newjerseynewsroom.com

BY SHARON HARRIS-ZLOTNICK

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

Already reeling from negative publicity after abruptly firing longtime correspondent Juan Williams last year, and calls to cancel its public funding, National Public Radio (NPR) is again scrambling to do damage control. Self-described “progressive radical” James O’Keefe, 26, released unfavorable undercover videotapes and emails last week, involving two NPR executives, Foundation President Ron Schiller and Senior Director of Institutional Giving Betsy Liley.

The first revealed controversial comments made by Schiller during a recent lunch conversation. According to Ron Claiborne of abcnews.com, the discussion centered on Schiller and Liley’s soliciting a $5 million donation for NPR. They were speaking to what they thought were two wealthy representatives of the Muslim Brotherhood and its Muslim Education Action Center (MEAC) Trust.

The men turned out to be frauds, as did the MEAC, but Schiller was recorded calling Tea Party members "xenophobic" and "seriously racist people" who are "fanatically involved in people's personal lives." He also discussed the “Zionist” lack of influence over NPR, but their control of print media. Schiller also claimed that NPR would be better off without public funding, an idea now floating through Congress.

When the two men later inquired about anonymously donating the money to avoid a federal government audit, Liley responded via email that they could work it out. Senior NPR officials claim that Liley failed to follow the proper protocol. The dailycaller.com reports that NPR spokeswoman Dana Davis Rehm Liley, stating that NPR repeatedly refused the $5 million check, despite being pressured by the MEAC.

Both Schiller and NPR CEO Vivian Schiller - no relation - have both since resigned. Liley is on administrative leave.

According to Ed Farnan of www.irishcentral.com, O'Keefe began his hidden camera film career while a Rutgers University student in 2004. O’Keefe and his colleagues first attempted to have Lucky Charms, the breakfast cereal, banned from the campus dining halls.

Seeking to expose what O’Keefe considered hypersensitivity and extreme political correctness, he claimed the box offended Irish-Americans. Although they viewed it as a prank, the Rutgers assistant director of the dining services promised to take the issue under consideration.

That experience and others motivated O'Keefe to form Project Veritas, meaning “truth.” His organization’s stated mission is "to expose corruption, dishonesty, self-dealing, waste, fraud, and other misconduct in both public and private institutions, in order to achieve a more ethical and transparent society.”

O’Keefe gained national attention for exposing ACORN, the community group that had received federal funds. ACORN has also faced voter fraud charges in numerous states.

In those tapes, filmed at several ACORN offices nationwide, O’Keefe posed as a pimp; a friend played his prostitute. They sought mortgage advice for a house that would be involved with sex trafficking of immigrant girls. Several ACORN employees offered recommendations without questioning the legality of their purpose. After seeing those tapes, Congress defunded ACORN in September 2009.

Not all of O’Keefe’s film attempts have gone smoothly. In May 2010, O’Keefe accepted three years probation on a misdemeanor charge. He and three associates were caught trying to tamper with the phone lines in Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu's New Orleans office in January 2010.