The story on the latest exploits of James O'Keefe, the so-called conservative activist whose claim to fame is a doctored ACORN video and being arrested in a botched attempt to bug a U.S. Senator's office, continues to evolve.
In the hours since it was revealed that O'Keefe planned to:
... embarrass a CNN correspondent by recording a meeting on hidden cameras aboard a floating "palace of pleasure" and making sexually suggestive comments, e-mails and a planning document show.
... CNN's Abbie Boudreau, the target in this plot, is reporting that:
... the plan was to give Fox News a head's up that we were about to report a fake story, so then Fox could undercut, quote, unquote, Fox could undercut CNN's credibility.
In addition, O'Keefe is denying that he was behind the 13-page document that CNN obtained, that contained details of the plan to "seduce" Boudreau:
That is not my work product. When it was sent to me, I immediately found certain elements highly objectionable and inappropriate, and did not consider them for one minute following it.
But Boudreau reports that "we would learn that that does not appear to be true," and that CNN has "documentation that show his true intentions."
Some of those intentions already revealed:
... Listed under "equipment needed," is "hidden cams on the boat," and a "tripod and overt recorder near the bed, an obvious sex tape machine."
Among the props listed were a "condom jar, dildos, posters and paintings of naked women, fuzzy handcuffs" and a blindfold.
According to the document, O'Keefe was to record a video of the following script before Boudreau arrived: "My name is James. I work in video activism and journalism. I've been approached by CNN for an interview where I know what their angle is: they want to portray me and my friends as crazies, as non-journalists, as unprofessional and likely as homophobes, racists or bigots of some sort....
"Instead, I've decided to have a little fun. Instead of giving her a serious interview, I'm going to punk CNN. Abbie has been trying to seduce me to use me, in order to spin a lie about me. So, I'm going to seduce her, on camera, to use her for a video. This bubble-headed-bleach-blonde who comes on at five will get a taste of her own medicine, she'll get seduced on camera and you'll get to see the awkwardness and the aftermath.
The plan was thwarted when one of Mr. O'Keefe's cohorts had second thoughts and alerted Ms. Boudreau when she arrived for what she thought was an interview with O'Keefe for an upcoming CNN documentary on conservative filmmakers.
It should be noted that Mr. O'Keefe didn't need worry about how CNN would portray him -- he took care of that all on his own, showing himself to be a deranged misogynist. This is not activism. This so-called "prank" has all the hallmarks of a sexual predator luring in a victim.
For O'Keefe and his ilk, this is journalism -- and what a nice set of reporting tools he had. Most journalists are satisfied with notepads and pens. Not O'Keefe! Dildos and fuzzy hancuffs are the tools of his trade.
For more discussion, see The Lager Lad's diary.
