Florida pair pleads guilty to stealing, selling Ashley Biden's diary


Florida residents Aimee Harris and Robert Kurlander on Thursday pleaded guilty to stealing President Biden's daughter's diary, among other possessions, and selling it to conservative group Project Veritas as the 2020 election wound to a close, Fox News reports.
The pair appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Sarah L. Cave in New York City to plead guilty to "conspiracy to commit interstate transportation of stolen property" involving theft of personal belongings of an immediate family member to an ex-government official and candidate for national office. The charge carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison. Both individuals also agreed to turn over the money they received from Project Veritas, per The Washington Post.
The president's daughter, Ashley Biden, had stored the items in question (including a "highly personal" diary, "tax records, a digital storage card containing private family photographs, and a cellphone, among other things") in a Florida home where Harris later took up temporary residence, Fox News summarizes, per court documents. Harris then reportedly stole the items and asked Kurlander to help her sell them.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Kurlander's plea deal also includes cooperating with the Justice Department's investigation into how Project Veritas obtained the diary, notes The New York Times. The conservative group maintained in a statement that their "news gathering was ethical and legal."
"I know what I did was wrong and awful, and I apologize," Kurlander said in court. "I sincerely apologize for any actions and know what I did was illegal," Harris added.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brigid Kennedy worked at The Week from 2021 to 2023 as a staff writer, junior editor and then story editor, with an interest in U.S. politics, the economy and the music industry.
-
5 explosively funny cartoons about the 4th of July
Cartoons Artists take on liberty and justice for all, a terrifying firework, and more
-
Jeff in Venice: a "triumph of tackiness"?
In the Spotlight Locals protest as Bezos uses the city as a 'private amusement park' for his wedding celebrations
-
Crossword: July 5, 2025
The Week's daily crossword puzzle
-
Judge blocks Trump's asylum ban at US border
Speed Read The president violated federal law by shutting down the US-Mexico border to asylum seekers, said the ruling
-
Thai court suspends prime minister over leaked call
Speed Read Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has been suspended, pending an ethics investigation
-
Senate passes GOP megabill after Alaska side deal
The pivotal yes vote came from Sen. Lisa Murkowski, whose support was secured following negotiated side deals for her home state Alaska
-
Trump sues LA over immigration policies
Speed Read He is suing over the city's sanctuary law, claiming it prevents local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration authorities
-
Obama, Bush and Bono eulogize USAID on final day
Speed Read The US Agency for International Development, a humanitarian organization, has been gutted by the Trump administration
-
The last words and final moments of 40 presidents
The Explainer Some are eloquent quotes worthy of the holders of the highest office in the nation, and others... aren't
-
Senate advances GOP bill that costs more, cuts more
Speed Read The bill would make giant cuts to Medicaid and food stamps, leaving 11.8 million fewer people with health coverage
-
Canadian man dies in ICE custody
Speed Read A Canadian citizen with permanent US residency died at a federal detention center in Miami