Professional troll James O’Keefe has been teasing journalists for weeks about an undercover operation that could take down Hillary Clinton — I’ve received four “email blasts” from O’Keefe’s Project Veritas about these videos in the past 48 hours alone — so I was suprised to learn that the “trickle-down corruption” he’d come to expose amounted to a Project Veritas operative buying a few Hillary-themed t-shirts for a Canadian.
You read that right — O’Keefe’s own operative captured herself, on camera, illegally purchasing the shirts on behalf of a Canadian and this, O’Keefe claimed, demonstrates the criminal mendacity of the Clinton campaign.
Moreover, Compliance Manager Erin Tibe is actually shown on the video refusing to allow the Canadian woman — who O’Keefe insisted at the press conference that he didn’t know, and whose identity is still a mystery to him — to make the purchase. It’s the Project Veritas operative who says, “but she traveled all the way from Canada to support Hillary, you could give her, she’s paying cash.”
Tibe reiterates that she can’t accept money from the Canadian woman, but eventually Director of Marketing Molly Barker allows the Project Veritas operative to make the donation on the woman’s behalf. “Barker broke the law by allowing our journalist to become the middleman,” the video states, not acknowledging that the “journalist” also broke the law, a fact which O’Keefe acknowledged at today’s press conference, but blew off, saying “I’m not running for president.”
As for that press conference, the Daily Beast’s Olivia Nuzzi was in attendance, and needless to say, neither she nor any of the other reporters were impressed by O’Keefe’s “revelations”:
Where did I go wrong in life that this morning I find myself at a James O'Keefe press conference
— Olivia Nuzzi (@Olivianuzzi) September 1, 2015
James O'Keefe is showing a video of Clinton staffers allegedly illegally allowing a Canadian woman to buy campaign swag
— Olivia Nuzzi (@Olivianuzzi) September 1, 2015
That's literally it.
— Olivia Nuzzi (@Olivianuzzi) September 1, 2015
I feel like I am inside of a gigantic hoax
— Olivia Nuzzi (@Olivianuzzi) September 1, 2015
O'Keefe days 1 Canadian lady trying to buy a t shirt is just like what Dinesh D'Souza did
— Olivia Nuzzi (@Olivianuzzi) September 1, 2015
I can't stop laughing
— Olivia Nuzzi (@Olivianuzzi) September 1, 2015
"We do have other evidence that's coming out that's going to be more officials across the country breaking the law" O'Keefe says
— Olivia Nuzzi (@Olivianuzzi) September 1, 2015
"It's not about the dollar amount. It's about the willingness to break the law" O'Keefe says. The dollar amount is $75, for the record.
— Olivia Nuzzi (@Olivianuzzi) September 1, 2015
O'Keefe admits he didn't contact the FEC about this allegedly illegal activity and at this time they don't plan to contact the FEC
— Olivia Nuzzi (@Olivianuzzi) September 1, 2015
O’Keefe saved the best for last, however, in his characterization of the operative who captured herself on camera breaking campaign finance laws:
"These are not amateurs. We have a sort of seal team 6" O'Keefe says of his undercover "journalists"
— Olivia Nuzzi (@Olivianuzzi) September 1, 2015
Watch the entire video below Project Veritas.
