Venture Veritas’ founder, James O’Keefe, refers to Maass and others who conduct the stings as journalists. Vowing an enchantment, he stated the jury verdict endangered hidden-camera work by a variety of journalists.
“The jury successfully dominated investigative journalists owe a fiduciary obligation to the topics they’re investigating and that investigative journalists could not deceive the topics they’re investigating,” stated O’Keefe, who was named as a defendant within the swimsuit and sat on the protection desk through the trial. “Journalism is on trial, and Venture Veritas will proceed to struggle for each journalist’s proper to information collect, examine, and expose wrongdoing — no matter how highly effective the investigated get together could also be. Venture Veritas is not going to be intimidated.”
A Miami-based lawyer who represented Venture Veritas, Paul Calli, argued through the trial that the group’s actions have been a part of “the best American custom known as muckraking.”
“The race is lengthy. The struggle continues as a result of this case implicates basic First Modification points,” Calli stated Thursday. “The parents on my left choose to disregard that truth and can spike the ball and have a good time on Twitter as a result of on this case the journalist isn’t somebody they ‘like’ or agree with and as a substitute uncovered the smooth white underbelly of their get together. We’ll see what the end line brings.”
U.S. District Court docket Decide Paul Friedman, who oversaw the weeklong trial, might nonetheless impose punitive damages associated to a wiretapping violation discovered by the jury. Nevertheless, the jury dominated for Venture Veritas on one declare that Maass illegally recorded a gathering she wasn’t get together to.
Friedman can also be nonetheless contemplating motions that Venture Veritas and the opposite defendants made through the trial that the Democratic companies and Creamer didn’t show any authorized violation by the group.
