Leak: Project Veritas feared James O'Keefe's antics would get them in trouble with IRS

The Washington Post has obtained an internal memo from right-wing group Project Veritas showing that its members feared former leader James O'Keefe would get it in trouble with the IRS.

At issue was O'Keefe's decision to oust chief financial officer Tom O’Hara, which ran afoul of the group's bylaws stating that only the organization's board of directors may remove such appointees.

This violation of bylaws, the group feared, could jeopardize its status as a nonprofit organization with the Internal Revenue Service.

"THERE IS NO PROJECT VERITAS WITHOUT THE IRS," the board wrote in its memo.

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The memo also outlined that the group's status as a nonprofit organization was not only crucial to its ability to avoid paying taxes, but also to keeping the names of its donors from becoming public.

What's more, the board wrote, "donors donate to our organization in part because of the Tax Deduction available to the donor," and it predicted that, without such benefits, "the organization folds, and with it go our employees."

O'Keefe's allies, for their part, have said that there is more to the story than what the Project Veritas board has been letting on and have been teasing that they will release more information in the near future.