The ex-undercover British spy, Richard Seddon, trained conservative operatives first at the Prince family ranch in Wyoming, then at a large, $10,000-a-month house near Georgetown University. Copyright 2021 NPR. The McMaster operation was aborted after he, unrelated to Project Veritas, resigned under pressure from Trump. I think Trump pardoned at least one. They - you know, there's a wide range of targets, and many of them have been exposed. The former Navy SEAL gained fame for the supporting role his Blackwater firm played in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but the security contractor became infamous when its employees killed 14 Iraqi civilians and wounded 17 others in Baghdad in 2007. Why did they want to embarrass him and get him out of the government? The life of Erik Prince has been a complicated globe-trotting journey complete with extensive mercenary activities, spying on American citizens, brokering arms deals with despotic regimes and essentially taking advantage of any situation he can in order to line his personal pockets. And ultimately, it did blow up in their face. So while Times staff members may vote, they are not allowed to endorse or campaign for candidates or political causes. DAVIES: Let me reintroduce you again. And as the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press summarizes, New York provides absolute protection from forced disclosure of materials received in confidence by a professional journalist, including the identity of a source.. This includes participating in marches or rallies in support of a movement or giving money to, or raising money for, any political candidate or election cause. Neither party wants to be, you know, exposed to this kind of spycraft - right? Blackwater founder Erik Prince arranged for political activist James O'Keefe's conservative group Project Veritas to receive more than one round of "training in intelligence and elicitation. There was a meeting at lunch which led to a resignation, I believe, of GOLDMAN: They targeted our editor, Dean Baquet. Prince took on the role of celebrity pitchman, according to interviews and documents, raising money for Mr. Seddons spying operation, which was aimed at gathering dirt that could discredit politicians and activists in several states. Is that what these interviews were about? Mr. You know, they targeted the teachers unions. Erik Prince, founder of private security contractor Blackwater and brother of former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, recruited a former British spy in 2016 to professionalize the undercover. When a muckraking news site published a story alleging private security contractor and Blackwater founder Erik Prince had offered his services to a Russian mercenary firm, the connections to Wyoming were not obvious; the state was never mentioned in the piece. In particular, you know, Sofia targeted a employee with the GAO. - were directed to make them or reimbursed for them, then that's a potential crime. '&charset='+document.characterSet : '')); The documents also show that, beyond Ms. Gore, other prominent Republicans in Wyoming were involved in Mr. Seddons spying operation. However, he ultimately did not challenge Barrasso in 2018 nor did he vote in those off-year elections, Prince acknowledged in Octobers revised declaration. The plan was reportedly to send a female operative to Tosca, a restaurant McMaster frequented, to engage him in drinks and conversation and record him disparaging Trump or making other inappropriate remarks on camera. You know, you say in one of these stories, this operation's use of spy craft to manipulate the politics of several states over the years greatly exceeds the tactics of traditional political tricks operations. 1-307-754-2221. Erik Prince doesn't live in the state, he's from the same party as the incumbent, Sen. John Barrasso, and he's best known for founding a private security firm, Blackwater, that was kicked out of . One of the documents indicates that Marti Halverson, a former Wyoming state lawmaker, provided a list of people for the operatives to target. Blackwater founder Erik Prince used the rise of Donald Trump to stage an unlikely comeback that apparently included funding spy training for far-right propagandist James O'Keefe and his Project. And, you know, there were a whole range of people they went after. "Somebody who had his calendar conveyed to me that he goes to Tosca all the time," she said, and she passed the information on to a man she believed to be a Project Veritas operative with a fake name. DAVIES: Right. How Times reporters cover politics. Princes attorneys responded that, if the judge has any doubts about Wyoming being the appropriate venue for the case, they should be allowed to learn the identity of The Intercepts confidential sources. Those contentions have become a key point of early proceedings in the case. So they were interviewing people who wanted to become operatives. His willingness to support Mr. Seddons operation is fresh evidence of his engagement in political espionage projects at home during a period when he was an informal adviser to Trump administration officials. DAVIES: This is FRESH AIR. GOLDMAN: I think - yeah, I think the latest is - you know, he's worked - his latest adventure is in Libya. Wapiti resident Erik Prince is one of several people associated with a Wyoming-based effort to infiltrate political campaigns and get "dirt" to sabotage candidates. Erik Prince, the founder of controversial private military firm Blackwater and a supporter of former President Donald Trump, jumped into the COVID-19 business late last year with a deal to . Reaching out to several intelligence veterans and occasionally using Mr. Seddon to make the pitch Mr. Funneling contributions through a third party is a feature of the federal election code and most state election codes. DAVIES: Do we know of connections between Project Veritas and James O'Keefe and Trump, Donald Trump or the Trump family? Efforts to locate Mr. Thomas were unsuccessful. For example, Rolling Stone published an investigative piece in October asserting Prince participated in a plan to dampen turnout among Black voters in the 2016 election. It's my understanding he designed the training exercises, which could have included, like, you know, going out to bars in Cody and trying to get people's names and numbers, how to pitch somebody in an elevator, how to spot people who could potentially provide you information. Not saying this is the case with Mr. O'Keefe, but it's sort of hard to fundraise that way if you're only doing one thing a year or if it's - you know, there are long periods of silence between each expose. There's an annual one, Nellie T. Ross Banquet, and I believe it's in Cheyenne every February. Adam Goldman reports on the FBI and national security for the Times and was part of a team that won a Pulitzer Prize in 2018 for national reporting on Russia's meddling in the presidential election. Presiding Judge Johnson, who is based in Cheyenne, has himself signaled some uncertainty about whether Wyoming is the right place for Princes case to be heard; in early November, Johnson asked the parties to submit additional briefs on either transferring the case to another district or delving further into the issues related to jurisdiction. I also think that - I think recently, too, O'Keefe, did a photo op or made a video with Donald Trump. What were they trying to get? It also seems, to me, murky. The Intercept, however, wants the complaint dismissed. Currently, Prince leads a Hong Kong-based firm providing security, logistics, insurance and infrastructure services in parts of Africa and other high-conflict areas. And it's a fascinating story. He's a former British intelligence officer who served in Washington, D.C., and in Pakistan and eventually leaves the British Secret Intelligence Service and develops some relationship with Erik. And, of course, this was really weird because they work for Project Veritas. The New York Times broke the news of Princes potential run on Oct. 8, 2017, saying hed recently traveled to Wyoming to explore ways to establish residency there., The following day, Breitbart Editor-in-Chief Alex Marlow asked Prince whether the Times report was real or fake news, mentioning, Im not 100% positive on your connection to Wyoming.. And they were doing this - it appears that they were doing this from the house where Beau and Sofia lived with others. But, yeah, this kind of actual infiltration and spying, I don't think I've run across that. I'm Dave Davies, in for Terry Gross, who's off this week. - where you have people in your organization who aren't who they say they are, you know, collecting intelligence, if that's what you want to call it. In the case of the FBI, you know, they were looking for bias to see if somebody - they could get somebody to say something anti-Trump, which, of course, fit the theme at the time because, you know, these infamous text messages between these two FBI officials who had worked on the Russia investigation - the FBI's Russia investigation had come out, right? A man named Samuel Chamberlain who matched the description of the one employed by Mr. OKeefe denied he worked for Project Veritas. Prince had hired a former MI6 officer to help train the Project Veritas operatives, The Intercept wrote, but it did not identify the officer. Connor Wroe Southard. WASHINGTON A British former spy recruited by Erik Prince, the security contractor close to the Trump administration, played a central role in a secretive effort to hire dozens . One of the undercover operatives also got a job working for a consortium of wealthy liberal donors the Wyoming Investor Network which had made a strategic decision to support Republican moderate candidates over those more closely aligned with Mr. Trumps agenda, the documents say. I have always understood him to be a resident of Northern Virginia, the lead writer of The Intercepts April story, Matthew Cole, wrote in a declaration. You know, again, as when Barbara Ledeen, the staffer for the Senate Judiciary Committee, which was run by Chuck Grassley, you know, was trying to find Hillary Clinton's missing emails, and Prince gets involved in that, too. We'll talk more about his stories on undercover operations by conservatives to infiltrate Democratic and progressive groups after a short break. The two men had known each other since Mr. Princes days running Blackwater, and shared an affinity for guns and the American West. But we were unaware of that. Back in December, county commissioners approved a rezoning request for a multi-billionaire to develop an exclusive guest ranch in the southernmost part of the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem. Private property rights are a major cornerstone to how Wyoming operates, but so is prioritizing a rural, quiet lifestyle - ultimately, the former won out in Sublette County. Why are they there? Let me reintroduce you. The Powell Tribune was unable to learn Princes voter history from 2002 and 2017. All rights reserved. Of course. GOLDMAN: These were videos - you can find them on Project Veritas', you know, website or on YouTube now. Sofia makes a contribution - a small contribution to a woman she had befriended who ran, unsuccessfully, for the Wyoming state legislature. In a Jan. 15 order, U.S. District Court Judge Alan Johnson of Cheyenne tossed out Prince's defamation lawsuit against The Intercept. He was dismayed, three former Project Veritas employees told the Times, with "O'Keefe's desire to produce quick media content rather than to run long-term infiltration operations." met with White House and Pentagon officials. It's not clear to me how close he is to Trump. So while Times staff members may vote, they are not allowed to endorse or campaign for candidates or political causes. Were just trying to hold them accountable for this industrial espionage.. And then they married last week. We rely on our journalists to be independent observers. They received training for covert operations at a ranch near Cody owned by Blackwater founder Erik Prince, where Maier's mother works as a cook. The training was done by a guy - a lot of the training was done by a guy named Richard Seddon, S-E-D-D-O-N. Who is he? Mr. if (document.mmm_fo) document.write ("&mmm_fo=1"); Did it expand the number of people that they had? They'd been recruited and trained in an operation led by a former British spy and security contractor Erik Prince, an avid supporter of Donald Trump. The campaign discovered the operative and fired her. There was a massacre at a plaza in Iraq. Mr. Seddon owns a cabin that he keeps stocked with guns, food and other supplies as preparation for a cataclysmic event in the United States. DAVIES: Right. Accuracy and availability may vary. He's a former British intelligence officer who served in Washington, D.C., and in Pakistan and eventually leaves the British Secret Intelligence Service and develops some relationship with Erik Prince, a security contractor, and ends up being director of field operations at the conservative group known as Project Veritas. DAVIES: Right. But in a pending lawsuit, Prince asserts the April 13 story from The Intercept was false, defamatory and aimed at Wyoming. Because of the article, Prince says his reputation and professional opportunities within Wyoming suffered, along with his business interests and reputation in general. What kind of inroads did they make? GOLDMAN: Yeah, and the Justice Department prosecuted a number of individuals. This is FRESH AIR. document.write (document.charset ? And, you know, we've talked to people who have given to them, including people who gave smaller donations - right? We rely on our journalists to be independent observers. GOLDMAN: Well, I don't know if he is primarily the guy. Its among a number of issues and motions that will have to be sorted out before a judge or jury would consider the accuracy of The Intercepts April article. And, you know, we wrote the story about the operation targeting McMaster and Georgetown. DAVIES: He was at a meeting in the Seychelles, the islands in the Indian Ocean, January of 2017. DAVIES: Did any of these result in resignations, firings, criminal investigations GOLDMAN: You know, and in the end, the people who were involved, I think, were, you know, slightly humiliated. This is FRESH AIR. For example, a 2017 meeting he attended with a crown prince of the United Arab Emirates and an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin became a part of the impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump, whom he has served as informal adviser. And I realized they were giving money to Democrats in Wyoming, Arizona and Colorado. Between 1992 and 2001, Prince often listed Park County as his home, consistent with his voting records. Prince invited Project Veritas operatives including Mr. OKeefe to his familys Wyoming ranch for training in 2017, The Intercept reported last year. To win his case, Prince will ultimately have to show the story was false and he may also have to prove the publication knew the story was false or showed a reckless disregard as to whether it was accurate. contractor who is best known as the founder of the private military firm Blackwater and whose sister, Betsy DeVos, was Mr. Trump's education secretary has drawn. document.write ("&loc=" + escape(window.location)); A document that month said that Mr. Seddons operatives had identified three potential sources in the new governors administration and have begun accelerated cultivations with a view to early recruitment., Later in January, the operatives wrote that they had successfully recruited another source with a role in the new governors administration, adding that the source has agreed to provide insights, help expose corruption and assist with eventual placement of undercovers.. Mr. I'm not sure that just because he's a conservative, this is something he wanted to help. 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