Florida Man and Woman Plead Guilty to Stealing Diary of Joe Biden's Daughter Ashley
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Florida residents Aimee Harris and Robert Kurlander pleaded guilty in a Manhattan federal court Thursday to taking a diary belonging to Ashley Biden — the daughter of President Joe Biden — and other items near the end of the 2020 presidential campaign.
According to The New York Times, Harris, 40, and Kurlander, 58, moved the objects from Ashley's home state of Florida to New York and sold the objects to Project Veritas — a self-described "non-profit journalism enterprise" with a history of undercover operations and other secretive tactics that critics have long said are far more manipulative than journalistic.
"Project Veritas' news gathering was ethical and legal. A journalist's lawful receipt of material later alleged to be stolen is routine, commonplace, and protected by the First Amendment," a Project Veritas spokesperson tells PEOPLE.
Harris and Kurlander turned themselves in Thursday and were released from custody after their hearing, The Times reported.
Harris' attorney Sanford Talkin also tells PEOPLE that she "has accepted responsibility for her conduct and looks forward to moving on with her life."
"Harris and Kurlander stole personal property from an immediate family member of a candidate for national political office," U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement Thursday. "They sold the property to an organization in New York for $40,000 and even returned to take more of the victim's property when asked to do so. Harris and Kurlander sought to profit from their theft of another person's personal property, and they now stand convicted of a federal felony as a result."
FBI Assistant Director Michael J. Driscoll added: "As they've admitted with today's pleas, the defendants conspired to steal an individual's personal property, which they subsequently sold to a third party and delivered across state lines. As a consequence of their actions, they now face punishment in the federal criminal justice system for their crimes. I'd like to thank the Public Corruption Units at both the FBI's New York Office and the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York for their dedicated effort in this case."
The incident dates back to around September 2020, when Harris and Kurlander stole the items Ashley, 41, had stored in a home that Harris temporarily lived in, according to the DOJ. Along with the handwritten journal "containing highly personal entries," Ashley also put away "tax records, a digital storage card containing private family photographs, and a cellphone, among other things."
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Once Harris took the items, she had Kurlander help her sell it; they each made $20,000, which they turned over as a condition of their plea deal. Kurlander is also working with the Justice Department under the deal, the DOJ said.
It added that Harris and Kurlander pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit interstate transportation of stolen property. They're facing up to five years in prison.
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PEOPLE reached out to Kurlander's lawyer for comment but did not immediately hear back.
