And I got swept away reporting on that and eventually was able to come back to it. We're going to take a break here. contractor who is best known as the founder of the private military firm Blackwater and whose sister, Betsy DeVos, was Mr. Trump's education secretary has drawn. 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. Mr. And this is FRESH AIR. This item is available in full to subscribers. But Trump would, from time to time, cite Project Veritas videos in his, you know, comments, public comments and speeches, right? Why were they targeting H.R. Mr. DAVIES: Right. Mr. Seddon was not. (SOUNDBITE OF FRANK ZAPPA'S "EAT THAT QUESTION"). 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. We'll continue our conversation in just a moment. Of course. There was a massacre at a plaza in Iraq. I'm Dave Davies, in for Terry Gross, who's off this week. And Beau eventually divorced his wife. DAVIES: Right. Prince and Mr. Seddon said the goal of the private spying operation was to gather dirt both on Democrats and RINOs slang in conservative circles for Republicans in name only. The plan was to begin in Wyoming, they said, and expand operations from there. Most notably, Prince had incorrectly asserted under the penalties of perjury he had been registered to vote in Wyoming since 2017.. And they - you know, I think they - it seemed like they were seeking revenge. And then, you know, they both end up giving to the DNC. And, yeah, people steal lawn signs. And they start trying to make inroads in the Wyoming Democratic Party. What did they show? In August 2017, Ms. Jorge wrote to Mr. Seddon that she had managed to record a local union leader talking about Ms. DeVos and other topics. I don't know. Prince submitted his own declaration to presiding U.S. District Judge Alan Johnson in September, disputing The Intercepts reporting and laying out some of his bona fides as a Wyomingite. Prince is separately under investigation by the Justice Department on unrelated matters, according to people familiar with the case. In 2016, a Project Veritas operative infiltrated Democracy Partners using a fake name and fabricated rsum and made secret recordings of the staff. But it was not her real name. 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. He's a former British intelligence officer who served in Washington, D.C., and in Pakistan and eventually leaves the British Secret Intelligence Service and develops some relationship with Erik. (Last week, Trump pardoned the four Blackwater guards who were convicted of crimes in connection with the killings in Baghdad.). What was going on there? DAVIES: What did you learn about how Beau and Sofia met? And it's not clear to us if he was making any money off of this. The Times previously reported that, in 2016 and 2017, Mr. Meanwhile, Prince is once again registered as a Park County voter. The New York Times broke the news of Princes potential run on Oct. 8, 2017, saying hed recently traveled to Wyoming to explore ways to establish residency there., The following day, Breitbart Editor-in-Chief Alex Marlow asked Prince whether the Times report was real or fake news, mentioning, Im not 100% positive on your connection to Wyoming.. That same day Oct. 9, 2017 Prince obtained a Wyomings drivers license, which he touted in another interview with Breitbart a few days later. So he had pitched this idea of a private security force to largely replace American troops in Afghanistan. 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. And, you know, these were - they were not really long-term operations. The year after the sting, Democracy Partners sued Project Veritas, and its lawyers have since deposed Mr. OKeefe. DAVIES: They targeted ACORN. DAVIES: They'd gotten formal training in this. And then Seddon - you know, he stays on. To continue reading, you will need to either log in to your subscriber account, or purchase a subscription. But (laughter) this seemed to be the training out in Wyoming. Erik Prince, the founder of private military company Blackwater, whose sister Betsy DeVos was Trump's education secretary, trained the spies Their job was to find out who was disparaging Trump. He said that numerous sources were coming to the group providing confidential documents, insights into internal processes and wearing hidden cameras to expose corruption and misconduct.. And they were doing this - it appears that they were doing this from the house where Beau and Sofia lived with others. McMaster. This is FRESH AIR. Mr. Seddon regularly updated Mr. OKeefe about the operation against the Michigan teachers union, according to internal Project Veritas emails, where the language of the groups leaders is marbled with spy jargon. I mean, people did shoot guns. McMaster. Prince a former C.I.A. And then I talked to somebody else. This espionage operation was aimed at perceived enemies of Trump and included a planned sting operation against former national security adviser H.R. Prince registered to vote in Park County back in 1992, but that registration lapsed after he failed to vote in the countys 2002 elections, according to county records. And ultimately, it did blow up in their face. He was leading training. In 2018, Ms. Jorge infiltrated the congressional campaign of Ms. Spanberger, posing as a campaign volunteer. document.write ("?zoneid="+zoneId+"&block=1&blockcampaign=1"); Prince noted he owned a home in Wyoming and had been connected to the state since 1992. 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. The Intercept, however, wants the complaint dismissed. Once a small operation running on a shoestring budget, Project Veritas in recent years has had a surge in donations from both private donors and conservative foundations. One of the undercover operatives also got a job working for a consortium of wealthy liberal donors the Wyoming Investor Network which had made a strategic decision to support Republican moderate candidates over those more closely aligned with Mr. Trumps agenda, the documents say. There is little publicly available information about the company, but multiple Prince ventures, including Blackwater, have been based out of Moyock, North Carolina. GOLDMAN: Well, I think it was - our latest story revealed, you know, at least one person who had been working for the Democrats thought that Sofia likely might have gotten some damaging information about Democratic efforts to help, you know, moderate Republicans. DAVIES: This is FRESH AIR. Beau picks up - starts working this marijuana legalization angle to try to make contacts with people - elected officials who are, in fact, pushing this bill to legalize marijuana. 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. 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. 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. met with White House and Pentagon officials. In particular, you know, Sofia targeted a employee with the GAO. But, you know, O'Keefe brags on the Instagram photo that they're going to be the world's best intelligence agency - I believe that's what it says - not the world's best journalists. Remind us who he is. We rely on our journalists to be independent observers. DAVIES: But Sofia was just - she was active. In fact, I wrote a memo about what I had found. A document that month said that Mr. Seddons operatives had identified three potential sources in the new governors administration and have begun accelerated cultivations with a view to early recruitment., Later in January, the operatives wrote that they had successfully recruited another source with a role in the new governors administration, adding that the source has agreed to provide insights, help expose corruption and assist with eventual placement of undercovers.. 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. Ms. Jorge, 25, did not respond to email addresses associated with her Liberty University account. O'Keefe did not respond to the substance of the Times' report but did accuse the newspaper of running a "smear piece" on Project Veritas. Last year, the House Intelligence Committee made a criminal referral to the Justice Department about Mr. More stories from theweek.comThe Republican theory of unemployment is classic MarxThere's growing speculation that Meghan Markle and Prince Harry will name their daughter 'Philippa'A short history of White House cats, American businessman and founder of Blackwater USA (born 1969), New Zealand politician and Prime Minister (18451906), 26th United States National Security Advisor, Read more about the operation and its cast of characters at, The Republican theory of unemployment is classic Marx, There's growing speculation that Meghan Markle and Prince Harry will name their daughter 'Philippa', Chicago Mayor Lightfoot ousted; Vallas, Johnson in runoff, King asks Duke and Duchess of Sussex to move out of Frogmore so Prince Andrew can move in, Biden Mocks Marjorie Taylor Greene With 1 Simple Hand Gesture, A Nebraska high-school cheerleader competed on her own after the rest of her squad quit. If you already have a web account, but need to reset it, you can do so by clicking here. So while Times staff members may vote, they are not allowed to endorse or campaign for candidates or political causes. But when I learned about Beau and Sofia last year - there's a website, Project Veritas Exposed. Reaching out to several intelligence veterans and occasionally using Mr. Seddon to make the pitch Mr. Amid his globe-trotting, however, Prince says he does most of his work from Wyoming and calls Park County home. DAVIES: This is FRESH AIR. Mr. Seddon was a longtime British intelligence officer who served around the world, including in Washington in the years after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Prince has previously been involved in trying to find dirt on Democratic politicians. document.write ('&cb=' + m3_r); In apparent response to inquiries from the Tribune about the two companies ties to Wyoming, Princes revised declaration said he misidentified the names of the entities. 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