Patterico's Pontifications

11/15/2011

Daily Beast Goes After O’Keefe

Filed under: General — Patterico @ 7:29 am



At the Daily Beast, Howie Kurtz has a piece titled: “Allies Accuse James O’Keefe of ‘Hit Job’ in Undercover NPR Sting.” A deck headline says: “The two men who pulled off James O’Keefe’s NPR sting are now criticizing the conservative activist for what one calls a ‘hit job.’ They tell Howard Kurtz exclusively why they feel exploited.”

Reading those headlines, you could not be blamed for concluding that O’Keefe’s colleagues were claiming that the video was a “hit job” in the sense of being deceptive or misleading. The quotes are accurate, to be sure, but they seem to imply something that I don’t think is delivered by the actual piece, in which the O’Keefe allies seem to be complaining (among other things) that O’Keefe pulled the trigger too fast:

James O’Keefe, the man behind the undercover project, wanted to make the hidden-camera video public immediately last February as Congress debated whether to kill NPR’s funding. Templar insisted on waiting, and a confrontation ensued.

In a series of interviews with The Daily Beast, Templar says he had designed the effort to be “a very thoroughly researched and impeccably executed project that was by no means limited to NPR. James wanted it to be a hit job.”

What’s more, says Templar, O’Keefe “didn’t seem to care about the reasons why we were doing this. All he cared about was that he had people saying embarrassing stuff on video. I came to learn how desperate he was in terms of money and needing to rehabilitate his reputation.”

The piece is an interesting read, but don’t fall for the lazy one-dimensional spin. “Simon Templar” (if that is his real name) obviously has some bones to pick with O’Keefe, and I am not going to opine on whether they are legitimate gripes. I have chatted with both men before and don’t want to take sides. But Templar doesn’t seem to be saying the piece was a fraud.

By the way, I have had mixed feelings about the NPR piece. As you can see from this post of mine, I agreed with some criticisms of his editing of that piece, while identifying some other criticisms as misleading.

I will say also that O’Keefe has faced a campaign of vilification as has been experienced by few others. People continue to falsely accuse him of an attempted wiretapping, of being on “parole,” of being a convicted felon, and various other falsehoods. He constantly has people calling his probation officer to try to get him thrown in jail for doing things that have been pre-approved. I don’t think the probation officer listens any more. It’s the story of the Pack of Leftists Who Cried Wolf 8000 Times.

As you read the piece, never forget: it’s Howie Kurtz. So keep several grains of salt handy.

85 Responses to “Daily Beast Goes After O’Keefe”

  1. O’Keefe did exactly what 60 Minutes did for the last 40 years.

    AZ Bob (26b8e0)

  2. I guess when that person or persons have big media programs like “60 Minutes” or “Dateline” they can pull all kinds of underhanded shenanigans to get a gotcha story, but when someone is doing the same thing on the other side of the aisle, it is rogue yellow journalism. Even when the facts are all true. Not like the hit pieces that “60 Minutes and “Dateline have done over the years, which used made up stuff to sell the story. The most blatant one in the last 10 years is the Dan Rathernot hit piece on George W Bush.

    Stan25 (103775)

  3. I came to learn how desperate he was in terms of money and needing to rehabilitate his reputation.

    EricPWJohnson (719277)

  4. “I was always struggling to pull him away from his shtick of walking into an office with a bizarre pretense and taping some secretary or low-level worker,” says Templar

    EricPWJohnson (719277)

  5. Ah, speaking of vilification … why, there’s EPWJ …

    SPQR (26be8b)

  6. “I was always struggling to pull him away from his shtick of walking into an office with a bizarre pretense and taping some secretary or low-level worker,” says Templar

    Because walking into a Medicaid office and asking the manager if his/her employees commit fraud is usually best way to get a story instead, right Simon?

    The series of Medicaid videos produced by Project Veritas this summer was great.

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  7. You can always tell when the Left has taken a hit

    – THEY CRY LIKE LITTLE GIRLS LOSING THEIR DOLLS:-)

    Lay on McKeefe!!!

    And to Hell with Him that says,

    “Hold, enough!”

    Ronbo (6b1d5f)

  8. “Give us the credit we’re due, that’s all we asked,” Adeleye says. “It was hijacked to his own purposes, to a degree … James is just, unfortunately, someone I cannot work with anymore.”

    Says Templar: “He needed the story to be that Shaughn and I were both just actors he hired to carry out his master plan. Otherwise, he wouldn’t get his ‘comeback’ or his ‘redemption,’ and it wouldn’t help his ‘business’ nearly as much.

    EricPWJohnson (719277)

  9. Sounds like if Simon and Shaughn had gotten the byline rather than following the advice of the PR firm hired to advise the project, they would have had no problems.

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  10. I get the impression that “Simon Templar” is jealous of O’Keeffe’s success; but he wants the glory without the leftist bullspit O’Keeffe has to put up with. By collaborating with the MFM, he gains the glory without the backlash. What a weasel.

    Gregroy of Yardale (07425b)

  11. Breitbart should be indicted any moment now.

    JD (69cf5c)

  12. Also worth remembering is that Howard Kurtz has a history of disingenuously criticizing O’Keefe and his methods.

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  13. Much like EPWJ.

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  14. Ladies & gentlemen, EricCut-and-PasteHerman-Cain-Hit-JobJohnson!!!

    YaaaaaaY!!!!!!!!!!

    Icy (7bb95e)

  15. We need to take a very close look at Tina Brown.

    Kevin Stafford (abdb87)

  16. The MFM prefers to disingenuously attack conservatives as opposed to honestly reporting the news.

    JD (69cf5c)

  17. ______________________________________________

    shtick of walking into an office with a bizarre pretense

    But if that “shtick” got the intended results, then big whoop to those who get caught with their proverbial pants down and start crying about it. Besides, if someone like a Ron Reagan Jr deserves the benefit of the doubt — and if his negative opinion of his father should be treated with respect and seriousness — than anyone and everyone deserves no less.

    Mark (411533)

  18. O’Keefe did exactly what 60 Minutes did for the last 40 years.

    Comment by AZ Bob — 11/15/2011

    Well, hopefully not including airing badly forged documents…

    Aaron Worthing (e7d72e)

  19. I think this article clearly is a beef between two men who want/took credit for a job well done on NPR.

    I am pleased that two people independent of O’keefe felt the patriotic calling to end this over the top liberal propaganda siren called NPR.

    After reading the article – i can see where the MSM is missing the point that Vivian Schiller directed her staff to take money from terrorists

    i also find it amusing the lengths that O’Keefe went to take credit for something that the other party says he really had nothing to do with

    EricPWJohnson (719277)

  20. I find it amusing your such a faggoty ann.

    Anyways if Cain were pro-abortion than PP would not have called him out.

    DohBiden (ef98f0)

  21. doh

    you were banned again from how many blogs?

    EricPWJohnson (719277)

  22. Also worth remembering is that Howard Kurtz has a history of disingenuously criticizing O’Keefe and his methods.

    Comment by daleyrocks — 11/15/2011 @ 8:57 am

    Was he the one who got in trouble for going on and on, on Twitter, calling O’Keefe a felon and claiming he was on his way to jail, or was that someone else?

    no one you know (325a59)

  23. That was uncalled for, Doh.

    JD (69cf5c)

  24. Noyk – you just described 95% of the MFM.

    JD (69cf5c)

  25. “Was he the one who got in trouble for going on and on, on Twitter, calling O’Keefe a felon and claiming he was on his way to jail, or was that someone else?”

    noyk – I think David Shuster did that on air or on twitter. EPWJ did it here.

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  26. It’s interesting that Simon Templar put out a piece under his own name on Big Government when the first NPR sting video was released criticizing Kurtz for getting the story wrong. Templar had a follow up piece on April 2 on the same site.

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  27. The original Project Veritas release also gives full credit to the two men as reporters.

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  28. Thanks, daleyrocks. Another nice guy.

    Noyk – you just described 95% of the MFM.

    Comment by JD — 11/15/2011 @ 10:20 am

    heh

    no one you know (325a59)

  29. Another nice guy.

    Meaning, Shuster of course. He was rather a jackass about it IIRC.

    no one you know (325a59)

  30. Comment by Kevin Stafford — 11/15/2011 @ 8:59 am

    Please, let’s not; I highly value my eyesight.

    AD-RtR/OS! (9f0426)

  31. OT – I hope that Cadet TAKES EVERY CENT FROM THIS WOMAN!

    http://blog.chron.com/newswatch/2011/11/new-yorkers-sue-patti-labelle-over-fracas-with-tot/

    EricPWJohnson (719277)

  32. The NPR sting was a good job by O’Keefe. But he has stumbled with his “To Catch a Journalist” series, which has delivered nothing. Considering the abundance of leftist media bias, that’s like shooting fish in a barrel and missing.

    Brother Bradley J. Fikes, C.O.R. (a18ddc)

  33. If the Press hadn’t gone zombie in 2008 maybe this would be a daily drumbeat:

    http://dailycaller.com/2011/11/14/emails-emanuel-suggested-white-house-involvement-in-solyndra/

    narciso (ef1619)

  34. The OWS’s goals are defecation,overthrowing the free market,playing the race card against Obama’s critics even though he benefitted from Wall Street greed.

    DohBiden (ef98f0)

  35. I wasn’t banned from nothing you fascist thug.

    Still waiting for proof Palin is racist.

    DohBiden (ef98f0)

  36. The sexual harassment shat is not the reason why Herman Cain is not doing well in the polls.

    DohBiden (ef98f0)

  37. Uribe and Santos kills innocent people…………………….but Robert Mugabe is just a beacon of innocence and hope.

    I really hate these hypocrites who go after O’keefe but not Dan Rather.

    DohBiden (ef98f0)

  38. “The NPR sting was a good job by O’Keefe. But he has stumbled with his “To Catch a Journalist” series,”

    Brother Bradley – I’m a fan of the part of the “To Catch A Journalist” series where O’Keefe asks for reactions from the journalists his people have caught expressing their bias on tape, from the unhinged, profanity-laced emails of the Columbia J-school professor to stunned silence followed by no comment. These Capital “J” journalists are not used to being challenged or exposed in their lairs and I think it’s hilarious. Kurtz even stepped on his crank in alleging errors in one of O’Keefe’s pieces in the series which O’Keefe blew away by releasing a subsequent video.

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  39. Mugabe was a real beacon of innocence and hope to the people on that plane he shot down.

    Milhouse (d3fd53)

  40. Or was that his then-ally Nkomo? Same difference.

    Milhouse (d3fd53)

  41. doh

    Which blogs were you banned from again?

    EricPWJohnson (719277)

  42. Maybe he will be banned from this blog for exposing your outright lie about Herman Cain.

    Oh wait, that was me.

    Find that ad, yet?

    Icy (7bb95e)

  43. EPWJ, you continue to fail to rehabilitate your own reputation here.

    SPQR (26be8b)

  44. SPQR

    What are you talking about?

    EricPWJohnson (719277)

  45. The reputation you have for being dishonest.

    peedoffamerican (ee1de0)

  46. The reputation you have for not being able to find your own ass with both hands.

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  47. People continue to falsely accuse him of … of being on “parole,”

    ….

    He constantly has people calling his probation officer …

    I’m sure you’ve got some explanation for this, but I’m having a tough time understanding how somebody who could be falsely accused of being on parole would have a parole officer. And I say that as somebody who enjoys his work.

    Brett Bellmore (6652c2)

  48. Certain people should not be around sharp objects.

    DohBiden (ef98f0)

  49. There is a BIG difference from being on parole and having a parole officer and being on probation with a probation officer.

    peedoffamerican (ee1de0)

  50. Perez Hilton posts here as EricPWJohnson.

    DohBiden (ef98f0)

  51. doh

    so are you going to tell us what blogs you’ve been banned from?

    EricPWJohnson (c5f1fc)

  52. EPWJ, I’m talking about your long established lack of credibility here.

    SPQR (94a0ec)

  53. Based on this, I’m having trouble seeing the difference being terribly relevant to anybody’s judgment of O’Keefe. Both, after all, seem to require conviction for a crime.

    Brett Bellmore (6652c2)

  54. SPQR

    What long established lack of credibility?

    Are you refering to your claiming to be a professor when you were not?

    EricPWJohnson (c5f1fc)

  55. OT – the Chron in Houston just cant quit insulting the Bush Family

    http://blog.chron.com/armedsources/2011/11/toilet-troubles-plague-sailors-aboard-george-h-w-bushs-namesake-aircraft-carrier/

    EricPWJohnson (c5f1fc)

  56. Daily Beast… talk about EPIC FAIL.

    ColonelHaiku (09a0f9)

  57. colonel just taking
    sabbatical from College
    Musical Knowledge

    ColonelHaiku (09a0f9)

  58. The perceptiveness of Howard Kurtz,

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-cG4vOFL7q0

    narciso (ef1619)

  59. OT – the Chron in Houston just cant quit insulting the Bush Family every unsubstantiated claim I’ve ever made.
    Comment by EricPWJohnson — 11/15/2011 @ 4:39 pm

    — FTFY

    Icy (7bb95e)

  60. li’l Howie Kurtz and
    his conflict of interest
    serving two masters

    ColonelHaiku (09a0f9)

  61. The reputation you have for not being able to find your own ass with both hands… and a Thomas Guide®

    Comment by daleyrocks

    ColonelHaiku (09a0f9)

  62. I’ve never claimed to be a “professor”. I have taught for many years at a local community college as an adjunct instructor in business law and paralegal courses.

    SPQR (94a0ec)

  63. But you go ahead and keep making up crap, as you do, EPWJ.

    SPQR (94a0ec)

  64. I wasn’t banned.

    And yes I’m a liberal[a True liberal not a lefty liberal].

    DohBiden (ef98f0)

  65. Brb … I need to go accuse a presidential candidate of rape, and a sitting Senator of grand theft. After counting the millions of Iranian Joooooooooos, and Xians in the UAE, I will be back to regale you with tales of imaginary death threats against me and my family, my political speeches across the State of KY, and multiple Republican leaders in many States urging me to run for higher office.

    Now, off to Jakarta with Scozzafava.

    Oh, and quit lying about SPQR.

    JD (69cf5c)

  66. and this is just in
    Doh Biden a rat bastard?
    who woulda thunk it!

    ColonelHaiku (09a0f9)

  67. SPQR, just two things:

    1. I’ll compare your history with EPWJ’s on this blog, anytime.

    2. I’ll compare how regular readers of this blog feel about you to how they feel about EPWJ, any time.

    3. Let’s all go to the Four Seasons to get our hair cut, then head out to the lake house, and watch Breitbart being frogmarched to jail.

    Jeez. I really think the fellow is mental.

    Simon Jester (c8876d)

  68. I guess that was three things, not two. Call it a “Reverse Perry.”

    Simon Jester (c8876d)

  69. I’m a classic liberal dumbass.

    DohBiden (ef98f0)

  70. I’m a classic dumbass liberal.

    Comment by DohBiden

    FIFY… YCTML.

    ColonelHaiku (09a0f9)

  71. You girls really need a debate to watch.

    AD-RtR/OS! (9f0426)

  72. Milhouse Nixon is rolling in his grave.

    ODB (0f13a8)

  73. Re: Debates

    It looks like today’s CNN debate has been postponed. It is now scheduled for next week, November 22.

    Sammy Finkelman (3a0ae4)

  74. Classic Liberalism is different than USA liberalism you romneyturd.

    We need to take back the word liberal.

    DohBiden (ef98f0)

  75. Does Admiral Ackbar have to point out how wrong this is; ‘it’s a trap’

    narciso (ef1619)

  76. I’m sure you’ve got some explanation for this, but I’m having a tough time understanding how somebody who could be falsely accused of being on parole would have a parole officer. And I say that as somebody who enjoys his work.

    Since the quote immediately above that comment says it’s a “probation” officer and not a “parole” officer, I’m having a tough time understanding why you call it a “parole” officer.

    Based on this, I’m having trouble seeing the difference being terribly relevant to anybody’s judgment of O’Keefe. Both, after all, seem to require conviction for a crime.

    Indeed. A prison sentence and a probationary grant both require a conviction of a crime. That is certainly true. However, they are very different, in that a prison sentence is generally a far more serious punishment for a far more serious crime.

    You seriously don’t see the different between a prison sentence (which requires a felony conviction) and a grant of probation for a misdemeanor offense?

    Seriously?

    Come on. Tell me the truth here.

    Patterico (f724ca)

  77. Some people have difficulty finding the balance-point on the scales-of-justice.

    AD-RtR/OS! (9f0426)

  78. Can the perrybots stop projecting their illiberalism on to the Cain supporters?

    DohBiden (ef98f0)

  79. Hate crime legislation is left wing in origin.

    DohBiden (ef98f0)

  80. In the federal system — and O’Keefe was convicted of a federal crime — the United States Probation Office is responsible for supervising people either on “probation” or following their release from custody (“supervised release”).

    “Parole” involves being released prior to the end of your scheduled term of imprisonment. You are technically “in custody” still, you are just not committed to a penal institution. Many states make incarcerated prisoners eligible for “parole” after they have served half their sentence. If you violate the terms of “parole”, you can be returned to prison to complete some or all of your remaining term.

    Parole in the federal system was abolished in the 1990s. Federal prisoners sentenced after that date are no longer eligible for parole.

    Supervised release comes at the conclusion of your term of imprisonment. It covers a period of year(s) when the released prisoner remains under the supervision of the sentencing judge, and can be returned to prison for a new term of incarceration for violating any of the terms and conditions of supervised release. Those generally involve new criminal conduct.

    “Probation” is only imposed when no term of imprisonment is required under the statute for the particular offense involved — normally no-time felonies and misdemeanors.

    Yes, there are “no-time” felonies under federal criminal law.

    shipwreckedcrew (27cb52)

  81. Shipwrecked crew,

    Interesting. What are some “no-time” felonies?

    DRJ (a83b8b)


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