Former Project Veritas CEO James O'Keefe's alleged maltreatment of his staff has been well documented in court filings, internal and external investigations, news reports, and now in the words of O'Keefe's two former Chiefs of Operations Will Keiper and Jason Killmeyer, whose combined time at Project Veritas spanned from 2017-2021. Sage Ops has obtained covert recordings from inside Project Veritas during each of the former top dogs' tenure under O'Keefe. The candid conversations depict a work environment where staff is under constant siege by an out-of-control CEO, whose treatment of employees is described by his COOs as "beatings" and "not becoming of a leader" and is rightfully identified as posing an existential threat to the organization's survival. Morale under O'Keefe in 2019 was described as "shit piling up slowly" by Keiper, who also asks rhetorically "Why you want to beat him up" when releasing his frustration in dealing with the personality of what he called a "freak" of a CEO. In 2020 Killmeyer opined "The truth is our morale is really bad. And I don’t understand like, well this is not a good place to want to come in right now. And please don’t share that I said that. And then last week I felt was really scary. Then this week was really bad. And this much more really bad is not going to be sustainable long term." Killmeyer also describes the fallout from a meeting in which O'Keefe exploded on a female staffer leaving her in tears, the "third or fourth one of those" Killmeyer said he had witnessed in his short time at the company. "I said to (the female employee) hey I said you know you don't deserve to be spoken to that way. I know that. Obviously, no employee does. No one deserves to be treated that way." Killmeyer promised to try to change things but in the end, admitted he was helpless to influence O'Keefe from preying on his staff and therefore he couldn't "prevent the beatings from happening." Keiper, who labeled O'Keefe a "freak" saw the same warning signs a year earlier, "This model is going to f*cking work. But, there will be nobody here to run it if you keep doing what you're doing." In 2023, that sh*t that had been piling up slowly at Project Veritas hit the fan. TRANSCRIPT: JASON KILLMEYER - CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER, PROJECT VERITAS 2019-2021: You guys just went for 21, 24 or 25 days without a break. Which I understand you’re probably now very feel very underappreciated about that.
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JASON KILLMEYER - CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER, PROJECT VERITAS 2019-2021:
I apologize that I didn’t do more in the moment yesterday. But, I also umm. One, I was just kind of like ahh, is this happening in an office?
But two, the times that I’ve intervened in those before because that’s my third or fourth one of those I’ve been a part of. It didn’t actually, like I stopped in and everybody calmed down ok. And then it didn’t, it just then happened five minutes from there later.
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JASON KILLMEYER - CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER, PROJECT VERITAS 2019-2021:
Umm. I talked to (female employee) a couple of minutes ago.
TD - FIELD OPS DIRECTOR, PROJECT VERITAS 2018-2021:
Mmm hmm.
JASON KILLMEYER - CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER, PROJECT VERITAS 2019-2021:
So what I said to (her) is hey I said you know you don't deserve to be spoken to that way. I know that. Obviously, no employee does. No one deserves to be treated that way.
I’m going to work on how things can change. But, I can't overpromise that either. But I also take very seriously that, you know no one deserves to be treated that way. And she was kind of going back and forth about the whole thing and I said, hey we don't need to recount it.
TD - FIELD OPS DIRECTOR, PROJECT VERITAS 2018-2021:
Yeah, I think the trigger line was when he told her she [beep].
JASON KILLMEYER - CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER, PROJECT VERITAS 2019-2021:
I know. And, I know.
/// WILL KEIPER - CHIEF OPERATIONS OFFICER, PROJECT VERITAS 2017-2019:
You have no idea, my own frustrations. I mean, and that's a complete other story. But, so what I’m, long story short. There's a lot, we both know this. Where it is, you know. And why it is. Okay.
There's a lot of people in the building that are, I mean morale is like sh*t. Piling up slowly.
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TD - FIELD OPS DIRECTOR, PROJECT VERITAS 2018-2021:
Man, he is going above and beyond the way he's treating I can only imagine many many people in that building. It’s just. Somebody’s gotta be able to get through to him and say ‘hey man you need to f*cking rejigger somehow.’ He needs to see a doctor.
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JASON KILLMEYER - CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER, PROJECT VERITAS 2019-2021:
Just to give you some insight, I can’t argue with the things that you just said. And I’m not saying I do. It's a function of what can I affect from a change perspective?
/// WILL KEIPER - CHIEF OPERATIONS OFFICER, PROJECT VERITAS 2017-2019:
He, he's a control freak. In one aspect. I mean he's a freak. We know that. I don’t want you to re– you know, you and I are talking candidly here.
/// TD - FIELD OPS DIRECTOR, PROJECT VERITAS 2018-2021:
He’s just f*cking like on a f*cking tear like I've never seen before with everybody in this building.
JASON KILLMEYER - CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER, PROJECT VERITAS 2019-2021:
Yeah. So here’s what I'm trying to figure aloud. The truth is our morale is really bad. And I don’t understand like, well this is not a good place to want to come in right now. And please don’t share that I said that. And then last week I felt was really scary. Then this week was really bad. And this much more really bad is not going to be sustainable long term. So that's what I'm trying to figure out.
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WILL KEIPER - CHIEF OPERATIONS OFFICER, PROJECT VERITAS 2017-2019:
I want to say, look. This model is going to f*cking work. But, there will be nobody here to run it if you keep doing what you're doing.
/// JASON KILLMEYER - CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER, PROJECT VERITAS 2019-2021:
What I will also share with you is James is aware that what he did last night was not becoming of a leader.
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What I can't promise you guys as leaders is that that never happens again. Because you understand that I can’t promise that.
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WILL KEIPER - CHIEF OPERATIONS OFFICER, PROJECT VERITAS 2017-2019:
Everybody in the whole f*cking building is frustrated. I mean.
TD - FIELD OPS DIRECTOR, PROJECT VERITAS 2018-2021:
Frustrated is not even the right word.
WILL KEIPER - CHIEF OPERATIONS OFFICER, PROJECT VERITAS 2017-2019:
No, I know.
TD - FIELD OPS DIRECTOR, PROJECT VERITAS 2018-2021:
What would? You were saying.
WILL KEIPER - CHIEF OPERATIONS OFFICER, PROJECT VERITAS 2017-2019:
Demoralized.
TD - FIELD OPS DIRECTOR, PROJECT VERITAS 2018-2021:
Yeah.
WILL KEIPER - CHIEF OPERATIONS OFFICER, PROJECT VERITAS 2017-2019:
Demoralized.
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WILL KEIPER - CHIEF OPERATIONS OFFICER, PROJECT VERITAS 2017-2019:
Why would you want to beat him up? What kind of motivation is that?
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JASON KILLMEYER - CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER, PROJECT VERITAS 2019-2021:
Here's what I would tell you is, I have used about most of the social capital or capital that I currently have with James. I’ve used most of it. In the past couple of weeks. And my ability to influence him is right now at a low ebb.
TD - FIELD OPS DIRECTOR, PROJECT VERITAS 2018-2021:
Low ebb?
JASON KILLMEYER - CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER, PROJECT VERITAS 2019-2021:
Yeah. So that’s why I’m hesitant to overpromise things to employees.
/// JASON KILLMEYER - CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER, PROJECT VERITAS 2019-2021:
Here’s what I’m saying, I am not advocating necessarily for people the way that I would prefer. But, I am also making the point in private that I’m eventually getting the point through. But that doesn't prevent the beatings from happening.
TD - FIELD OPS DIRECTOR, PROJECT VERITAS 2018-2021:
Mmm hmm.
JASON KILLMEYER - CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER, PROJECT VERITAS 2019-2021:
And I don't know if I will be able to change that dynamic.
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TD - FIELD OPS DIRECTOR, PROJECT VERITAS 2018-2021:
The best thing for the company would be not to let the CEO take a metaphorical machine gun to everybody on a daily basis. At the same time it’s his company. You know? So.
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JASON KILLMEYER - CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER, PROJECT VERITAS 2019-2021:
Mmm hmm, I hear you.
TD - FIELD OPS DIRECTOR, PROJECT VERITAS 2018-2021:
Only so much you can do.
JASON KILLMEYER - CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER, PROJECT VERITAS 2019-2021:
Yeah and, I am gonna have a, yeah. Umm. I hear you.