美国司法部(Justice Department)周四宣布，两名佛罗里达州居民已承认窃取了美国总统乔·拜登(Joe Biden)的小女儿艾什莉·拜登的日记，并将其出售给右翼激进组织真理工程(Project Veritas)。
40岁的Aimee Harris和58岁的Robert Kurlander承认合谋跨州运输被盗财产，涉及盗窃一名前政府官员直系亲属的个人物品，因为他们在2020年9月拿走了几件属于艾什莉·拜登的物品。这项指控最高可判五年监禁。
Kurlander也同意与政府合作。
尽管41岁的艾什莉·拜登并没有在法庭文件中被提及，但一位熟悉此案的消息人士证实这些是她的物品。
美国检察官达米安·威廉姆斯在一份声明中说:“哈里斯和科兰德从一名国家政治办公室候选人的直系亲属那里窃取了个人财产。”“他们以40，000美元的价格将财产卖给了纽约的一个组织，甚至在被要求这么做的时候回来拿走更多的受害者的财产。”
拜登在佛罗里达州德尔雷比奇的一处私人住宅中储存了一本手写日记，其中包含高度私人的条目、税务记录、一张包含私人家庭照片的数字存储卡和一部手机，以及其他物品，哈里斯当时也住在那里。
在她偷了拜登的物品后，她联系了Kurlander，他们联系了“真理项目”的一名代表。DOJ说，他们在与维尔软件公司签订合同后不久，就在纽约市与该公司员工见了面。
法庭文件称，“在那次会面中，哈里斯描述了她如何获得财产的情况，并向该组织提供了财产。”“会议结束后，在该组织的要求下，哈里斯和库兰德回到佛罗里达州，以获得更多的受害者的财产，以便提供给该组织。”
President Joe Biden walks on the beach with daughter Ashley Biden, in Rehoboth Beach, Del., June 20, 2022.
Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP，文件
据DOJ报道，在提供了更多拜登的私人物品后，他们每人获得了2万美元的报酬。
在周四的一份声明中，项目Veritas说，“项目Veritas的新闻采集是道德和合法的。记者合法收到后来被指控为被盗的材料是例行公事，司空见惯，并受到第一修正案的保护。"
在两人去佛罗里达州的房子窃取更多信息后，Kurklander给Harris发了一条短信，说他们希望从Project Veritas获得多达10万美元的额外财产。
“他们在做一个粗略的生意，在这里他们拿走了被盗的日记和信息...试图编造一个故事来毁掉[受害者]的生活，并试图影响选举。[受害者]很容易认为她的所有东西都在那里，而不关心它。...法庭文件显示，这条短信称:“我们必须更加小心，这些东西必须由我们来检查，如果有任何值钱的东西，都必须上交，而且必须搬出那栋房子。”。
阿什利搬出后不久，艾什莉·拜登被邀请住在那里，哈里斯就获得了她的房产。根据DOJ的说法，拜登把她的东西存放在这里。
据称，这两人还试图在一场有利于“候选人2”的筹款活动上出售被盗财产，据信这位候选人是前总统唐纳德·特朗普。哈里斯和柯克兰德“参加了募捐活动，目的是向候选人2的竞选代表展示受害者被盗的财产，希望政治运动能够购买它。”
竞选代表拒绝购买该信息。
“候选人2的政治竞选活动的一名代表向被告艾米·哈里斯(AIMEE HARRIS)和罗伯特·库兰德(ROBERT KURLANDER)传达了竞选活动对购买这些财产不感兴趣，并建议哈里斯和库兰德向联邦调查局(FBI)提供这些物品，”法庭文件称。
Pair pleads guilty to stealing Ashley Biden's diary, selling it to Project Veritas
Two Florida residents have pleaded guilty to stealing the diary of Ashley Biden, President Joe Biden's youngest daughter, and then selling it to right-wing activist group Project Veritas, the Justice Department announced Thursday.
Aimee Harris, 40, and Robert Kurlander, 58, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit interstate transportation of stolen property involving the theft of personal belongings of an immediate family member of a then-former government official for taking several items belonging to Ashley Biden in September 2020. The charge carries a maximum of five years in prison.
Kurlander has also agreed to cooperate with the government.
Though Ashley Biden, 41, is not named in the court documents, a source familiar with the case confirmed they were her belongings.
"Harris and Kurlander stole personal property from an immediate family member of a candidate for national political office," U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement. "They sold the property to an organization in New York for $40,000 and even returned to take more of the victim’s property when asked to do so."
Biden had stored a handwritten journal containing highly personal entries, tax records, a digital storage card containing private family photographs and a cellphone, among other things, in a private residence in Delray Beach, Florida, where Harris was also staying.
After she stole Biden's items, she contacted Kurlander and they got in touch with a representative from Project Veritas. They met with the Veritas employee in New York City shortly after they made contract with them, the DOJ said.
"During that meeting, Harris described the circumstances of how she had obtained the property, and provided the property to the Organization," court documents say. "After the meeting, and at the Organization's request, HARRIS and KURLANDER returned to Florida to obtain more of the Victim's property in order to provide it to the Organization."
They were paid $20,000 each by Project Veritas after providing more of Biden's personal belongings, according to the DOJ.
In a statement Thursday, Project Veritas said, "Project Veritas' news gathering was ethical and legal. A journalist's lawful receipt of material later alleged to be stolen is routine, commonplace, and protected by the First Amendment."
After the pair went to the house in Florida to steal more of the information, Kurklander sent a text to Harris, saying they expected as much as $100,000 from Project Veritas for the additional possessions.
"They are in a sketchy business and here they are taking what's literally a stolen diary and info ... and trying to make a story that will ruin [the Victim's] life and try and effect the election. [The Victim] can easily be thinking all her stuff is there and not concerned about it. ... we have to tread even more carefully and that stuff needs to be gone through by us and if anything worthwhile it needs to be turned over and MUST be out of that house," the text message said according to court documents.
Harris acquired Ashley Biden's property after she was invited to live there shortly after Ashley moved out. Biden stored her stuff at the property, according to the DOJ.
The duo also allegedly tried to sell the stolen property at a fundraiser benefiting "Candidate-2," which is believed to be former President Donald Trump. Harris and Kurklander "attended the fundraiser with the intent of showing the Victim's stolen property to a campaign representative of Candidate-2, hoping that the political campaign would purchase it."
The campaign representative declined to purchase the information.
"A representative of Candidate-2's political campaign conveyed to AIMEE HARRIS and ROBERT KURLANDER, the defendants, that the campaign was not interested in purchasing the property and advised HARRIS and KURLANDER to provide the items to the Federal Bureau of Investigation," the court documents said.
