Project Veritas, the conservative activist group known for its undercover investigations, announced that it would suspend all operations amid significant layoffs and failed fundraising efforts.
According to a letter titled “Reduction in Force” sent to Project Veritas staffers by HR director Jennifer Kiyak, the organization is struggling to bring in money months after firing its founder, James O’Keefe.
“In the interest of preserving the possible future existence of Project Veritas, we need to put operations on pause and, as communicated since the Spring, another Reduction in Force (“RIF”) is necessary,” Kiyak wrote.
Six staffers were reportedly laid off this week alone, which includes all remaining journalists and one development associate.
The letter added that Project Veritas can no longer “carry the present staff count any longer,” reminding those being laid off of their nondisclosure agreements.
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A former Project Veritas staffer said only 11 people remain on the non-profit’s payroll, including CEO Hannah Giles, who replaced O’Keefe.
Earlier this year, O’Keefe was ousted from the conservative organization over allegations that he used the company’s money on personal luxuries.
His firing was met with a wide span of disapproval, leading to the downfall of Project Veritas’ once-popular platform.
At the start of September, Mediaite reported that Giles admitted the organization was in dire shape based on an internal meeting. Essentially, the Project Veritas CEO admitted that the operation needed to adopt a bankruptcy mindset to get out of its financial hole but stopped short of declaring they would file those official papers.
Christian Hartsock, the former chief investigative journalist at Project Veritas, was laid off in August and said he has no idea what “operations” are left even to suspend.
He claimed that Giles “canned the entire production staff of a production company and the entire journalist leadership staff of a journalism company over a month ago. So what exact ‘operations’ has she been continuing with remaining donor money — given for the sole purpose of journalism production — for the past month?”
Former staff blamed lack of funding and poor management for the organization’s woes.
“It appears that in the few months since Project Veritas ousted James, it continued to spend money at the same rate, blowing through the many millions of dollars James had previously raised for it — despite PV having no new sources of fundraising,” O’Keefe’s attorney, Jeffrey Lichtman said. “This is highly suspect, and we would welcome a full audit of PV’s finances to learn where that money was actually spent.”
Here's Project Veritas' statement in full concerning their suspension of fundraising operations:
For more than a decade, Project Veritas has led the pursuit of transparency and truth in the media and other powerful institutions.
Due to various events and circumstances, we are making changes in the operations of our organization including laying off additional employees. Our hearts go out to our colleagues and their families as this difficult transition occurs, and we thank them for their dedication and hard work and hope for the best new opportunities for them.
Project Veritas is continuing to operate, but we are pausing our fundraising efforts and proactively taking steps to honor our donors’ expectations and to preserve the trust the American people have placed in us.
We are sincerely grateful for everyone who supports us in fulfilling our mission. It is our sincere hope that Project Veritas can continue many more years of delivering truth for the American people.
Hannah Giles, CEO, Project Veritas
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Editor's Note: The original headline for this piece indicated that Project Veritas had declared bankruptcy. That was inaccurate. The organization hasn't officially filed for bankruptcy, and the suspension of fundraising operations isn't the same. This post has been updated with corrections. We apologize for this error.
