Appeals court overturns $130,000 verdict against James O’Keefe

A federal appeals court has overturned a $130,000 damages award against Project Veritas founder James O’Keefe and undercover reporter Alison Maass. The ruling by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals addresses a 2022 jury decision that had found the pair liable for fraudulent misrepresentation and wiretapping related to a 2016 undercover investigation.

The investigation, titled “Rigging the Election,” targeted Democratic political consultants and alleged that operatives sought to provoke confrontations at Donald Trump campaign events. Democracy Partners, an organization founded by consultant Robert Creamer, sued after Maass used a false identity to secure an unpaid internship and record private conversations.

Judge Karen LeCraft Henderson, writing for the panel, concluded that the damages award improperly punished the defendants for publishing the resulting news story, thereby violating the First Amendment. The court also rejected the claim that Maass became a fiduciary of Democracy Partners through her deceptive internship. While the panel noted that some information was gathered through fraudulent means and is not constitutionally protected, they ruled that the financial penalties for the act of publishing the story were unconstitutional. Judge Robert Wilkins issued a partial dissent, suggesting that liability for fraudulent misrepresentation should remain while reducing damages to a nominal amount.