How Ashley Biden’s Diary Made Its Way to Project Veritas

In the last 2 months of the 2020 campaign, President Donald J. Trump, his grip connected powerfulness slipping due to the fact that of his handling of the pandemic, desperately tried to alteration the communicative by attacking the concern dealings of Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s lad Hunter, invoking his sanction publically implicit 100 times.

At the aforesaid time, different effort was underway successful concealed to effort to exposure the contents of a diary kept the erstwhile twelvemonth by Mr. Biden’s daughter, Ashley Biden, arsenic she underwent attraction for addiction.

Now, much than a twelvemonth later, the Justice Department is heavy into an probe of however the diary recovered its mode into the hands of supporters of Mr. Trump astatine the tallness of the campaign.

Federal prosecutors and F.B.I. agents are investigating whether determination was a transgression conspiracy among a fistful of individuals to bargain and people the diary. Those being scrutinized see existent and erstwhile operatives for the conservative radical Project Veritas; a donor Mr. Trump appointed to a governmental presumption successful the last days of his administration; a antheral who erstwhile pleaded blameworthy successful a wealth laundering scheme; and a financially struggling parent of two, according to radical acquainted with national expansive assemblage subpoenas and a hunt warrant who spoke connected the information of anonymity to sermon an ongoing investigation.

Extensive interviews with radical progressive successful oregon briefed connected the probe and a reappraisal of tribunal filings, constabulary records and different worldly assistance soma retired elements of a communicative that is investigating the enactment betwixt investigative journalism and governmental soiled tricks.

The probe has focused caller attraction connected however Mr. Trump oregon his allies sought to usage the troubles of Mr. Biden’s 2 surviving children to undercut him.

The enquiry has besides intensified the scrutiny of Project Veritas. Its founder, James O’Keefe, was pulled from his flat successful his underwear and handcuffed during a dawn raid past month by the F.B.I., 2 days aft a brace of his erstwhile employees had their homes raided.

The radical — which purchased the diary but yet did not people it and denies immoderate wrongdoing — has assailed the investigation. And it has been making a lawsuit successful tribunal and to Congress that, contempt its usage of undercover stings and different deceptive tactics, it is practicing a signifier of journalism that deserves the aforesaid ineligible and law protections afforded quality organizations.

Asked a database of circumstantial questions related to the investigation, a lawyer for Project Veritas, Paul A. Calli, responded with a connection from Mr. O’Keefe criticizing The New York Times.

Roberta Kaplan, a lawyer for Ms. Biden, declined to comment.

The occurrence has its roots successful the outpouring of 2020, arsenic Ms. Biden’s begetter was closing successful connected the Democratic statesmanlike nomination. Ms. Biden, who has kept a debased illustration passim her father’s vice presidency and presidency, had near a occupation the twelvemonth earlier moving for a transgression justness radical successful Delaware.

She was surviving successful Delray Beach, Fla., a tiny metropolis betwixt Miami and West Palm Beach, with a person who had rented a two-bedroom location lined with thenar trees with a ample swimming excavation and wraparound driveway, according to radical acquainted with the events. Ms. Biden, who had small nationalist relation successful her father’s campaign, had earlier been successful rehab successful Florida successful 2019, and the friend’s location provided a haven wherever she could debar the media and the glare of the campaign.

But successful June, with the run ramping up, she headed to the Philadelphia area, readying to instrumentality to the Delray location successful the autumn earlier the lease expired successful November. She decided to permission immoderate of her belongings behind, including a duffel container and different bag, radical acquainted with the events said.

Weeks aft Ms. Biden headed to the Northeast, the person who had been hosting Ms. Biden successful the location allowed an ex-girlfriend named Aimee Harris and her 2 children to determination in. Ms. Harris was successful a contentious custody quality and was struggling financially, according to Palm Beach County tribunal records. At 1 constituent successful February 2020, she had faced eviction portion surviving astatine a rental spot successful adjacent Jupiter.

Shortly aft moving into the Delray home, Ms. Harris — whose societal media postings and conversations with friends suggested that she was a instrumentality of Mr. Trump — learned that Ms. Biden had stayed determination antecedently and that immoderate of her things were inactive there, according to 2 radical acquainted with the matter.

September 2020: Project Veritas Obtains the Diary

Exactly what happened adjacent remains the taxable of the national investigation. But by September, the diary had been acquired from Ms. Harris and a person by Project Veritas, whose operations against wide groups and accepted quality organizations had helped marque it a favourite of Mr. Trump.

In a tribunal filing, Project Veritas told a national justice that astir Sept. 3, 2020, idiosyncratic the radical described arsenic “a tipster” called Project Veritas and near a dependable message. The caller said “a caller occupant moved into a spot wherever Ashley Biden had antecedently been staying and recovered Ms. Biden’s diary and different idiosyncratic items.”

The “diary is beauteous crazy,” the tipster said connected the dependable mail, according to a Project Veritas tribunal filing. “I deliberation it’s worthy taking a look at.”

In a caller missive to Congress, a lawyer for Project Veritas said it had been told the items had been abandoned successful a country wherever Ms. Biden had stayed.

Project Veritas has acknowledged buying the diary, done an unnamed proxy, from 2 radical it identified successful tribunal filing arsenic “A.H.” and “R.K.,” but said it was told they had acquired the diary lawfully.

People progressive successful the lawsuit person identified “A.H.” arsenic Ms. Harris and “R.K.” arsenic Robert Kurlander. Mr. Kurlander, a self-described task capitalist, is simply a longtime person and erstwhile housemate of Ms. Harris. In October 2020, days earlier the election, Mr. Kurlander said connected Twitter: “Where are Biden’s 2 kids?” adding, “Ashley and Hunter are disasters. Reflection of the parents.”

In 1994, Mr. Kurlander pleaded blameworthy successful national tribunal successful Florida to a conspiracy number successful a drug-related wealth laundering strategy that besides led to a blameworthy plea from David Witter, the grandson of the laminitis of the concern steadfast Dean Witter. Mr. Kurlander was sentenced to 40 months successful prison.

Ms. Harris “is afloat cooperating with the probe and volition stay responsive to the government’s requests for grounds and for her mentation of events,” her lawyer, Guy Fronstin, said successful an email. “When the facts look it volition beryllium wide that my lawsuit has accusation comparative to the probe but nary culpability.”

Outside his location past period adjacent a play people successful Jupiter, Fla., Mr. Kurlander declined to comment, but a pistillate with him acknowledged they had been dealing with the substance and wanted to debar nationalist attention. She provided the sanction of their lawyer, who declined to comment.

A Possible Link to Trump Supporters

Mr. Kurlander besides provides a imaginable nexus to the imaginable relation of a fig of Trump supporters. Among those whose behaviour is being scrutinized successful the probe is simply a pistillate with ties to Mr. Trump, Elizabeth Fago, a Florida businesswoman and Trump donor who was nominated by Mr. Trump successful December 2020 to the National Cancer Advisory Board.

Ms. Fago appears to cognize Mr. Kurlander. A representation connected societal media shows them eating unneurotic successful July 2020. Investigators are besides looking astatine the relation of Ms. Fago’s daughter, Stephanie Walczak.

Ms. Fago visited the Trump White House astatine slightest twice. Her son, Joey Fago — a existent property cause who this twelvemonth worked with Donald Trump Jr. and Kimberley Guilfoyle connected their acquisition of a $9.7 cardinal Florida mansion — posted a video of him and his parent astatine the White House connected predetermination nighttime successful 2020 and astatine a Christmas enactment the adjacent month, wherever they tin beryllium seen successful the West Wing.

She and her lad besides met Mr. Trump connected the tarmac of the West Palm Beach airdrome successful 2019 and different representation shows the 2 together. In 2016, she co-hosted a fund-raiser for Mr. Trump astatine his nine astatine Mar-a-Lago.

That twelvemonth Ms. Fago gave $15,400 to pro-Trump fund-raising committees and an further $7,600 to the Republican National Committee aft Mr. Trump won the party’s nomination. In October 2020, she gave $500 to pro-Trump committees.

It remains unclear however Ms. Harris and Mr. Kurlander made interaction with Project Veritas and what relation others mightiness person played successful facilitating the transaction.

Ms. Fago did not respond to requests for comment. Ms. Walczak declined to comment.

Spokesmen for the F.B.I. and Justice Department declined to comment.

Using the Diary arsenic Leverage

Less than a period earlier Election Day, successful an Oct. 12, 2020, email that Project Veritas included successful a tribunal filing, Mr. O’Keefe told his squad that helium had made the determination not to people a communicative astir the diary, adding: “We person nary uncertainty the papers is real” but that reactions to its work would beryllium “characterized arsenic a inexpensive shot.”

But Project Veritas was inactive trying to usage the diary arsenic leverage. On Oct. 16, 2020, Project Veritas wrote to Mr. Biden and his run that it had obtained a diary Ms. Biden had “abandoned” and wanted to question Mr. Biden connected camera astir its contents that referred specifically to him.

“Should we not perceive from you by Tuesday, October 20, 2020, we volition person nary prime but to enactment unilaterally and reserve the close to disclose that you refused our connection to supply answers to the questions raised by your daughter,” Project Veritas’ main ineligible officer, Jered T. Ede, wrote.

In response, Ms. Biden’s lawyers accused Project Veritas of threatening them arsenic portion of “extortionate effort to unafraid an interview” with Mr. Biden successful the campaign’s closing days.

Ms. Biden’s lawyers refused to admit whether the diary belonged to Ms. Biden but told Mr. Ede that Project Veritas should dainty it arsenic stolen spot — the lawyers suggested that “serious crimes” mightiness person been committed — and that immoderate proposition that the diary was abandoned was “ludicrous.”

Ultimately, 1 of Ms. Biden’s lawyers, Roberta Kaplan, told Mr. Ede: “This is insane; we should nonstop to SDNY.” Shortly thereafter Ms. Biden’s lawyers alerted prosecutors astatine the United States Attorney’s bureau for the Southern District of New York, which is present overseeing the case.

In the midst of this exchange, a blimpish website, National File, published excerpts from the diary connected Oct. 24, 2020, and the afloat diary 2 days later, though it got small attention. The tract said it had obtained the diary from idiosyncratic astatine different enactment that was unwilling to people it successful the campaign’s last days.

Mr. O’Keefe’s lawyers said successful a tribunal filing past period that Project Veritas arranged for Ms. Biden’s items to beryllium delivered successful aboriginal November to the constabulary successful Florida, not acold from the location wherever she had near them. As the probe came to airy past month, Mr. O’Keefe said successful a connection that “Project Veritas gave the diary to instrumentality enforcement to guarantee it could beryllium returned to its rightful owner.”

But a Delray Beach Police Department study and an officer’s assemblage camera video footage archer a somewhat antithetic story. On the greeting of Sunday, Nov. 8 — 24 hours aft Mr. Biden had been declared the winner of the predetermination — a lawyer named Adam Leo Bantner II arrived astatine the constabulary presumption with a bluish duffel container and different bag, according to the constabulary study and the footage. Mr. Bantner declined to uncover the individuality of his lawsuit to the police.

Project Veritas has said successful tribunal filings that it was assured by the radical who sold Ms. Biden’s items to the radical that they were abandoned alternatively than stolen. But the constabulary study said that Mr. Bantner’s lawsuit had told him that the spot was “possibly stolen” and “he got it from an chartless idiosyncratic astatine a hotel.”

The video footage, which appears to beryllium a partial relationship of the encounter, records Mr. Bantner describing the bags arsenic “crap.” The serviceman tin beryllium heard telling Mr. Bantner that helium is going to propulsion the bags successful the garbage due to the fact that the serviceman did not person immoderate “information” oregon “proof of evidence”

“Like I said, I’m good with it,” Mr. Bantner replied.

But the constabulary did analyse the contents of the container and rapidly determined that they belonged to Ms. Biden. The study said the constabulary contacted some the Secret Service and the F.B.I., which aboriginal collected the items.

Patricia Mazzei William K. Rashbaum Kitty Bennett Matthew Cullen and Kirsten Noyes contributed reporting.