During a recent broadcast, Brandon Tatum from Salem Media suggested that while Project Veritas may have had valid reasons for terminating its founder James O’Keefe, he disagreed with how it was handled. O’Keefe was dismissed after the board of directors stripped him of his decision-making power.
The issue surrounding O’Keefe’s departure arises from allegations made by 16 employees in a letter dated February 6th, claiming that O’Keefe was “blatantly cruel” to members of the organization and had become a “power-hungry tyrant.” On February 8th, Intelligencer, a website of New York Magazine, reported that O’Keefe had been placed on paid leave while the board assessed his future with the company.
Tatum emphasized that if O’Keefe were mismanaging funds, the board would investigate and reconcile that. “You can get sued and shut your whole organization down if you mismanage your money and donor money for personal gain and you’re not allocating your funds the way you told your donors you would allocate your funds,” said Tatum. In every company, the board must ensure that employees and managers are held accountable for their expenditure of funds.
However, Tatum expressed that the board went about the investigation and termination incorrectly. “James O’Keefe has way more firepower; nobody will even listen to what the board has to say. James O’Keefe was Project Veritas,” Tatum stated. He argued that while it may have been appropriate for the board to investigate O’Keefe’s alleged mishandling of funds, they failed to consider the impact that his departure would have on the organization.
Last week, Project Veritas issued a statement stating that the organization’s board and management were consistently evaluating the best approach to take for the group. The organization has not provided further details regarding O’Keefe’s termination, and it remains unclear if the investigation into his alleged misconduct is ongoing.
In the wake of the controversial departure of Project Veritas’ founder and CEO, the organization’s Twitter account has seen a decline of over 200,000 followers over 24 hours.
“On social media, to experience a net loss of subscribers, you must step in it,” said Tatum. “If you lose as many followers as Project Veritas has, you are in no man’s land, and you will lose all your social media engagement.”
It is worth mentioning that the recent controversy involving Project Veritas was sparked by the release of undercover videos from a sting operation, purportedly revealing a Pfizer research director sharing confidential information about COVID-19 mutations.
You can listen to “The Office Tatum” show podcast right here.
