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Missouri Dems Ban Video After Hidden Camera Captures McCaskill

McCaskill accuses opponent of 'fraudulently embedding somebody' in campaign, no evidence supports claim

Claire McCaskill
Claire McCaskill / Getty Images
October 18, 2018

Sen. Claire McCaskill's campaign has started to ban recording of its events, an apparent response to behind-the-scenes footage of her campaign released by Project Veritas.

Project Veritas, run by James O'Keefe, began to release the hidden camera footage of McCaskill's campaign early this week. The campaign quickly responded by putting up notices at its events banning individuals who intend to record.

A "recording notice" posted by the entrance of a Wednesday campaign event with volunteers, which can be read in full below, said anyone who enters must "agree to not record" and would be "asked to leave the event" if caught.

RECORDING NOTICE: By entering this area, you agree to not record, reproduce, transmit or stream from the event site, offices, work spaces, or any of their surroundings, in any manner or by any means whatsoever, any portion of, or the entirety of, any Missouri Democratic Party events or general activities in or surrounding the Missouri Democratic Party offices and work spaces, including making any photographs, videotapes or any other records, in the absence of the specific and advance written permission of the Missouri Democratic Party. The Missouri Democratic Party retains the exclusive copyright to all material that may be distributed at the event or produced or maintained in its offices, work spaces, or any of their surroundings unless otherwise noted, and to any and all photographs, videotapes and other recordings of any kind of all Missouri Democratic Party events, general activities, office spaces, and surroundings.

If you do not wish to be subject to the foregoing, know not enter this area. If you or your guests are unwilling or unable to comply with the aforementioned terms and conditions, you may be asked to leave the event, activity, offices, work spaces, or their surroundings.

The McCaskill campaign did not respond to an inquiry into whether the notice was a direct response to the Project Veritas videos.

Other video of McCaskill posted by campaign volunteers, such as footage of her saying she became "physically ill" when she learned Trump would be able to fill another Supreme Court vacancy, has also been used by her opponents.

Banning recording has been just part of McCaskill's response to the Project Veritas video. Her campaign has said that "fraud has been committed" against it and called on her Republican opponent Josh Hawley, who also happens to be Missouri's attorney general, to launch a special investigation into the Project Veritas videos.

McCaskill took it a step further, accusing Hawley of "fraudulently embedding somebody in my campaign."

O'Keefe, in a statement to the Free Beacon, called the accusations of fraud from McCaskill "false and outrageous."

"Senator McCaskill made an absolutely false and outrageous statement," O'Keefe said. "Maybe instead of trying to criminalize legitimate news gathering, Senator McCaskill should address what her campaign staff in the undercover videos say about them having to 'essentially' lie to get elected."

O'Keefe also denied that the Hawley campaign was at all involved with his videos.

Hawley has similarly come out strong against McCaskill for accusing him of fraud. "Senator, accusing people of crimes is a serious thing," Hawley wrote on Twitter. "If you have evidence of a crime, please come forward with it immediately. Otherwise, please stop politicizing the legal process for your reelection."

The Associated Press reports McCaskill's campaign has "backed off" the senator's accusation that Hawley was involved in the video, pivoting to criticizing him for promoting the video instead.