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What legal or criminal investigations have been opened regarding the diary and when did they occur?
Executive Summary
Federal law‑enforcement action over Ashley Biden’s diary began with an FBI criminal probe opened in October 2021 after a Biden family representative reported items, including a journal, were stolen; the probe produced searches of Project Veritas associates’ homes in November 2021 and a grand jury subpoena [1] [2]. That FBI investigation led to a federal prosecution in which two people, Aimee Harris and Robert Kurlander, pleaded guilty in August 2022 to conspiracy to transport stolen property across state lines tied to the sale of the diary to Project Veritas; Harris was later sentenced to one month in jail and additional penalties in 2024, while Kurlander’s sentencing remained pending in the available accounts [3] [4] [5] [6].
1. How the federal probe started and the first visible actions that followed — the October–November 2021 escalation
The federal investigation into the diary began after a family representative reported theft of personal items, including a journal, prompting the FBI to open a probe in October 2021; investigators executed searches of Project Veritas founder James O’Keefe’s home and associates’ addresses in early November 2021 and issued a grand jury subpoena as part of evidence gathering [1] [2]. Those investigative steps show the matter moved from a reported theft to a conventional federal criminal inquiry focused on the alleged theft and interstate transportation or sale of stolen property. Coverage from the period records the FBI’s physical searches and subpoenas as the primary law‑enforcement activity directly tied to the diary, with those actions publicly reported in November 2021 and described in reporting and fact‑checks that followed [7] [2].
2. The criminal charges and guilty pleas that followed in August 2022 — who pled and to what
The federal prosecution produced guilty pleas in August 2022 by two defendants, Aimee Harris and Robert Kurlander, who admitted to conspiracy to transport stolen property across state lines in connection with the transfer and sale of Ashley Biden’s diary to Project Veritas for payment [3] [4]. Those pleas represent the principal criminal adjudications directly tied to the diary alleged theft. The 2022 pleas addressed the interstate aspect of the offense, signaling prosecutors relied on federal statutes related to transporting stolen goods, and opened the path for sentencing that would follow in subsequent years; reporting indicates the underlying thefts and the transaction with Project Veritas occurred in 2020 ahead of the presidential election [4].
3. Sentencing developments and penalties — what courts actually imposed, and when
Following the guilty pleas, Aimee Harris was sentenced in 2024 to one month in prison, three months of home detention, forfeiture of $20,000, and three years of probation, while reporting shows that Robert Kurlander’s sentencing remained pending in the available materials [5] [6] [8]. Those penalties reflect the federal court’s resolution for one defendant and indicate staggered finalization of punishments tied to the same conspiracy case. The sources place Harris’s sentencing coverage in May 2024, reporting the specific jail term and ancillary penalties ordered by the court; they also note that Kurlander had entered a guilty plea but had not yet been publicly recorded as sentenced at the times of those reports [6] [8].
4. What investigators and fact‑checkers concluded about the scope and focus of probes
Fact‑checking and reporting compiled from the investigations show the official law‑enforcement activity centered on the theft and interstate transportation or sale of the diary rather than a broader criminal inquiry into publication or journalistic activity, with the FBI case and subsequent prosecutions focused on how the diary left the family’s possession and who profited from its transfer [1] [3]. The FBI’s searches and the grand jury subpoena targeted individuals associated with Project Veritas as part of tracing the diary’s movement; later federal prosecutions charged those who admitted to facilitating or benefiting from the transfer of the item across state lines [2] [4].
5. Unresolved threads, differing emphases, and what the public record does not show
Remaining gaps in the public record include precise details about how Project Veritas obtained the diary and the full chain of custody beyond the defendants’ admissions, and reporting indicates some aspects remained under investigation or not publicly resolved after the 2022 pleas and 2024 sentencing; sources note the FBI probe produced searches and subpoenas but that the public documents and news coverage focus primarily on the admitted conspirators and their pleas [2] [1] [8]. The material compiled by fact‑checkers and news outlets frames the federal action as a theft and transport case with concrete guilty pleas and at least one sentence, while leaving open questions about any additional prosecutions, civil litigation, or non‑criminal inquiries tied to publishing decisions that are not documented in the cited accounts [5] [4].