Project Veritas' James O'Keefe now on paid leave as company allegedly endures internal battle

Founder and chairman of Project Veritas James O'Keefe is now on paid leave, with the organization's board considering removing him from a leadership role, according to a report by New York magazine, claiming to have spoken to current and former employees.

The report states that Project Veritas employees were sent an internal message by the organization's executive director, Daniel Strack, which stated that O'Keefe was taking “a few weeks of well-deserved [paid time off].”

The message was allegedly seen by the outlet and later confirmed by a current employee at Project Veritas.

The alleged message said that the company was in a “distracting time,” mentioning that two Project Veritas executives had been reinstated who were allegedly fired by O'Keefe recently.

Reporters contacted O'Keefe via his personal cell phone, but the investigative journalist declined to comment on calls or text messages.

Strack later released a statement saying that “like all newsrooms at this stage, the Project Veritas Board of Directors and Management are constantly evaluating what the best path forward is for the organization."

“There are 65+ employees at Project Veritas dedicated to continuing the mission to expose corruption, dishonesty, waste, fraud, and other misconduct in both public and private institutions,” said Strack.

“To our supporters: We hear you, we care about you, and we will never give up,” he added.

A different report claims that a third of the company's employees wrote an internal memo claiming that O'Keefe had been particularly mean to workers.

Employees allegedly felt “publicly humiliated” by O'Keefe, suffering through what was described as “public crucifixions.”

“I would describe Project Veritas’ current environment with this saying: ‘The beatings will continue until morale improves,’” a staffer allegedly wrote in the memo.

According to the report, the employees have many odd claims, ranging from polygraph tests to spitting and all the way to food stealing.

These reports remain unverified. However, New York magazine reports that a source inside the company claims that Project Veritas is divided between board members and employees. The board is allegedly dissatisfied with O'Keefe's management, while a group of employees remain loyal to the founder.

Project Veritas has not yet replied to a request for comment.

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