It's a conservative organization. Of course. Neither party wants to be infiltrated like this. In more recent years, Prince has remained a mover and shaker and a controversial figure on the international stage. By Derek Royden - July 2, 2021 2466 SOURCE NationofChange And so I was able to piece that together. You know, was it effective? No one tells Project Veritas who or what to investigate, he said. GOLDMAN: Well, as we started reporting on Erik Prince and Richard Seddon, I became deeply interested in learning who, in fact, was working for this organization. McMaster. Now, you mentioned Project Veritas. Im not ashamed of the methods that we use or the recordings that we use, he said. For example, a 2017 meeting he attended with a crown prince of the United Arab Emirates and an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin became a part of the impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump, whom he has served as informal adviser. document.write ("'><\/scr"+"ipt>"); Is that what these interviews were about? Good stuff, Mr. Seddon wrote back. The two men had known each other since Mr. Princes days running Blackwater, and shared an affinity for guns and the American West. They need some spy training and covert military, paramilitary training at his ranch. The list included John Cox, then the director of the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services, and Scott Talbott, then the director of the Wyoming Game and Fish Department. if( width > 480 ){ 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. We're going to take a break here. Prince said he thought hed registered to vote when hed obtained a Wyoming drivers license in October 2017. Mr. And they - the purpose for - they themselves will launch this undercover operation and then, you know, secretly record you - audio, video - and then make a video out of it and, you know, expose what they describe as wrongdoing. That same day Oct. 9, 2017 Prince obtained a Wyomings drivers license, which he touted in another interview with Breitbart a few days later. The training was done by a guy - a lot of the training was done by a guy named Richard Seddon, S-E-D-D-O-N. Who is he? A spokesman for Mr. And then as I sort of gathered - started to gather information on this, I knew this was going to be a story. DAVIES: Right. 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. 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. And they said, well, you know, she worked for Project Veritas. Erik Prince Helped Raise Money for Conservative Spy Venture, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/08/us/politics/erik-prince-spy-operation-trump-democrats.html. 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 both say they didnt interview anyone in the state for the article. 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. And we all sort of wracked our brains to try to figure out if, like, has this been done before? He's a reporter for The New York Times. Oct. 21, 2020. Presented with the details of the operation, Ledeen told the Times she was just a messenger, "not part of a plot.". Valued at roughly $12 million by the Park County Assessors Office, the property includes a 17,470-square-foot residence that ranks among the largest in the area; county records show Prince owns a smaller home on an adjoining 10-acre parcel. (SOUNDBITE OF BRUNO COULAIS' "SPINK AND FORCIBLE"). But I didn't reveal that I knew Beau and Sofia had lived at that house at the time because we were working - concurrently, we were working on this larger story about them. He added, With Trump getting 70 percent of the vote, it shows how the Democrats have been able to control our elections with putting on a Republican coat., Mr. Gordon took office in January 2019. GOLDMAN: Well, that's a great question and one we struggle with at the Times in trying to put this in context. DAVIES: When Richard Seddon and Erik Prince got connected with Veritas and cooperated on some of these operations, what was the effect on Veritas? They received training for covert operations at a ranch near Cody owned by Blackwater founder Erik Prince, where Maier's mother works as a cook. That's how you found them, and that's what raised the question? DAVIES: You know, the other thing that I wanted to just clarify to the extent I can is how much of a driving force Erik Prince was in this. And, you know, and he is - you know, he's an international businessman. And Glenn Beck, Beau's uncle, gave a toast. DAVIES: Adam Goldman, thank you so much for speaking with us. So what exactly was the plan to (laughter) catch McMaster saying something he shouldn't? So he's going to pop up in all sorts of different places. And they targeted - Project Veritas had a whole series. Mr. Blackwater Worldwide founder Erik Prince is considering a Republican primary challenge to Wyoming Senator John Barrasso, a senior member of the Senate GOP leadership team, in a race that could pit the party's establishment against insurgents inspired by allies of President Donald Trump. document.write (document.charset ? And Prince comes up in the special council report - Robert Mueller's report. They had a - someone came to the Post. And then they married last week. And then on a parallel but different track, you know, Sofia is trying to make her way through the Young Democrats of Wyoming, the Wyoming Democratic Party, you know, building her bona fides as an eager, young Democrat. GOLDMAN: She was very active. He said that he did not think so. Most notably, Prince had incorrectly asserted under the penalties of perjury he had been registered to vote in Wyoming since 2017.. So while Times staff members may vote, they are not allowed to endorse or campaign for candidates or political causes. Mr. The special counsels report said that Mr. Mr. Prince noted he owned a home in Wyoming and had been connected to the state since 1992. They also did the secret interviews at the airport in Cody in the - at the Prince hangar. Did it expand the number of people that they had? So somebody was just waiting - and it turned out to be me and Mark - to come along and make the connection between the Sofia de LaRocca (ph) out in Wyoming and "Maria," quote, unquote, on the Project Veritas Exposed website. It is unclear how many potential donors Mr. As education secretary, Ms. DeVos has been a vocal critic of teachers unions, saying in 2018 that they have a stranglehold over politicians at the federal and state levels. 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. (SOUNDBITE OF GOGOL BORDELLO'S "NOT A CRIME"). But then they got reversed stung by the Post, which was quite a moment. GOLDMAN: Yeah. 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. But they thanked us for bringing, you know, putting some sunlight on this. You'd have to ask Mr. O'Keefe. - not quick-hit videos or, you know, shorter-term operations, which I think people say Mr. O'Keefe wanted to do. #Veritas pic.twitter.com/4IFvjKurGK, In the pending defamation case, Princes attorneys have cited that reporting as evidence The Intercept knew Prince did his business from Wyoming, going as far as to allege the articles unstated focus was on Princes reputation and livelihood in Wyoming., The Intercept attorneys, however, pointed to past statements from Prince and records indicating he lives in Virginia. DAVIES: It was a risk because she couldn't effectively work undercover if they'd been exposed by this organization that's critical of Veritas? Of course, everybody's familiar with Watergate, right? At the time, Prince was exploring the possibility of mounting a Republican primary challenge to incumbent U.S. Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo. Published October 16, 2017. Even if it is true that Prince now genuinely considers himself a Wyoming resident, it cannot be said that [The Intercept] could fairly anticipate being [hauled] into court in Wyoming, the attorneys wrote in a September filing. 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 . So it was a fascinating moment in time last year when I realized what I suspected Beau and Sofia were doing. if (document.mmm_fo) document.write ("&mmm_fo=1"); There was a massacre at a plaza in Iraq. Prince recruited Mr. Seddon to join the conservative group Project Veritas to teach espionage skills to its operatives and manage its undercover operations. And it would - you know, and make an enormous amount of money. On Sept. 30, Prince personally visited the Park County Elections Office, registered and cast a general election ballot, according to the clerks office. There's a long backstory there. Erik Prince, a Park County resident and founder of the controversial private military firm Blackwater, is suing a national news organization in federal court in Wyoming after it published an. GOLDMAN: Well, I don't know if he is primarily the guy. Last year, the group received a $1 million contribution made through the law firm Alston & Bird, a financial document obtained by The New York Times showed. And they received what was essentially clandestine training at a ranch in Wyoming that's owned by the family of Erik Prince. Later that year, Mr. So we had never seen something like that. But, you know, over 18, they - it grew closer. Erik Prince, the founder of Blackwater, a private security contractor firm used extensively by the administration of George W Bush, is said to be "seriously considering" challenging Wyoming. Erik Prince, founder and CEO of Blackwater Worldwide, in 2008. DAVIES: Let me reintroduce you again. Mr. Mark Gordon, who was viewed as a RINO in some Wyoming conservative circles. DAVIES: Right. Mr. Seddon directed an undercover operative to secretly tape the unions local leaders and try to gather information that could be made public to damage the organization, documents show. That was certainly a catalyst. Sofia is from Maryland. But her picture was on this website. That includes a pair of donations he made in March and October, in which he apparently listed his address as a post office box in Middleburg, Virginia. And so these people were brought on to help manage these many, many, many, many operations. Ms. Jorge, 25, did not respond to email addresses associated with her Liberty University account. At the time I signed my [September] declaration I believed Jones Creek and CMNS to be Wyoming entities, but I have subsequently learned they are not; I believe they are Delaware entities, Prince wrote in the document, which he signed from California. Mr. Seddons recruitment of Mr. officer who went on to win an important House seat in Virginia as a Democrat. Adam Goldman is a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter for The New York Times. Anyone can read what you share. Remind us who he is. And her picture wasn't her name GOLDMAN: It was a fake name, Maria. 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. GOLDMAN: Yeah, I would say an active - sure, an active player in certain parts of Trump's world, yeah, or conservative - the conservative world. DAVIES: That's the Government Accountability Office. 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. Erik Prince, Betsy DeVos's brother, is also deeply steeped in far-right militancy. (Last week, Trump pardoned the four Blackwater guards who were convicted of crimes in connection with the killings in Baghdad.). Anyone can read what you share. Did it expand their operations? If you are a current print subscriber, you can set up a free web account by clicking here. Funneling money surreptitiously to campaigns through other donors known as straw man donations would violate federal campaign finance laws. We rely on our journalists to be independent observers. The New York Times published an article chronicling a Wapiti, Wyoming-based espianoge effort. Neither party wants to be, you know, exposed to this kind of spycraft - right? For his part, Prince swears he never met with anyone from Wagner Group a denial The Intercept included in its reporting. I mean, he - it seems that - it's our understanding that Prince introduced Seddon to Project Veritas. And, you know, Seddon then reached out to, you know, a family - an old friend who had worked at the FBI. DAVIES: And then Beau and Sofia married, right? In the case of the FBI, you know, they were looking for bias to see if somebody - they could get somebody to say something anti-Trump, which, of course, fit the theme at the time because, you know, these infamous text messages between these two FBI officials who had worked on the Russia investigation - the FBI's Russia investigation had come out, right? And it's a fascinating story. Prince, saying he lied about the circumstances of his meeting with a Russian banker in the Seychelles in January 2017. 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. For example, the co-authors of the piece in dispute, Cole and Alex Emmons, say theyre New York and Washington, D.C., residents whove never been to Wyoming. GOLDMAN: Erik Prince is the well-known founder of Blackwater, the security contractors who were involved in the massacre in Iraq. Prince declined to comment. GOLDMAN: Yes, very wealthy and very conservative. 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. (Photo: Gerry Broome/AP) MIDDLEBURG, Va. 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