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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsHas James OKeefe Accidentally Stung Himself Again?
James OKeefe III, the conservative activist famous for undercover stings, has dedicated his life to exposing the misconduct of others. But hes developed a side business in accidentally exposing his own. In the latest chapter of his strange career, the League of Conservation Voters, a national environmental-advocacy group, has filed a complaint against three individuals who infiltrated its operations, at least two of whom, the group alleges, could be associated with OKeefe and have past ties to him. The groups leaders recently began to suspect that they were being scammed, and decided to go to the authorities before OKeefe or his alleged associates released any material on their own.
In a six-page letter of complaint sent to the California Department of Justice on Friday, the League of Conservation Voters, or L.C.V., asked the states attorney general, Xavier Becerra, to open a criminal investigation into the operatives for potential fraud, racketeering, unfair business practices, trespassing, invasion of privacy, and possible violation of the states two-way-consent eavesdropping laws. The environmental group filed the letter in California because the imposters, as it labelled the operatives, first made contact with the organization through its state branch in the San Francisco Bay Area. A spokesperson for the California Department of Justice declined to comment, as is its policy on potential criminal investigations.
OKeefe, whom I reached by phone on Tuesday, said that he was unaware of the letter and otherwise declined to discuss the matter. I dont comment on investigations real or imagined, or work with mainstream reporters who operate in bad faith, he told me. In 2016, I wrote an article for this magazine about OKeefes bungled attempt to sting George Soross Open Society Foundations, a liberal nonprofit group that OKeefe had targeted.
L.C.V.s letter describes an elaborate, six-month-long scheme. It alleges that the three operatives created false personasbacked up with fake Facebook, LinkedIn, and e-mail accountsunder which they met with dozens of the groups staffers, board members, and donors, and gained access to confidential information. According to the letter, at least two of the individuals, who are identified as Christian Hartsock and Daniel Sandini, have reportedly worked with OKeefe in the past, though L.C.V.s letter acknowledges that the group doesnt know whether OKeefe was directly involved in the sting or merely inspired a copycat operation. Hartsock and Sandini also have connections to Stephen K. Bannon, President Trumps chief political adviser: they both received film credits in Occupy Unmasked, a 2012 documentary directed by Bannon. The films cast notes describe Hartsock as a longtime collaborator of OKeefes and a protégé of Andrew Breitbart, the late founder of the right-wing Web site Breitbart News, which Bannon ran prior to joining Trumps Presidential campaign last year. They also say that Sandini is inspired by Andrew Breitbart and James OKeefe. The third individual named in the letter, Ann Vandersteel, is a conservative online commentator who has promoted conspiracy theories including Pizzagate, the election-season right-wing fantasy that claimed Hillary Clintons campaign was running a child-molestation ring in the basement of a Washington pizza parlor that, among other things, has no basement. (Hartsock declined to comment for this article, and attempts to reach Sandini and Vandersteel were unsuccessful.)
http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/has-james-okeefe-accidentally-stung-himself-again/amp
In a six-page letter of complaint sent to the California Department of Justice on Friday, the League of Conservation Voters, or L.C.V., asked the states attorney general, Xavier Becerra, to open a criminal investigation into the operatives for potential fraud, racketeering, unfair business practices, trespassing, invasion of privacy, and possible violation of the states two-way-consent eavesdropping laws. The environmental group filed the letter in California because the imposters, as it labelled the operatives, first made contact with the organization through its state branch in the San Francisco Bay Area. A spokesperson for the California Department of Justice declined to comment, as is its policy on potential criminal investigations.
OKeefe, whom I reached by phone on Tuesday, said that he was unaware of the letter and otherwise declined to discuss the matter. I dont comment on investigations real or imagined, or work with mainstream reporters who operate in bad faith, he told me. In 2016, I wrote an article for this magazine about OKeefes bungled attempt to sting George Soross Open Society Foundations, a liberal nonprofit group that OKeefe had targeted.
L.C.V.s letter describes an elaborate, six-month-long scheme. It alleges that the three operatives created false personasbacked up with fake Facebook, LinkedIn, and e-mail accountsunder which they met with dozens of the groups staffers, board members, and donors, and gained access to confidential information. According to the letter, at least two of the individuals, who are identified as Christian Hartsock and Daniel Sandini, have reportedly worked with OKeefe in the past, though L.C.V.s letter acknowledges that the group doesnt know whether OKeefe was directly involved in the sting or merely inspired a copycat operation. Hartsock and Sandini also have connections to Stephen K. Bannon, President Trumps chief political adviser: they both received film credits in Occupy Unmasked, a 2012 documentary directed by Bannon. The films cast notes describe Hartsock as a longtime collaborator of OKeefes and a protégé of Andrew Breitbart, the late founder of the right-wing Web site Breitbart News, which Bannon ran prior to joining Trumps Presidential campaign last year. They also say that Sandini is inspired by Andrew Breitbart and James OKeefe. The third individual named in the letter, Ann Vandersteel, is a conservative online commentator who has promoted conspiracy theories including Pizzagate, the election-season right-wing fantasy that claimed Hillary Clintons campaign was running a child-molestation ring in the basement of a Washington pizza parlor that, among other things, has no basement. (Hartsock declined to comment for this article, and attempts to reach Sandini and Vandersteel were unsuccessful.)
http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/has-james-okeefe-accidentally-stung-himself-again/amp
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