Jonathan Stempel

NEW YORK, (Reuters) – A New York State appeals court put on hold Tuesday a part of a judge’s ruling that prevented the New York Times reporting documents made by Project Veritas lawyer.

Justice William Ford, Brooklyn’s Appellate Division said that the Times doesn’t have to destroy or turn over its documents created by Project Veritas in-house attorney Benjamin Barr. This is while the Times appeals against the ban on coverage.

On Friday, in a ruling https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/judge-orders-new-york-times-return-project-veritas-internal-memos-2021-12-24 that alarmed First Amendment advocates, Justice Charles Wood of the state Supreme Court in Westchester County said Barr’s memos were not a matter of public concern, and rejected the Times’ claim that barring coverage would unconstitutionally restrain its journalism.

The newspaper’s editorial board called Wood’s decision dangerous https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/24/opinion/project-veritas-new-york-times.html and his rationale “breathtaking,” saying no court should tell news media how to conduct their reporting and risk subjecting them to frivolous libel lawsuits as a means of controlling news coverage.

Ford ordered Project Veritas’ to determine by January 14th 2022 whether Wood’s decision should be reversed or stayed.

Elizabeth Locke was a Project Veritas lawyer who sent an email to say that Project Veritas “joined The Times to make a very specific request to preserve the status-quo to allow appellate reviews because the proper administration and review of justice are paramount to American democracy, The First Amendment, as well as the press’ freedoms under it.”

Jordan Cohen, a Times spokesperson said in an email that Wood’s unconstitutional orders were stayed. He also expressed satisfaction and hoped for the Appellate Division to declare the order invalid.

Project Veritas, led by James O’Keefe has employed what critics consider deceptive techniques to expose liberal media bias.

U.S. Department of Justice is investigating the possible involvement of the group in the robbery of Ashley Biden’s diary. The journal was stolen from Ashley by President Joe Biden.

Project Veritas sued the Times to defame a Sept 2020 article it published about a video that was related to Minnesota voter fraud.

It objected later to the Nov. 11 Times article redrawing from Barr’s memos and calling the publication an attempt at embarrassment of a litigation opponent.

The Times has not been subject to any previous restraints since 1971 when Nixon attempted unsuccessfully to stop publication of Pentagon Papers detailing U.S military involvement in Vietnam.