Project Veritas

Janine Bonanni - CNN

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Gettr

On December 15, 2021 Project Veritas published a story featuring graphic texts and videos provided by a source that shows CNN producer Rick Saleeby fantasizing about molesting his fiancé’s daughter. Janine Bonanni, a case manager for the Center for Family Services, approached Project Veritas with this evidence due to her concerns for the wellbeing of children as a whole. She had been in contact with Rick Saleeby for years. 

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In one text exchange, Saleeby tells the source how his fiancé’s daughter “was wearing very closely cut bottoms at the pool,” before using graphic language to describe how he could see the outline of her private parts. 

Other texts were too graphic and sickening to directly quote. The messages and videos were obtained by a woman who engaged in a sexual relationship with Saleeby in question for a decade.

Project Veritas’ first course of action was to reach out to authorities. Following that, we reached out to the mother of the children to ensure their safety. Project Veritas then reached out to his employer, CNN, to inform them of the situation and give them the opportunity to comment. As of this press release, we are still awaiting a response.

These revelations come on the heels of the arrest of former CNN employee, John Griffin, who was charged with three counts of using a facility of interstate commerce to attempt to entice minors to engage in unlawful sexual activity.

To protect the children, Project Veritas did not initially release information about anyone involved in the story, including the producer. However, after receiving permission from the producer’s fiancé, Project Veritas revealed the name of the person in question to be Jake Tapper’s producer, Rick Saleeby.

Shortly after the release of the Project Veritas video, Rick Saleeby, Producer for Jake Tapper, resigned.

The update came from CNN’s Matt Dornic, Head of Strategic Communications at the network, following Project Veritas’ December 15th report of alleged text messages and FaceTime calls of Saleeby’s sexual fantasies and solicitation of photos of underage girls.

As previously reported, Fairfax County police have taken some of Saleeby’s property as part of an investigation being conducted by detectives assigned to the Child Exploitation Squad of the Major Crimes Bureau. When confronted by a Project Veritas reporter early in the week outside of his court appearance, Saleeby refused to answer questions about his official status with CNN.

About Project Veritas

Project Veritas is a non-profit investigative news organization conducting undercover reporting. Project Veritas investigates and exposes corruption, dishonesty, self-dealing, waste, fraud, and other misconduct in both public and private institutions to achieve a more ethical and transparent society. Project Veritas is a registered 501(c)(3) organization.