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President Joe Biden’s daughter Ashley Biden kept a diary while recovering from drug addiction
A woman who stole Joe Biden’s daughter’s diary and sold it to a conservative organization has been sentenced to one month in prison.
Amy Harris will also be under house arrest for three months after taking Ashley Biden’s personal belongings.
Harris, 41, pleaded guilty in 2022 to conspiracy to transport stolen property across state lines.
She was sentenced Tuesday in federal court in New York.
The woman, who lives in Palm Beach, Florida, said she had received $20,000 (£15,800) from Project Veritas, an organization that carries out hidden camera searches targeting media organizations, government officials and politicians.
The court ordered her to forfeit the money.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain described Harris’ conduct as “despicable and therefore very serious”.
Ashley Biden kept her diary and other documents in the house she was staying in in Delray Beach, Florida in 2020.
The property owner then allowed Mr. Harris to stay at the home. She discovered Biden’s belongings and, along with her co-defendant Robert Kurlander, tried to sell the diary to President Donald Trump’s campaign.
When the Trump campaign failed, the two approached Project Veritas.
Kurlander also pleaded guilty and will be sentenced at a later date.
As part of the investigation into the charges, FBI agents searched the homes of Project Veritas founder James O’Keefe and two of his employees. Mr. O’Keefe and Project Veritas were not charged in the case, and Mr. O’Keefe later left the organization.
Project Veritas has not released a diary purportedly detailing Biden’s recovery from drug addiction. Later, another right-wing news outlet published what they said was a diary with some slight edits.
Project Veritas board chairman Ben Wetmore told the BBC that the organization had handed over the diary to authorities.
Wetmore said law enforcement authorities had seized equipment and intercepted company communications, and that “even though no one at Project Veritas has been charged with a crime, they have threatened Project Veritas with the amendments to the U.S. Constitution.” “We were forced to spend millions of dollars in court defending Title I.”
After pleading guilty, Ms. Harris did not appear at many sentencing hearings. She apologized in court on Tuesday, saying she was busy taking care of her two children.
“I don’t think I’m above the law,” she said. “I am a survivor of long-term domestic violence and sexual trauma.”
Harris also apologized to the president’s daughter during the hearing.
Prosecutors said in their sentencing memo that Harris’ motives were both financial and political, saying, “Stealing the personal property of a candidate’s family and selling it to an organization that exploits it for political gain is… It is wrong and illegal regardless of political agenda.” . ”