Hot on the heels of riveting undercover interviews with a Pfizer executive explaining the drug giant’s gain of function research and the harm its vaccine does to women’s menstrual cycles, the board of directors of Project Veritas has put founder and chairman, James O’Keefe, on paid leave..The board is considering removing him from a leadership role, according to a report by New York magazine, claiming to have spoken to current and former employees..According to the report, Project Veritas employees were sent an internal message by the organization's executive director, Daniel Strack, saying O'Keefe was taking “a few weeks of well-deserved [paid time off].”.The message added the company was in a “distracting time,” mentioning that two Project Veritas executives had been reinstated who were allegedly fired by O'Keefe recently..Strack later released a statement saying “like all newsrooms at this stage, the Project Veritas board of directors and management are constantly evaluating what the best path forward is for the organization.".“There are 65-plus employees at Project Veritas dedicated to continuing the mission to expose corruption, dishonesty, waste, fraud, and other misconduct in both public and private institutions,” said Strack. .“To our supporters: We hear you, we care about you, and we will never give up.”.A report from The Daily Beast says a third of the company's employees wrote an internal memo claiming O'Keefe had been particularly mean to workers..The memo, obtained by The Daily Beast, covers its founder’s demanding and allegedly abusive treatment of his staff, even laying out concerns Project Veritas will soon collapse entirely as donors and employees flee. Sixteen staffers signed their names to the memo, according to the document..“James has become a power drunk tyrant,” one staffer complained in the memo..“I would describe Project Veritas’ current environment with this saying: ‘The beatings will continue until morale improves,’” a staffer allegedly wrote in the memo..Employees said that working for O’Keefe at Project Veritas could mean being “publicly humiliated” by the founder and “public crucifixion.” They also claimed staff could be required to undergo lie detector tests, and the chairman once took a sandwich from a pregnant woman because he was hungry..These reports remain unverified. However, New York Magazine reports a source inside the company claims Project Veritas is divided between board members and employees. The board is allegedly dissatisfied with O'Keefe's management, while a group of employees remain loyal to the founder..“Absolute madness if he is being forced out just weeks after Project Veritas celebrates one of their greatest-ever journalistic investigations with which O’Keefe was intimately involved,” wrote Human Events editor Ben Kew..“There is no Project Veritas without James O’Keefe,” Candace Owens tweeted..“I say this as a donor to the organization, but more importantly as a colleague who watched him pour everything he had into PV over the years. The money and supporters will follow James.”.Project Veritas’s board of directors tried to deflect the heat, shifting blame on “corporate media” for fanning flames and posting a response to the backlash..“Despite what the corporate media tries to portray about our organization, know this: We have never been more motivated and dedicated to our mission than now,” the group tweeted.
