I think Trump pardoned at least one. Between 1992 and 2001, Prince often listed Park County as his home, consistent with his voting records. But he was extremely wealthy conservative in Wyoming named Foster Friess, who had actually run for governor in '18. And so I was able to piece that together. You know, again, as when Barbara Ledeen, the staffer for the Senate Judiciary Committee, which was run by Chuck Grassley, you know, was trying to find Hillary Clinton's missing emails, and Prince gets involved in that, too. I mean, we know that Erik Prince was trying to sell a plan to the Trump administration to put these - for him, in fact, to put a private, you know, army of a bunch of mercenaries in Afghanistan and sort of take over those responsibilities from the government, sort of, in some ways, replace the U.S. forces on the ground there. They were undercover conservative operatives, the paper discovered, who had been trained at a ranch belonging to Blackwater founder Erik Prince by a former MI6 officer with ties to the right-wing . State records show Moyock Medical Supplies was formed in Wyoming by an associate of Princes on April 15 two days after The Intercept published its article. And they were deeply critical of Trump. And then Seddon - you know, he stays on. Defendants wrote and published a false and defamatory article about a Wyoming residents Wyoming-based business activities knowing that it would cause harm principally in Wyoming, New York attorney Matthew Schwartz charged in one filing. Not saying this is the case with Mr. O'Keefe, but it's sort of hard to fundraise that way if you're only doing one thing a year or if it's - you know, there are long periods of silence between each expose. You know, they were angry too, right? And they start trying to make inroads in the Wyoming Democratic Party. And they - you know, I think they - it seemed like they were seeking revenge. And I got swept away reporting on that and eventually was able to come back to it. WASHINGTON A British former spy recruited by Erik Prince, the security contractor close to the Trump administration, played a central role in a secretive effort to hire dozens . I don't know. If Judge Johnson concludes he lacks jurisdiction to hear the case in Wyoming, Princes attorneys say the suit should be transferred to the Southern District of New York, where The Intercept is based. Copyright 2021 NPR. But, you know, his sister is Betsy DeVos, and she was Secretary of Education during the Trump administration. Erik Prince, founder of the private military firm Blackwater, helped raise money for a political-intelligence operation run by Richard Seddon, a former British spy. We know that political operatives will gather opposition research as it's called - right? WASHINGTON Erik Prince, the security contractor with close ties to the Trump administration, has in recent years helped recruit former American and British spies for secretive intelligence-gathering operations that included infiltrating Democratic congressional campaigns, labor organizations and other groups considered hostile to the Trump agenda, according to interviews and documents. But what is clear is if Beau and Sofia made these campaign contributions - right? Princes attorneys responded that, if the judge has any doubts about Wyoming being the appropriate venue for the case, they should be allowed to learn the identity of The Intercepts confidential sources. DAVIES: Let's talk about some of the people who are behind this. And ultimately, it did blow up in their face. Last year, Project Veritas submitted a proposed list of witnesses for the trial over the lawsuit. DAVIES: And when we say they targeted these public officials or FBI agents, what would they do? And another individual named Barbara Ledeen, who worked for a prominent senator, his committee - Chuck Grassley - she admitted her involvement, and she had actually said she had met with a Project Veritas operative. In 2018, Ms. Jorge infiltrated the congressional campaign of Ms. Spanberger, posing as a campaign volunteer. GOLDMAN: Well, again, this is a little murky. Although he owns a home in Wapiti, Prince is not generally known as a Wyoming businessman. (Last week, Trump pardoned the four Blackwater guards who were convicted of crimes in connection with the killings in Baghdad.). And they would find people, and they would go out with them. (SOUNDBITE OF BRUNO COULAIS' "SPINK AND FORCIBLE"). We rely on our journalists to be independent observers. And Beau's mom is the ranch cook at the Erik Prince family's ranch near Cody, Wyo. if (document.mmm_fo) document.write ("&mmm_fo=1"); Mr. Most notably, Prince had incorrectly asserted under the penalties of perjury he had been registered to vote in Wyoming since 2017.. This includes participating in marches or rallies in support of a movement or giving money to, or raising money for, any political candidate or election cause. Mr. Seddons role in the teachers union operation detailed in internal Project Veritas emails that have emerged from the discovery process of a court battle between the group and the union has not previously been reported, nor has Mr. Princes role in recruiting Mr. Seddon for the groups activities. You know, there seemed to be - what it showed was, you know, Prince is well-traveled and is always looking for business opportunities. (Photo: Gerry Broome/AP) MIDDLEBURG, Va. A cheery fire warmed the glass-walled conservatory of the Goodstone Inn in Virginia's. And we all sort of wracked our brains to try to figure out if, like, has this been done before? This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Wyoming is not the place for security contractor Erik Prince to sue a New York-based publication, a federal judge says. ADAM GOLDMAN: They went there after making sizable donations to the DNC, the Democratic National Committee - $10,000 each - at the request of a Colorado businessman who was a - he's a fundraiser for the Democrats and basically said, if you make this donation, you can come and hang out in Las Vegas. Did it expand the number of people that they had? WASHINGTON During the summer of 2018, as Richard Seddon, a former British spy, was trying to launch a new venture to use undercover agents to infiltrate progressive groups, Democratic campaigns and other opponents of President Donald J. Trump, he turned for help to a longtime friend and former colleague: Erik Prince, the private military contractor. What was going on there? Presented with the details of the operation, Ledeen told the Times she was just a messenger, "not part of a plot.". They - you know, there's a wide range of targets, and many of them have been exposed. James OKeefe, the head of Project Veritas, last year at a White House social media summit. How Times reporters cover politics. Sofia makes a contribution - a small contribution to a woman she had befriended who ran, unsuccessfully, for the Wyoming state legislature. And they targeted a reporter, a Washington - a very good Washington Post reporter named Stephanie McCrummen, who - they picked up on it very, very, very quickly GOLDMAN: And figured out that this woman was not who she said she was. - where you have people in your organization who aren't who they say they are, you know, collecting intelligence, if that's what you want to call it. There were steps taken to advance this plan, but in the end, it didn't happen because McMaster was fired. So they were interviewing people who wanted to become operatives. DAVIES: This is FRESH AIR. Neither party wants to be, you know, exposed to this kind of spycraft - right? DAVIES: Right. Mr. Princes role in the effort, which has not been previously disclosed, sheds further light on how a group of ultraconservative Republicans employed spycraft to try to manipulate the American political landscape. Using a different alias the next year, the same undercover operative infiltrated the congressional campaign of Abigail Spanberger, then a former C.I.A. So flesh out the picture a bit. Accuracy and availability may vary. You know, I think part of Mr. O'Keefe's motto - I think it's important for him to have regular and consistent content - right? But Trump would, from time to time, cite Project Veritas videos in his, you know, comments, public comments and speeches, right? After Mr. You know, was it effective? GOLDMAN: Yes, very wealthy and very conservative. A man named Samuel Chamberlain who matched the description of the one employed by Mr. OKeefe denied he worked for Project Veritas. DAVIES: But the idea was that these public officials or FBI agents were secretly - they were part of the deep state. You know, a big question about the stories that you've described is, is this activity illegal, what the couple did in Wyoming, you know, presenting themselves as - dishonestly as active Democrats in order to get information? And so, you know, I can't tell you right now it hasn't, that somebody else isn't doing this. The campaign discovered the operative and fired her. Their names are Beau Maier and Sofia LaRocca, and they're in Las Vegas for a Democratic primary debate. What's interesting about that Instagram post - and you can see it yourself, it's still out there - they like to describe themselves as journalists. McMaster was thwarting the president's agenda - right? He's a reporter for The New York Times. In 2010, Mr. O Keefe and three others pleaded guilty to a federal misdemeanor after admitting they entered a government building in New Orleans under false pretenses as part of a sting. If you already have a web account, but need to reset it, you can do so by clicking here. Prince said he wanted the Project Veritas employees to learn skills like how to recruit sources and how to conduct clandestine recordings, among other surveillance techniques. That was the idea. The next year, during a presidential debate with Hillary Clinton, Mr. Trump claimed without substantiation that videos released by Mr. OKeefe showed that Mrs. Clinton and President Barack Obama had paid people to incite violence at rallies for Mr. Trump. Project Veritas tax filings list Mr. Halderman as a project manager.. And so these people were brought on to help manage these many, many, many, many operations. And they stopped the - they would actually stop the operatives in a car. You know, O'Keefe has clearly raised a lot of money, you know, millions of dollars. Prince to help him secure funding is just one of the new details about Mr. Seddons operation revealed in documents obtained by The Times and interviews with people familiar with his plans. And, you know, we wrote the story about the operation targeting McMaster and Georgetown. So Erik Prince, the private security contractor who is an ally and avid supporter of President Trump, connects with Project Veritas, who does these videos, and then they develop this whole different operation. I know that, you know, one of the first instances of his association with this - or maybe the first instance of his association - was in an Intercept article in which O'Keefe had posted a picture of himself firing a pistol with a silencer on Instagram. According to the documents, Mr. Seddons operatives also aimed to dig up information on Steve Harshman, the Republican speaker of the House in Wyoming at the time, who was also seen by some conservatives as not sufficiently supportive of Mr. Trump. NY Times reporter Adam Goldman describes an undercover effort, headed up by an avid Trump supporter, that trained conservatives in espionage techniques and sent them to dig up dirt on progressives. //]]>-->. But, you know, over 18, they - it grew closer. Mr. Seddon and Ms. Gore did not respond to messages. And they said, well, you know, she worked for Project Veritas. Currently, Prince leads a Hong Kong-based firm providing security, logistics, insurance and infrastructure services in parts of Africa and other high-conflict areas. We're going to take a break here. [I] was a Wyoming resident for many years,, That same day Oct. 9, 2017 Prince obtained a Wyomings drivers license, which he touted, In early 2017, Prince reportedly welcomed James OKeefe and others from the conservative group Project Veritas, which describes itself as an army of guerrilla journalists. That February, OKeefe tweeted an image of himself taking aim with a silenced handgun amid snowy mountains, saying the team was undergoing intense training from a classified location as we make Project Veritas the next great intelligence agency. The Intercept ultimately, Other outlets, however, have continued writing about the contractor. - 500, 1000. Overall, how do conservatives regard Project Veritas? So what I'm saying is from Richard Seddon's standpoint, the fact that she had a picture up on Project Veritas Exposed, that was a real risk they were taking, right? Prince a former C.I.A. GOLDMAN: No. Seddon left the project in 2018, before O'Keefe started releasing low-impact "unmasking the deep state" videos. Mr. NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. Fast-forward to 2007, and Erik Prince was living in McLean, Virginia, and spending time on his Middleburg property, Blackwater Ranch, designed as a family retreat just as his parent's home in Cody had been originally. But, yeah, this kind of actual infiltration and spying, I don't think I've run across that. We're still trying to fully understand how Project Veritas, which is founded by James O'Keefe, actually came into contact with Erik Prince. Blackwater founder Erik Prince used the rise of Donald Trump to stage an unlikely comeback that apparently included funding spy training for far-right propagandist James O'Keefe and his Project. The Powell Tribune was unable to learn Princes voter history from 2002 and 2017. Two other employees, Gaz Thomas and Samuel Chamberlain, were also identified in emails and appeared to play important roles in the Michigan operation. var m3_r = Math.floor(Math.random()*99999999999); However, in all of the 74 campaign donations hes made since 2002 including a $3,042.86 donation to the Wyoming Republican Party in 2016 Prince has been identified with a Virginia address. DAVIES: That's an airport in Cody, Wyo. Prince is under investigation by the Justice Department over whether he lied to a congressional committee examining Russian interference in the 2016 election, and for possible violations of American export laws. And I realized they were giving money to Democrats in Wyoming, Arizona and Colorado. You know, Princes are pretty savvy. document.write ("?zoneid="+zoneId+"&block=1&blockcampaign=1"); DAVIES: Right. And as I was reporting this, somebody said, well, you know, her picture, you know, she's on that website. Mr. Halderman was copied on several messages providing updates about the Michigan operation, and in one message, he gave instructions to Ms. Jorge. [I] was a Wyoming resident for many years, he told Brietbart. Mr. Prince is separately under investigation by the Justice Department on unrelated matters, according to people familiar with the case. And it would - you know, and make an enormous amount of money. 1-307-754-2221. Attorneys for the outlet say The Intercept has no particular connection to the state and Princes ties are uncertain. Prince took on the role of celebrity pitchman, according to interviews and documents, raising money for Mr. Seddons spying operation, which was aimed at gathering dirt that could discredit politicians and activists in several states. Prince declined to comment. The teachers union is asking for more than $3 million in damages, accusing the group of being a vigilante organization which claims to be dedicated to exposing corruption. Prince noted he owned a home in Wyoming and had been connected to the state since 1992. You know, in this recent story that you wrote with Mark Mazzetti of the Times, you introduce us to a couple. GOLDMAN: Yeah. And I think the end goal was make a video and, if necessary, try to get the White House to fire McMaster. That's how you found them, and that's what raised the question? Prince, a contractor close to the Trump administration, contacted veteran spies for operations by Project Veritas, the conservative group known for conducting stings on news organizations and other groups. - trying to find, you know, damaging information on, you know, on political rivals, you know, using, you know, private investigative firms. He was the one who replaced Michael Flynn after he was fired. Project Veritas has said its activities are legal and protected by the First Amendment, and the case is scheduled to go to trial in the fall. GOLDMAN: Well, some people have speculated this was some sort of back channel to Russia because there was a - I believe there was a Russian investment manager there who has ties to Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia. This includes participating in marches or rallies in support of a movement or giving money to, or raising money for, any political candidate or election cause. Those contentions have become a key point of early proceedings in the case.
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