Case Filed by TSA Agent Against Project Veritas Dismissed

A lawsuit that was filed against Project Veritas by a TSA agent caught on camera has been dismissed.

On May 20, 2015, James O’Keefe was driving on the East side of New York with some colleagues and witnessed Augustin Maldonado, a TSA agent drinking what appeared to him to be alcohol behind the wheel.

Maldonado sued for intentional infliction of emotional distress and defamation. However, the court disagreed with him and called our video a “mini-drama” and said Mr. Maldonado is an example of the ambush-style journalism made popular by Sixty Minutes and Candid Camera.

The court dismissed all claims made by Maldonado, including for emotional distress and defamation, and found the video we prepared to be protected by the First Amendment as Constitutionally-protected speech.

Mark Smith of Smith Valliere PLLC represented Project Veritas in this case.

“We are pleased that the New York Supreme Court upheld the First Amendment and dismissed this lawsuit,” Project Veritas’s lead attorney Mark W. Smith said.   Smith of the New York City law firm Smith Valliere PLLC continued, “The First Amendment exists to allow people like James O’Keefe and his Project Veritas team to continue their efforts to report on issues of public concern.”