James O’Keefe, founder and CEO of Project Veritas, has resigned from the company he founded. He was reportedly pushed out by his employees.
O’Keefe was placed on paid leave while the board discussed whether to fire him. According to The Daily Beast, employees were dissatisfied with O’Keefe’s management. They claimed he was “outright cruel” to their staff and wasted money.
O’Keefe made Monday’s announcement to his staff that he had been fired as CEO and removed from the board of directors in an emotional video that lasted 15 minutes.
O’Keefe stated in his announcement that “In my 13 years of doing this, my mission has evolved.” “Over the past few weeks, I have experienced a lot despair, seen a lot evil, and been overcome by various emotions.”
“I take from these the gratitude I have for many, most of them…I thought about my appreciation for many, and what makes it so great is that we believe in this, have passion for this, and have principle.”
O’Keefe’s voice cracked as he thanked his employees.
O’Keefe said, “The external threats and the pressure placed upon me has been unimaginable.”
O’Keefe stated that Project Veritas would never be stopped by the outside. He had told me this years ago from a former board member. It will only be because they stopped themselves.” “Prophetic though it may sound, this is exactly where we are today. You wouldn’t know I was removed from my position as CEO and stripped of my authority.
O’Keefe stated that he was suspended “indefinitely and without compensation”, citing a board memo.
O’Keefe said, “I don’t understand why this has occurred or why it has happened suddenly.” He added that he had “documentation” of everything.
O’Keefe stated that he’s “been the same person” since he started the company in 2010, but added that he’s not the most “compassionate leader”.
“I have not made any fundamental changes in how I conduct myself over the last 13 years. So what has changed the last three weeks? What has changed? “The only thing that hasn’t changed is that the largest story in our company’s history was broken,” he said, referring to the Pfizer exposé.
“I was informed by Project Veritas an officer a few days after the Pfizer news that he would resign if I did not step down as CEO. There was a conflict between our visions and fundraising. There were also tactical disagreements over the boldness of approaches to soliciting donations.
O’Keefe claimed that disagreements had boiled over, and O’Keefe asked the officer to resign. But when he refused, O’Keefe fired O’Keefe. Another officer called for an emergency board vote in order to restructure company that day.
O’Keefe stated that it was clear that he would be fired from his position at Project Veritas. He added that he was able stop the meeting for a few more days. O’Keefe claimed that he was ultimately subject to six hours worth of grievances, which included concerns from employees about money spent and allegations that he stole a sandwich for a pregnant lady at court.
O’Keefe dismissed the allegations, before stating that he is confident the reasons for his ouster “will come out.”
He said, “Our mission continues.” “I am not finished.”
