The headlines were everywhere. They were messy. They were loud. If you spent any time on social media over the last few years, you likely saw the phrase biden showered with daughter trending in various political circles. It’s one of those stories that feels like it belongs in a spy thriller rather than a federal court in Manhattan. But here we are.
Basically, this whole thing started with a diary. Not just any diary, but the private, handwritten journal of Ashley Biden, the daughter of President Joe Biden. It was stolen. Then it was sold. Then the FBI got involved, and suddenly, two people from Florida were facing prison time.
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The Delray Beach Theft
It all kicked off in the spring of 2020. Ashley Biden was staying at a friend’s house in Delray Beach, Florida. She eventually moved out but left some personal belongings behind for safekeeping. We’re talking about tax records, a digital camera, family photos, and that now-infamous diary.
Enter Aimee Harris.
Harris moved into the same room Ashley had just vacated. She found the items. Instead of calling the owner or the police, she reached out to Robert Kurlander. They saw dollar signs. They didn't just see a notebook; they saw a "ton of money," as Kurlander reportedly texted.
They initially tried to sell the stash to the Trump campaign. The campaign actually turned them down and told them to go to the FBI. Think about that for a second. Even in the heat of a brutal election, the campaign passed on the stolen goods.
Selling to Project Veritas
Eventually, they found a buyer in Project Veritas. The group paid $40,000 for the haul—$20,000 each to Harris and Kurlander. Project Veritas, led at the time by James O'Keefe, ultimately decided not to publish the contents. Why? Because they couldn't independently verify if the diary was actually real or if the stories inside were true.
They turned the physical book over to law enforcement. But by then, the damage was done. The "biden showered with daughter" entry had leaked online through other fringe websites.
The Legal Fallout
The Department of Justice didn't find the situation "abandoned" or "accidental." They viewed it as a flat-out theft of personal property.
- Aimee Harris: In April 2024, she was sentenced to one month in prison and three months of home confinement. The judge, Laura Taylor Swain, called her actions "despicable."
- Robert Kurlander: He cooperated with the feds. Because of that, he dodged prison time and was sentenced to time served in June 2025.
- The FBI Raids: Federal agents raided the homes of Project Veritas employees, including O'Keefe, seizing phones and computers. This sparked a massive debate about the First Amendment and whether the government was overreaching.
Biden Showered With Daughter: Fact vs. Viral Rumor
So, what about the actual line? The one everyone keeps Googling?
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The diary does contain an entry where Ashley Biden mentions showering with her father when she was a child. It’s written in a way that reflects on her own struggles with addiction and past trauma. It was an intimate, private reflection—never meant for the public eye.
The internet, being the internet, took that one sentence and ran with it. People used it as a political weapon. They stripped away the context of a daughter writing about her childhood and childhood innocence versus her later life struggles. It became a meme. A talking point. A "gotcha" moment.
Honestly, the context matters. The diary entries weren't a formal accusation. They were the private thoughts of a woman in recovery, trying to make sense of her past. Ashley Biden herself has never publicly confirmed the specific details of the entries, but her lawyers worked tirelessly to get the stolen property back, which confirmed the book was indeed hers.
Why This Still Matters in 2026
You've got to look at the precedent this set. It’s not just about a president's daughter. It’s about the line between "newsgathering" and "stolen property." If someone steals your phone and sells your private texts to a news outlet, is that journalism? Or is it a crime?
The courts have been pretty clear here. You can’t transport stolen goods across state lines for profit. That’s what Harris and Kurlander did. They took something that wasn't theirs, drove it to New York, and took cash for it.
Sorting the Noise
If you’re trying to figure out what’s true, here’s the breakdown:
- The diary is real. It belonged to Ashley Biden.
- The theft was a felony. Aimee Harris went to jail for it.
- The content was leaked. The "shower" line was part of a larger, much more complex personal narrative about recovery.
- No charges for the Bidens. There was never a criminal investigation into Joe Biden regarding these entries. The investigation was always about the theft.
It’s easy to get lost in the clickbait. But when you strip away the partisan yelling, it's a story about a woman whose privacy was violated for $40,000.
To stay informed on how this case continues to impact digital privacy laws, you should follow the ongoing appeals regarding the Project Veritas raids. Those rulings will likely define how "journalistic privilege" works for the next decade. If you want to understand the full scope of the legal battle, looking up the U.S. District Court filings for the Southern District of New York provides the most unvarnished view of the evidence.