The FBI is currently investigating potential violations of campaign finance laws related to an undercover operation that took place in Wyoming. The operation was designed to infiltrate progressive groups, political campaigns, and the offices of elected representatives before the 2020 election. The goal of the operation, as revealed by The New York Times in 2021, was to gather dirt on people and organizations that were considered threats to the agenda of former President Donald J. Trump, using large campaign donations and cover stories to gain access to their targets.
Federal prosecutors have issued subpoenas for at least two people involved in the operation, Richard Seddon and Susan Gore. Prosecutors and FBI agents are seeking information related to Seddon’s firm, Branch Six Consulting International, as well as two other entities registered in his name. They are also seeking communications, documents, and financial records related to Erik Prince, a well-known security consultant, and former operatives who worked for the conservative group Project Veritas and its founder. The operatives working for Seddon made several large political donations, including $20,000 to the Democratic National Committee, which gained them entry to a Democratic presidential debate in Las Vegas in 2020. They also made donations to the election campaigns of Senator Mark Kelly and Colorado’s secretary of state, Jena Griswold, as well as to the Wyoming Democratic Party.
Under federal law, it is illegal to make campaign donations at the behest of another person and be reimbursed for them. The operation began in 2018 when Seddon convinced former employees of Project Veritas to move to Wyoming and participate in his new venture. Seddon also used money from Gore to fund the operation, though she claims she was not aware that her money was being used for sabotage operations. Seddon closely managed the two operatives, Beau Maier and Sofia LaRocca, who filed weekly intelligence reports about their activities and targets. It is not clear if Maier and LaRocca made the political donations at someone’s behest and were reimbursed, or if they are cooperating with federal authorities.
The operation’s sophistication showed a level of paranoia in ultraconservative Republican circles that the electoral map in the United States might be changing to their disadvantage. The FBI is investigating the operation’s targets, including Karlee Provenza, a police reform advocate who won a seat in the Wyoming Legislature representing one of only a few Democratic districts in the state. Provenza was one of the targets of the spying ring, and she welcomes the investigation by federal authorities. Seddon was recruited to join Project Veritas by Erik Prince, who believed that he could turn the organization into a more professional intelligence gathering operation. Seddon helped set up operations to discredit perceived enemies of Donald Trump inside the U.S. government, including a planned sting operation in 2018 against Trump’s then-national security adviser, H.R. McMaster. He also helped set up operations to secretly record FBI employees and other government officials.
