Anna Khait

Interviews with Democratic campaign worker Michael Kolenc and another man who says he was targeted by Khait, along with emails and text messages reviewed by The Daily Beast, reveal more details about both her years-long work as an undercover operative and the tactics employed by right-wing activists. As recently as April 2021, Khait worked for a new incognito conservative operation that is separate from Project Veritas but deploys some of its same strategies—and, in the case of Khait, its personnel. The New York Times first reported on Khait’s work for O’Keefe’s organization in May 2021, revealing that she was one of several women working out of a rented Georgetown home who were tasked with secretly recording targets on camera. In Kolenc’s case, Khait posed as the co-host of a new politics podcast called “Red State Blue State.” Claiming to be a Democrat, she said she was eager to discuss Beto O’Rourke’s chances in the Texas Senate race later that year. Khait first emerged in the public eye in 2016 as a contestant on Survivor: Kaôh Rōng, the 32nd season of the wilderness competition show. Khait was eliminated relatively early by her fellow castmates and came in 13th. On Survivor, Khait described herself as a professional poker player. Khait won a total of $12,811 in professional poker tournaments across four years, according to the Global Poker Index, a website that tracks top players. Khait also sought a public role on the right after Survivor, fashioning herself as a Christian conservative activist. In March 2021, the fictional “Hope Higgins” emerged again, this time in West Virginia. Khait attempted to catch union activists on tape, this time for a conservative group called Accuracy in Media.