119 hours of “secretly recorded audio from within CNN’s headquarters in Atlanta” was released Thursday by Project Veritas at the 2017 CPAC conference.
Project Veritas’ James O’Keefe told reporters that over 220 minutes of leaked audio was captured by a source inside the agency back in 2009. A portion of that audio will be made publicly available on both ProjectVeritas.com and CNNLeaks.com so the entire “online community” can help disseminate it.
BREAKING: @Project_Veritas releases Part I of @CNN tapes at #CPAC2017 press conference. #cnnleaks pic.twitter.com/Jo6Nnsr7Og
— James O'Keefe (@JamesOKeefeIII) February 23, 2017
The investigative journalist said he and his colleagues have “only gone through a fraction of these tapes” and need help from the public to better interpret them.
“Some of these people used to have sort of mid-level positions — now they are executives at CNN.”
V.P. and senior editorial director of CNN’s Greater Atlanta area, Richard Griffith, former CNN staffer Nicky Robertson and CNN journalists Arthur Brice and Joe Sterling have all reportedly been identified in the leaked audio.
Late Wednesday, in an effort to contain the proverbial ticking time bomb, agency producers attempted to reach out to Project Veritas before the audio was posted online.
“Last night we had producers calling just freaking out,” O’Keefe told the press.
O’Keefe indicated he has no intentions of backing down and even tweeted his willingness to “go to jail” for the cause.
Have video inside a newsroom? I will go to jail to protect your name. We will defend you. Come to me. Come to us. I will protect you.
— James O'Keefe (@JamesOKeefeIII) February 23, 2017
“If you are an employee in a newsroom and hear or see something unethical, record it. If it’s good enough I’ll pay you $10k.”
If you are an employee in a newsroom and hear or see something unethical, record it. If it's good enough I'll pay you $10k. #cnnleaks
— James O'Keefe (@JamesOKeefeIII) February 23, 2017
Project Veritas said in a statement Thursday that the “raw unedited version” suggests CNN may have been “misrepresenting polling data and displaying an anti-Republican bias,” RT reports.
The release of the secret audio flooded the ProjectVeritas.com server after news of the leak hit the Drudge Report.
“Watch out MSM, we’re coming for you,” O’Keefe tweeted.
.@Project_Veritas is dominating the news today. Watch out MSM, we're coming for you. #CNNLeaks pic.twitter.com/x0LDO753AU
— James O'Keefe (@JamesOKeefeIII) February 23, 2017
Project Veritas also claimed news of the leak prompted a response from the Trump White House.
Kit Daniels reporting for Infowars wrote:
The White House described Project Veritas’ CNN leaks as “so cool,” the investigative group said.
“The White House just called to say that the CNN audio we just released ‘is so cool,'” PV announced on its Facebook page.
As of yet, it’s not known when Part 2 of the CNN Tapes will be released.
Shepard Ambellas is an opinion journalist and the founder and editor-in-chief of Intellihub News & Politics (Intellihub.com). Shepard is also known for producing Shade: The Motion Picture (2013) and appearing on Travel Channel’s America Declassified (2013). Shepard is a regular contributor to Infowars. Read more from Shep’s World. Get the Podcast. Follow Shep on Facebook and Twitter.
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