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Priceless: James O’Keefe Operatives Turn On Him Because They ‘Feel Exploited’

by Tommy Christopher | 11:23 am, November 15th, 2011

» 35 comments

Controversial undercover videographer James O’Keefe is under fire from two of his Project Veritas operatives, who complain exclusively to The Daily Beast‘s Howard Kurtz that O’Keefe’s handling of their so-called NPR “sting” made them “feel exploited.”

Shaughn Adeleye and Simon Templar, who carried out the “NPR sting,” accuse O’Keefe of “hijacking” credit for their story in order to “get his ‘comeback’ or his ‘redemption.’”

Let me be the first to offer them some cheese with that whine.

Templar’s critique of O’Keefe’s handling of the NPR story seems to be, not that it was a “hit job,” but that O’Keefe didn’t have the patience to wait and make it into a series of hit jobs. Templar told Kurtz that he had designed the effort to be “a very thoroughly researched and impeccably executed project that was by no means limited to NPR. James wanted it to be a hit job.”

Instead, O’Keefe apparently insisted on rushing the project out. Although the project resulted in the firing/forced resignations of several NPR executives, the video itself was discredited, most notably by Glenn Beck’s The Blaze, for using “questionable editing and tactics.”

That release strategy, along with other criticisms of O’Keefe’s shallow M.O. (like O’Keefe’s “shtick of walking into an office with a bizarre pretense and taping some secretary or low-level worker”), don’t appear to have caused the pair to turn against O’Keefe. It was their perception that O’Keefe co-opted their work that really seems to have done the trick. From The Daily Beast:

Templar, who maintains that he “literally handled every inch of this story,” says he feels “exploited.” He had, for instance, written an opinion column on the affair that was intended for The Wall Street Journal. But the public-relations firm working with O’Keefe’s group insisted the piece had to carry O’Keefe’s byline.

“Give us the credit we’re due, that’s all we asked,” Adeleye says. “It was hijacked to his own purposes, to a degree … James is just, unfortunately, someone I cannot work with anymore.”

Says Templar: “He needed the story to be that Shaughn and I were both just actors he hired to carry out his master plan. Otherwise, he wouldn’t get his ‘comeback’ or his ‘redemption,’ and it wouldn’t help his ‘business’ nearly as much.”

Setting aside the hilarious irony that these guys are complaining that they didn’t get a fair shake from the guy who hired them to entrap people with hidden cameras, their central complaint against O’Keefe cuts both ways.

To the degree that anyone cared about the NPR story, it was because it had the James O’Keefe brand attached to it. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but “the guy who’s cleverly named after The Saint” just doesn’t have the buzz that “ACORN pimp James O’Keefe” has. If Templar gave up his byline on that WSJ op-ed, he got O’Keefe’s buzz in return.

What’s missing from this story is why these two are sharing this bowl of sour grapes now, eight months after the fact. As recently as a few weeks ago, Templar still appeared to be on the O’Keefe Express, so why is he blowing the whistle now?

O’Keefe declined to comment for Kurtz, and although I reached out to James O’Keefe to ask what he thinks precipitated this, he hasn’t responded just yet.

Take a look at the original report:

Update:

Simon Templar says, via Twitter:

OKeefe never “hired” us. never “worked for” him

Feel free to monitor his Twitter feed as he attempts to un-sew the Project Veritas tapestry he happily helped O’Keefe weave when it was beneficial to him. He says that “‘Project Veritas’ didn’t even exist at the time,” despite the fact that his own video is watermarked ©TheProjectVeritas.com, and despite the fact that it was billed, at the time, as a “Project Veritas Investigation.”

Rather than try to untangle this web, I’ll stipulate that Templar was “ostensibly” working for James O’Keefe, who “appeared” to hire him to entrap people with hidden cameras.

James O'Keefe, Project Veritas, The Daily Beast

FunnyTonyMase

Sharing credit? Journalism ethics and standards?

Sounds like something mainstr…I mean lamestream media would bother with.
Anonymous

BREAKING: Person-who-wanted-to-stage-fake-kidnap/rape-of-female-Journalist May Have Potential to Exploit People, Situations
Moderate

Tommy, everyone in the media has a huge ego problem, what else is new?
http://twitter.com/JCP1975 JCP1975

O’Keefe’s desperation in wanting to impress Bret Breitbart is nauseating.
I am Who I am

“Let me be the first to offer them some cheese with that whine…”

Hehehehe……priceless..
Anonymous

Oh, poor James! His life peaked with the fake pimp outfit.
Anonymous

Why is Tommy obsessed with this guy? Is he planning on going all Sandusky on him?
Hypocrisyjoe

Still not sure wht Fox News hasn’t picked this guy up. He’s got the right agenda, the wardrobe and he’s an ego maniac. Check, Check and CHECK!
Anonymous

There truly is no honor among thieves.
SouthernYankee

Well folks when you lay with dogs you get fleas. Welcome to Britefart world.
Anonymous

9 out of every 10 comments on a James O’Keefe-linked Mediaite article: “JEEZ TOMMY WHY ARE YOU SO OBSESSED WITH JAMES O’KEEFE!!!!” (Not realizing that their pageclicks and pithy comments all but ensure more James O’Keefe articles.)

I’ll translate those comments for the rest of you: “TOMMY STOP PICKING ON OUR OVER-ZEALOUS MEDIA VIGILANTE!!!!”
Anonymous

Setting aside the hilarious irony that these guys are complaining that
they didn’t get a fair shake from the guy who hired them to entrap
people with hidden cameras, their central complaint against O’Keefe cuts
both ways.

Why is it “entrapment” when it’s a conservative, and “investigative journalism” when a liberal does it?
Anonymous

Let me be the first to call O’Keefe’s former operatives RINOs.
http://twitter.com/MinneMike Michael Wiley

It sounds to me like these people are clamoring for their 15 minutes of fame. It’s the typical, “look at meeeee”
Just some Blow Hard…

usually (not always) an investigation does not have a predetermined narrative. If it has a narrative at all, its after all the footage has been shot.

Plus most (not all) investigative journalist don’t show up to an interview dressed has Huggy Bear from Startsky and Hutch.
Bob Uda

Priceless: James O’Keefe Operatives Turn On Him Because They ‘Feel Exploited’

Fire those worthless traitors, James. With employees like that, you don’t need any enemies. Get people you can trust and depend on not to stab you in the back. Hope they never get hired by anyone in the future.
Kahlid Shiek Yerbouti

If a dog becomes hungry enough, it will eat it’s own feces.
Jane

But of course, the so-called Lame Stream media is going to cover this 24/7. Right?
Ralph

Seems to me one wanted a hit piece and another wanted a ABSCAM scandal.

O’Keefe actually comes off looking responsible because he knows the limits of muckraking journalism while his associate wants to conduct criminal investigations.

Dude is a piss-ant. Looks like he suffered from fetal alcohol symdrome. No wonder Acorn believed he was a pimp. He’s as emaciated as a heroin junkie pushing girls.
OBeefy made me do it

This is a great victory for Pimp O’Keefe and his whores in training.

Next step up they will be hired by Rupert and Roger for their professional victim performance.
Anonymous

sandusky jokes, stay classy dumbass.
Anonymous

Oh…okay…LOL Anything you say cupcake…LOL
Anonymous

that’s just the way it is :-)
Ben Dover

O’Keefe reminds me of Ziggy from “The WIre”…..
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_MPPK2CTPRQYEYSXVOFVUJRX3SQ ken

What would have been a liberal equivalent to the acorn interview ? I haven’t seen anything right or left that compares with that hit job. Different outfits during the “same” interview, out of context quotes, shameless dishonesty. hasty generalisations, exagerations, false and misleading conclusions, leaving out the responses to the police. It s a low which in my experince has not been rivaled. So when did a ”liberal” do this ?
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_MPPK2CTPRQYEYSXVOFVUJRX3SQ ken

Yes anyone who deals with O’Keefe knows how important honor and trust are to him.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_MPPK2CTPRQYEYSXVOFVUJRX3SQ ken

This is the only place I’ve seen it. You ?
Anonymous

I think you need help and you’re incredibly stupid. Keep trying though dumbass.
Nisha

Hollywood and Bollywood Latest HD Wallpapers.

http://picshits.blogspot.com/
http://profiles.google.com/mattgordonmd matt gordon

Who is the tragically malnourished red-haired woman with the Carter-era sunglasses in the photograph?
Kid Dynamite

Tommy is always reaching around to Jimmy O’Keefe.
Anonymous

Being a moron you have no idea that everyone thinks you’re a fool…LOL…so I will not waste anymore time trying to educate you. See you in the funny papers…loser.
Anonymous

Couldn’t have happened to a better slime of a duchebag!
Anonymous

Investigative Journalism = In Watergate, the law was already broken. Journalists and a whistle-blower took the necessary steps to investigate and provide proof of a crime and a cover up before exposing what happened to the public.
Entrapment = Employing tactics to trick, induce, or make it appear as if someone has broken the law when in fact they did not, had not, or would not unless tricked into doing so.In the first instance – There was a crime.In the second instance, O’keefe’s usual M.O.He calls himself a journalist but he’s walking the line since what he does, like what Brietbart does, would otherwise be categorized as slander and defamation.
bushputz

What was that saying about laying down with dogs?