Two board members of Project Veritas, George Skakel and John Garvey, have reportedly resigned from their positions.
This comes after CEO Hannah Giles fired a majority of the investigative reporters on August 17, leaving only 18 staff members, primarily fundraisers.
Garvey had already resigned earlier this month, but the resignation was confirmed by management at the Connecticut Sentinel. Skakel, on the other hand, accepted the role of Chief Financial Officer during a secret board meeting earlier this month.
Both Garvey and Skakel had been long-serving members of the board, while Joe Barton remains with the company.
Before the mass firing, Skakel was present at a meeting on August 9 where the board voted to "no longer indemnify" investigative journalists Spencer Meads and Eric Cochran. This decision was made due to the significant legal fees incurred by the journalists as a result of their work with Project Veritas.
Cochran and Meads are currently under federal investigation for their involvement in reporting on Ashley Biden's diary, which was obtained by the organization through a source.
Since taking on the CEO position in June, Hannah Giles has overseen the decline of Project Veritas, the investigative journalism organization founded by James O'Keefe over a decade ago. Giles herself was involved in O'Keefe's initial project, where they posed as a pimp and prostitute to expose an Obama-era housing program.
The board of Project Veritas forced O'Keefe out of the organization, citing concerns about his alleged misuse of Veritas funds for personal expenses, as well as an incident involving him allegedly eating a pregnant woman's sandwich. Although an internal investigation into O'Keefe's spending was conducted, the results were not released.
A group of former Veritas journalists, known as SageOps, confronted Giles and colleague Joe Barton, who remains on the board, requesting the release of the audit results. However, their request was denied.
In a letter addressed to the board, employees expressed their concerns about O'Keefe's management style and business practices, leading to his removal. The letter cited wrongful termination, lack of transparency in decision-making, and O'Keefe's difficult and belligerent behavior, including instances of bullying.
Since O'Keefe's departure, Project Veritas has struggled to regain its influence and relevance. Meanwhile, O'Keefe has founded a new media enterprise called OMG, dedicated to citizen journalism.
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