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What are the key details in Ashley Biden's diary allegations?
Executive summary
The principal facts: a personal diary belonging to Ashley Biden was stolen in 2020 and later sold to Project Veritas; two Florida residents pleaded guilty in the theft and one seller was sentenced to a month in prison [1] [2]. Reporting and later testimony led Snopes to change an earlier “unproven” finding and characterize the diary as authentically belonging to Ashley Biden, while the published contents remain disputed and were circulated by conservative outlets [3] [4].
1. What happened to the diary — theft, sale and prosecutions
Court filings and reporting show that Ashley Biden stored personal items, including a diary, at a Delray Beach, Florida, residence in 2020; two Florida residents later pleaded guilty to stealing and selling those items to Project Veritas for about $40,000, and one seller, Aimee Harris, was sentenced to a month in prison plus home confinement [1] [2] [5]. Reuters and BBC reporting frame the episode as a criminal theft-and-sale scheme that involved a conservative outlet as the buyer [1] [2].
2. What the diary allegedly contains — the most widely discussed passages
Excerpts circulated online and in conservative outlets included intensely personal material: references to Ashley Biden’s struggles with substance use and a passage that some readers interpreted as alleging “probably inappropriate” showers with her father when she was young. Those passages were the focus of widespread attention and political amplification [6] [7] [8]. Project Veritas has promoted what it says are “explosive” allegations from the diary [8].
3. Authenticity debate — existence vs. contents
Fact-checkers and news outlets distinguished two questions: does the diary exist and belong to Ashley Biden, and are the facsimiles or excerpts published online authentic? Early fact-checking treated the diary’s existence and provenance as strongly evidenced but hesitated to vouch for every published page; after Ashley Biden’s court letter acknowledging the diary’s exposure, Snopes updated a prior “unproven” rating to say the diary belonged to her [4] [3]. Reporting notes that Project Veritas at times declined to publish when it could not fully verify material, yet later became the repository and promoter of the pages [1] [8].
4. How Ashley Biden has responded in public records and filings
Ashley Biden has said the diary is hers and wrote in a court filing that she will “forever have to deal with the fact that my personal journal can be viewed online,” a statement Snopes cites when revising its assessment of the diary’s provenance [3] [4]. Other accounts report she has expressed anguish about the theft and publication; some reporting indicates she denies malicious intent toward family even while acknowledging the diary’s exposure [9] [6].
5. Media and political reaction — competing narratives
Conservative outlets and commentators emphasized the more sensational passages to allege misconduct by President Joe Biden, arguing mainstream outlets “buried” the story; Project Veritas and National File have promoted the leaked pages and argued for their authenticity [10] [8]. Mainstream and fact‑checking organizations highlighted legal and ethical questions about stolen private material and urged caution in treating uncontextualized excerpts as established fact [4] [1].
6. What is verified and what remains contested
Verified by multiple reputable reports: the theft occurred, two people pled guilty, and a seller was sentenced — and court papers and Ashley Biden’s own letter link the diary to her [1] [2] [3]. Contested or less-certain elements: full authentication of every page and the interpretation of specific passages (for example, whether a line constitutes an allegation of abuse) are matters where published excerpts, context and motive have been disputed in coverage [4] [6].
7. Why this matters — privacy, verification and political leverage
The episode sits at the intersection of privacy rights, criminal theft, and political messaging: stolen personal records were monetized and amplified by partisan actors, prompting legal consequences for sellers and renewed debate over how media and fact‑checkers should treat leaked private material that may influence public perceptions of a sitting president [1] [8] [4]. Different outlets pursued divergent goals — Project Veritas sought publication and political impact, while mainstream coverage emphasized legal procedure and verification [8] [4].
Limitations and next steps: available sources document the theft, prosecutions and Ashley Biden’s acknowledgement that the diary is hers, but available reporting does not settle every question about the provenance of every published page or the definitive interpretation of specific passages; readers should weigh court records and primary filings alongside contemporaneous reporting when judging contested claims [1] [3] [4].