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.
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.
-
How music can help recovery from surgeryUnder The Radar A ‘few gentle notes’ can make a difference to the body during medical procedures
-
Nursing is no longer considered a professional degree by the Department of EducationThe Explainer An already strained industry is hit with another blow
-
6 gripping museum exhibitions to view this winterThe Week Recommends Discover the real Grandma Moses and Frida Kahlo
-
Judge halts Trump’s DC Guard deploymentSpeed Read The Trump administration has ‘infringed upon the District’s right to govern itself,’ the judge ruled
-
Trump accuses Democrats of sedition meriting ‘death’Speed Read The president called for Democratic lawmakers to be arrested for urging the military to refuse illegal orders
-
Court strikes down Texas GOP gerrymanderSpeed Read The Texas congressional map ordered by Trump is likely an illegal racial gerrymander, the court ruled
-
Trump defends Saudi prince, shrugs off Khashoggi murderSpeed Read The president rebuked an ABC News reporter for asking Mohammed bin Salman about the death of a Washington Post journalist at the Saudi Consulate in 2018
-
Congress passes bill to force release of Epstein filesSpeed Read The Justice Department will release all files from its Jeffrey Epstein sex-trafficking investigation
-
Trump says he will sell F-35 jets to Saudi ArabiaSpeed Read The president plans to make several deals with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman this week
-
Judge blasts ‘profound’ errors in Comey caseSpeed Read ‘Government misconduct’ may necessitate dismissing the charges against the former FBI director altogether
-
Ecuador rejects push to allow US military basesSpeed Read Voters rejected a repeal of a constitutional ban on US and other foreign military bases in the country
