A New York judge on Thursday ordered the New York Times to temporarily refrain from publishing or trying to access certain documents related to the conservative group Project Veritas — which seeks to expose journalists and political opponents through devices such as cameras. hidden—in an unusual example in the United States of a court blocking news coverage by a major news organization.
The court order raised immediate alarm among supporters of the Constitution’s First Amendment, which deals with freedom of expression and the press, who called the measure a violation of fundamental constitutional protections for journalists, a view shared by the NYT.
Project Veritas issued a statement supporting the ruling and arguing that it does not represent a curtailment of the newspaper’s rights.
The ruling is part of an ongoing Project Veritas defamation lawsuit filed by Project Veritas against the New York Times in 2020. The lawsuit accuses the newspaper of defaming Project Veritas in its reporting on a video produced by the group that carries false allegations of election fraud in Minnesota .
Headed by provocateur James O’Keefe, Project Veritas frequently conducts so-called “sting operations”, in which a trap is set up to catch the target of the action committing some wrongdoing — including the use of false identities and hidden cameras — in order to get into trouble. Democratic campaigns, labor or union entities, news organizations and other entities.
Project Veritas is being investigated by the Department of Justice for possible involvement in the theft of a diary allegedly belonging to President Joe Biden’s daughter Ashley.
Attorney Theodore J. Boutrous Jr., who represents media outlets like CNN, called the judge’s order “absurd.”
“Although the measure is temporary, the Supreme Court has already ruled that even the most modest and timely denials of these First Amendment rights are intolerable,” said Boutrous. “Extraordinating it even further and suggesting a restriction on news-gathering – I’ve never heard of anything like that.”
In a Nov. 11 report on the Justice Department’s investigation, the New York Times ran excerpts from memos written by a Project Veritas attorney that set out ways the entity could engage in deceptive reporting practices, such as creating false identities , while avoiding breaking federal laws.
The memos predate the libel lawsuit filed against the NYT. But on Wednesday, Project Veritas filed a motion arguing that, by publishing the memos, the NYT had infringed its right to confidentiality, and accused the newspaper of trying to embarrass an adversary in litigation.
Alongside the written excerpts, images of the memos were briefly posted on Nov. 11 on the NYT website. A newspaper spokesman said this was done inadvertently and the images were removed when editors became aware of the deception.
On Thursday, Westchester County State Supreme Court Judge Charles D. Wood ordered the NYT to “immediately withdraw, protect, and refrain” from disseminating any of the materials prepared by the Project Veritas attorney. In addition, the judge instructed the NYT to “cease further efforts to request or gain access to” these materials, specifically preventing the newspaper from reporting the matter.
The order is expected to go into effect until a hearing next week. The NYT will appeal the decision. “This decision is unconstitutional and sets a dangerous precedent,” New York Times Executive Editor Dean Baquet said in a statement.
“When a court silences journalism, it betrays the interests of its citizens and undermines their right to information,” Baquet wrote. “The Supreme Court made this clear in the Pentagon Papers case, a landmark ruling against previous measures that blocked the publication of newsworthy fruits of journalistic labor. That principle clearly applies in this case. We ask that this ruling be reviewed immediately. “
Earlier this month, federal agents conducted court-authorized searches of locations in New York and Westchester County linked to Project Veritas members, including O’Keefe’s home, as part of an investigation into how the diary might belong to the Biden’s daughter surfaced publicly shortly before the 2020 election.
Project Veritas lawyers said the group received the diary of two unidentified people and believed it had been obtained by legal means. A warrant used in the search of O’Keefe’s residence indicated that federal authorities believed the diary was stolen.
Project Veritas has sought to characterize itself as a journalistic organization protected by the rights guaranteed to the press by the Constitution’s First Amendment. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has criticized the Justice Department for “invasive searches and seizures” of properties linked to the group, though it added that “reasonable observers may not consider the activities [do Project Veritas] constitute journalism”.
In a statement released on Thursday, O’Keefe suggested that the NYT’s coverage of the Justice Department’s searches is biased. He wrote: “The newspaper has to decide whether it is in favor of press freedom for all or just for itself, because the two things are incompatible.”
O’Keefe said that, among other goals, he is determined to expose what he describes as a liberal bias in the mainstream press and big tech companies like Google and Facebook.
Project Veritas said it discussed the diary with sources before deciding to publish it. The right-wing website National File even published photos that it claimed were images from the diary, saying it had taken the images of a person working for a vehicle who had decided not to report the matter.
The vehicle has links to Project Veritas. O’Keefe was once president of a company registered at the same address as the owner of the National File. The site’s owner also shares a Wyoming address with a firm run by a former British spy, Richard Seddon, who taught spy tactics to Project Veritas agents.
Translation by Clara Allain
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