Outlet cited by the GOP was behind efforts to discredit women who accused Roy Moore of sexual assault
SAINT PAUL, MIINNESOTA – Yesterday, Minnesota Senate Republicans attempted to make the case for Voter ID by posting an undercover video produced by Project Veritas, an organization which has been described as a “right-wing disinformation outfit” by media researchers at Harvard University and a “discredited rightwing attack organization” in the Guardian.
Project Veritas is known for producing undercover sting videos that are deceptively edited and highly misleading. Some of their exploits include:
- Attempting to trick the Washington Post into reporting a fake accusation of sexual assault against Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore in order to discredit the Post’s reporting on real allegations of sexual assault leveled against Roy Moore
- Trying to lure a female CNN reporter onto a boat full of “dildos and pornography” and sexually harrass her on camera
- Getting arrested and convicted for breaking into the offices of Democratic Senator Mary Landrieu in an attempt to tamper with her phone system
Ken Martin, Chairman of the Minnesota DFL, released the following statement:
“Project Veritas would not be an acceptable source for a middle school civics essay, and Minnesota Senate Republicans should know better than to post content from such a deceptive and discredited outfit.
“It is deeply disturbing that Senate Republicans are using a right-wing disinformation outlet to push a law that would stop eligible voters from casting their ballots. The same organization that Senate Republicans are using to make the case for voter ID was recently caught trying to spread fake news to discredit sexual assault victims. If Paul Gazelka and his caucus cannot make a good faith case for voter ID, they should drop the proposal instead of looking to liars and propagandists for support.”
The facts are clearly not on the side of Senate Republicans when it comes to voter ID. Study after study has found that voter fraud is incredibly rare. As the Minnesota Reformer noted:
“A Brennan Center for Justice 2017 study examined the 42 jurisdictions with a high share of noncitizen residents in the states where Trump alleged voter fraud. Of 23.5 million votes in the 2016 general election in those jurisdictions, officials referred an estimated 30 incidents of suspected noncitizen voting for further investigation or prosecution, or 0.0001%.”