The pair who stole Ashley Biden's diary tried to sell it to the Trump campaign but a representative refused and told them to turn it over to the FBI, prosecutors say

• Two Florida residents pleaded guilty to stealing a diary that belonged to President Joe Biden's daughter.
• Prosecutors said the pair tried to sell it to the Trump campaign in September 2020.

The Trump campaign turned down an offer to buy a diary that belonged to President Joe Biden's daughter ahead of the 2020 election, according to federal prosecutors.

Two Florida residents pleaded guilty to stealing Ashley Biden's diary and selling it to the conservative group Project Veritas for $40,000, the Justice Department announced on Thursday.

Aimee Harris discovered the diary while staying at a friend's place in Delray Beach, Florida, in 2020 after Ashley Biden had spent some time staying there, prosecutors said. Harris later texted Robert Kurlander to tell him about the discovery and say they could make a lot of money by selling it, among other items of Biden's that were discovered.

Prosecutors said the pair attended a fundraiser in September 2020 and tried to sell the diary to the campaign of President Donald Trump, who at the time was in a bitter reelection fight against Joe Biden. But a representative for the Trump campaign turned down the offer and told them to turn the diary over to the FBI, court documents filed as part of the guilty plea said.

Kurlander texted Harris saying the Trump campaign couldn't use it, according to the court filing, adding: "They want it to go to the FBI. There is NO WAY [Trump] can use this. It has to be done a different way."

Harris and Kurlander ended up selling the diary to Project Veritas, each making $20,000, prosecutors said.

Project Veritas said their actions related to the diary were protected by the First Amendment and that they believed the diary had been obtained legally. The group never published the diary.