WATCH: Major ruling in CNN defamation fight with James O’Keefe

A federal appeals court has ruled against CNN in its attempt to have dismissed a defamation complaint from James O’Keefe and Project Veritas.

O’Keefe launched Project Veritas and worked years with the organization, doing undercover interviews to uncover political scandals.

He later left and now works with O’Keefe Media Group.

But the dispute arose during his time with the former organization.

BREAKING: O’Keefe Scores Victory in 11th Circuit of Appeals Against CNN in Defamation Case pic.twitter.com/h87Vwe5SSR

— James O’Keefe (@JamesOKeefeIII) November 11, 2024

A report from the Post Millennial said it was the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals that said CNN’s statements about O’Keefe “were not substantially true” and found that, “Veritas plausibly alleged that Cabrera’s statements were published with actual malice under the First Amendment.”

The report explained, “Circuit Judge Elizabeth Branch wrote in an opinion for the court that on February 11, 2021, the Project Veritas account on then-Twitter was suspended. CNN’s Ana Cabrera claimed on February 15 that the account had been banned for ‘promoting misinformation,’ while Project Veritas said that it was because it had violated Twitter’s ‘publication of private information,’ or ‘doxxing’ policy.”

The judge wrote, “When CNN refused to issue a retraction, Veritas sued for defamation. The district court granted CNN’s motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim, finding that Cabrera’s statements were substantially true and thus not actionable under applicable New York defamation law. Veritas appealed.”

The fight was over a post that showed a video of a Project Veritas journalist at the home of a Facebook official. The accusation was that there were details in the video indicating the location of the residence.

O’Keefe had argued that other networks “often” don’t blur the number of an address. A lower court had dismissed the case but it was restored at the appellate level.

Circuit Judge Ed Carnes noted, “If you stay on the bench long enough, you see a lot of things. Still, I never thought I’d see a major news organization downplaying the importance of telling the truth in its broadcasts. But that is what CNN has done in this case.”

The CNN dispute was sent back to the lower courts for further action.