When it was revealed that a woman tried to trick the Washington Post into publishing a false story that Roy Moore had impregnated her as a teen, it wasn’t surprising that she’s reportedly involved with Project Veritas. The organization is known for filming undercover videos and using deceptive editing techniques to shame journalists and liberal-leaning organizations.
And it’s certainly not the first time James O’Keefe, the 33-year-old conservative activist who founded Project Veritas, schemed to trip up the media—only to be caught in the act.
Will Sommer, campaign editor for the Hill, used O’Keefe’s latest conspiracy as an opportunity to make a list of all the times the so-called sting artist ended up stinging himself. Here are some of the highlights.
First, there was the time in 2010 when O’Keefe tried to “lure a CNN contributor onto a boat stocked with dildoes, only to have his plan exposed by one of his staffers.”
2010: James O'Keefe tries to lure a CNN contributor onto a boat stocked with dildoes, only to have his plan exposed by one of his staffers https://t.co/YLg1VPqv1b pic.twitter.com/sL3XcF0sT7
— Will Sommer (@willsommer) November 27, 2017
Then there’s the time O’Keefe’s plan to penetrate an organization belonging to Democrat George Soros was foiled when O’Keefe accidentally left a voicemail for the target with details of the operation.
2016: O'Keefe's attempt to penetrate a George Soros foundation is blown when O'Keefe forgets to end a voicemail to one target, leaving a recording of his staff planning the entire sting pic.twitter.com/74vFTMs6sk
— Will Sommer (@willsommer) November 27, 2017
In 2014, O’Keefe—who has a penchant for disguises—posed as a civics professor with a mustache to uncover voting fraud among Democrats, “only for his operatives to be turned away by Democrats.”
One more: 2014 – O'Keefe poses as a mustachioed "civics professor" to uncover Dem voter fraud, only for his operatives to be turned away by Democrats https://t.co/NB7VCUOpkw pic.twitter.com/SlxUBWxV5Q
— Will Sommer (@willsommer) November 27, 2017
The attempted hit on the Washington Post isn’t the first time O’Keefe’s operatives have messed up a sting. One reportedly left his phone and cufflinks (which were possibly a recording device) lying around; another got busted after being too nosy about teacher-student relations.
The recent Washington Post sting seems to have collapsed because the operative forgot to take down her GoFundMe page.
All of these covers blown? It’s almost like O’Keefe is wearing desert camouflage in the snow.
Finally, I'd be remiss if I didn't include O'Keefe posing as an arctic mercenary pic.twitter.com/ZCQcixG33c
— Will Sommer (@willsommer) November 27, 2017