., code arsenic Mr. Seddon’s company, Branch Six Consulting International. Mr. O’Keefe, the laminitis of Project Veritas, was erstwhile the president of a institution that aboriginal registered astatine the aforesaid address.

Project Veritas has a pending libel suit against The New York Times implicit a 2020 communicative astir a video the radical made alleging elector fraud successful Minnesota.

An F.B.I. spokesperson successful New York would not remark connected the investigation, saying lone that agents had “performed instrumentality enforcement enactment related to an ongoing investigation” astatine 2 locations. One of the searches took spot successful an flat connected East 35th Street adjacent the Midtown Tunnel and the different successful Mamaroneck, N.Y., northbound of New York City.

A spokesperson for the United States Attorney’s bureau successful Manhattan declined to comment.

In Manhattan, a neighbour a level supra the flat that was searched connected East 35th Street said she was woken retired of her slumber aboriginal Thursday greeting by agents pounding connected a doorway and repeatedly shouting “Open Up!” and “F.B.I.!”

“I thought it was a joke,” said the neighbor, Mychael Green, 23. “For 10 minutes they we’re knocking connected his doorway evidently truly loud,” and yet forced their mode into the apartment, Ms. Green said. Hours later, the doorjamb was intelligibly breached and the doorway was hanging ajar.

Spencer Meads, the longtime Project Veritas operative and confidante of Mr. O’Keefe, has lived successful that flat since 2019, according to nationalist records.

Ms. Green said that the agents were yelling “Spencer, unfastened up!”

A erstwhile Project Veritas worker said that Mr. Meads had been progressive successful recruiting operatives. A website that tracks Project Veritas operatives said that Mr. Meads had besides been progressive successful undercover operations for the group.

Mr. O’Keefe did not respond to an emailed petition for comment, and a lawyer who has represented him besides did not respond to messages. Mr. Meads did not respond to an email and a substance connection seeking comment.

The Justice Department finds itself successful a highly antithetic concern successful regards to Mr. Biden’s children. Not lone is it investigating the lawsuit of Ms. Biden’s diary, but Hunter Biden disclosed past twelvemonth that Justice Department prosecutors successful Delaware were investigating his taxes.

The pages were posted online nether the byline of Patrick Howley, a newsman who has worked for respective blimpish outlets successful caller years. He was the archetypal to disclose a yearbook photograph from the leafage of Gov. Ralph Northam of Virginia that showed 1 idiosyncratic successful a Ku Klux Klan outfit and different idiosyncratic successful blackface.

Mr. Howley besides disclosed damaging substance messages betwixt Cal Cunningham, a Democrat moving for Senate successful North Carolina, and a pistillate with whom helium was having an extramarital affair.

While the disclosure of Ms. Biden’s diary was mostly ignored, immoderate acold close outlets and supporters of Mr. Trump jumped connected the quality of the diary arsenic further grounds that Mr. Biden was unfit to beryllium president. Alex Jones, a salient acold close vigor host, brought up the diary connected an occurrence of Joe Rogan’s podcast.

Mr. Trump utilized Twitter to nonstop oregon beforehand affirmative comments astir Project Veritas astatine slightest six times successful the past 2 years of his presidency. Mr. Trump boosted Project Veritas contented adjacent earlier helium became president, and soon aft helium announced his run for president successful 2015, Mr. O’Keefe visited Trump Tower and showed Mr. Trump footage helium was intending to merchandise to harm Hillary Clinton, the astir apt Democratic nominee.

In 2016, a Project Veritas operative infiltrated Democracy Partners, a governmental consulting firm, utilizing a fake name, fabricated résumé and made concealed recordings of the staff.

Democracy Partners aboriginal sued Project Veritas. In a ruling past period successful the lawsuit, U.S. District Court Judge Paul L. Friedman said that Democracy Partners could notation to the behaviour by Project Veritas arsenic a “political spying operation” successful the upcoming trial.

Kitty Bennett and Matthew Cullen contributed research.