Former Project Veritas CEO James O’Keefe sat down with Ben Shapiro on this week’s episode of “The Sunday Special,” discussing how he plans on outsourcing undercover operatives equipped with hidden cameras in order to decentralize journalism.

“What I’m trying to do is get information into the hands of the citizens so that they make the best decisions to elect the right representatives,” O’Keefe said. “I actually believe that if people had any idea what was actually going on — in the three letter agencies and the schools — then they would be rightfully outraged.”

O’Keefe announced his resignation from Project Veritas last month after a conflict with the board of directors from the investigative journalism group he founded over ten years ago. Weeks after the company ousted the guerrilla journalist, he launched O’Keefe Media Group, a new business venture promising to be surrounded by “the most elite journalists in the world.”

His ouster from the company came after the group broke a story in which Pfizer’s Director of Research and Development admitted the pharmaceutical company was apparently conducting “directed evolution” research on SARS-CoV-2.

Project Veritas’ board of directors said they wanted to fix things with O’Keefe, but he would not have contact with them after an incident unfolded in February. The board of directors alleged that O’Keefe misspent large sums of donor money and that he broke the organization’s bylaws with his actions.

“I never really figured out what exactly happened, but it’s important for me to continue my mission,” he said.

That mission with the new media group, O’Keefe said, involves “getting little cameras into the hands of 1000s of people and helping everyone be a journalist.”

“The mission is to teach people about journalism ethics … technology … and recording laws in various states — I intend to open-source all of that on the website,” he said, which has not yet become available to the public.

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Under O’Keefe’s leadership, Project Veritas broke several major stories through sting operations and whistleblowers — a style of journalism that critics have called deceptive.

O’Keefe, on the other hand, decried much of the criticism, which supporters of the abrasive form of journalism say is only viewed as controversial when it doesn’t support left-wing purposes.

“It’s not about the methods,” he said. “It’s about whose ox you’re perceived to be goring — it’s all about politics, and it’s all about power.”

“I want to teach people how to do it themselves so that I don’t have to curate it,” he said at the time of the O’Keefe Media Group announcement. “And if that vision comes to life, I think that could change the world.”

Ryan Saveedra contributed to this report.

A lawyer who previously advised ex-Trump lawyer Michael Cohen has been invited to testify this week in the Manhattan grand jury investigation into former President Donald Trump’s alleged $130,000 hush money payment to porn actress Stormy Daniels during the 2016 election.

Attorney Robert Costello is reportedly prepared to attack the credibility of Cohen, who allegedly made the payment to Daniels on Trump’s behalf and was later improperly reimbursed for the expense.

The Associated Press reported that Costello claims to have information that contradicts some of Cohen’s current statements and that “could be exculpatory for Trump.”

The report said that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office “last week subpoenaed Costello’s law firm for records and invited him to provide testimony on Monday afternoon.”

“THE MOST IMPORTANT WITNESS TO GO BEFORE THE NEW YORK CITY GRAND JURY, A HIGHLY RESPECTED LAWYER WHO ONCE REPRESENTED CONVICTED FELON, JAILBIRD, AND SERIAL FAKE STORYTELLER AND LIAR, MICHAEL COHEN, WILL BE DOING SO TOMORROW AFTERNOON,” Trump said on social media. “THE INFORMATION HE WILL PRESENT WILL SUPPOSEDLY BE CONCLUSIVE AND IRREFUTABLE!”

Trump ignited a firestorm over the weekend after he claimed on social media on Saturday that he was going to be “arrested on Tuesday.” A spokesperson for Trump later said that Trump has been given “no notification” that there will be an arrest next week.

Trump’s remarks came after a report from NBC News said federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies were analyzing security assessments and making plans to prepare for the possibility that Trump could be indicted next week, but no date was given in the report.

Many notable conservatives cast doubt on the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office investigation into the former president.

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“Prosecuting Trump over the Stormy Daniels payoff is beyond absurd,” Daily Wire podcast host Ben Shapiro tweeted. “It’s political targeting, obviously — and it’s coming from the same DA who pledged in 2022 not to prosecute misdemeanor resisting arrest, certain obstruction of governmental administration, and prostitution.”

Prosecuting Trump over the Stormy Daniels payoff is beyond absurd. It's political targeting, obviously — and it's coming from the same DA who pledged in 2022 not to prosecute misdemeanor resisting arrest, certain obstruction of governmental administration, and prostitution.

— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) March 19, 2023

The case involves an alleged payment that Cohen admits he made to Daniels during the presidential race to keep quiet about an alleged 2006 tryst between Trump and Daniels. Cohen pleaded guilty to related charges and served time in prison.

Although non-disclosure agreements are legal, the potential problem for Trump centers around how his company reimbursed Cohen. The payment was listed as a legal expense and the company cited a retainer agreement with Cohen. The retainer agreement did not exist and the reimbursement was not related to any legal services from Cohen, thus setting up a potential misdemeanor criminal charge of falsifying business records. The report said that Trump personally signed several of the checks to Cohen while he was serving as president.

Prosecutors can elevate the misdemeanor to a felony if they can prove that Trump’s “‘intent to defraud’ included an intent to commit or conceal a second crime.”

Prosecutors argue that the second crime is that the alleged $130,000 hush payment was an improper donation to the Trump campaign because the money was used to stop a story for the purpose of benefiting his presidential campaign.

This is a developing news story; refresh the page for updates.