DISTRICT ATTORNEY DISMISSES ALL CHARGES AGAINST MAN BEHIND
PLANNED PARENTHOOD EXPOSE'
BY HEATHER CLARK
SEE: http://christiannews.net/2016/07/26/district-attorney-dismisses-all-charges-against-man-behind-planned-parenthood-expose/; republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, and research purposes:
HOUSTON, Texas — The Harris County District Attorney’s office in Texas has dismissed all of the charges against David Daleiden, the pro-life investigator who recorded undercover videos of the abortion giant Planned Parenthood.
As previously reported, Daleiden, the director of the Center for Medical Progress (CMP) was indicted in January on a felony charge of “tampering with a governmental record” for creating a fake driver’s license in conducting his undercover investigation, as well as a misdemeanor count related to the purchasing of aborted babies.
Daleiden, 27, had posed as a representative of a fetal tissue procurement company in order to engage in discussions with Planned Parenthood officials as a potential buyer of bodily organs. He recorded the interactions, conducted at various locations across the country, as part of his “human capital” investigative series that was released last July.
The first of nearly a dozen videos was released by CMP featured Planned Parenthood Medical Director Deborah Nucatola, who nonchalantly munched on salad and sipped wine as she talked about adjusting the child so as not to crush certain organs due to the demand for the body part.
“I’d say a lot of people want liver. And for that reason, most providers will do this case under ultrasound guidance, so they’ll know where they’re putting their forceps,” she explains.
“[Y]ou’re just kind of cognizant where you put your graspers,” Nucatola outlines. “You try to intentionally go above and below the thorax, so that—-you know. We’ve been very good at getting the heart, lung, liver, because we know that, so ‘I’m not gonna crush that part. I’m gonna basically crush below, I’m gonna crush above, and I’m gonna see if I can get it all intact.’”
The second video showed Mary Gatter, the president of Planned Parenthood’s Medical Directors Council, haggling with the undercover investigators about the compensation for the fetal organs, laughing, “I want a Lamborghini.” Other footage showed an actual aborted baby being dissected in a dish, with an assistant declaring, “Another boy!” and another video showed an abortionist laughing about how harvesting an intact baby head would be “something to strive for.”
Planned Parenthood apologized for the insensitive “tone” of the first video, but denied that it profits from its agreements with scientific organizations. It soon announced that it would stop receiving reimbursement for “expenses” surrounding the provision of body parts of aborted babies. The abortion giant argued that the dead babies were beneficial in research to find cures for diseases.
In April, the California Attorney General’s office, led by Kamala Harris, searched Daleiden’s apartment and seized all of his videos from the undercover investigation. Daleiden posted a statement afterward, remarking that the investigation is lopsided as Harris’ office ignored information surrounding the working relationship between former buyer StemExpress and Planned Parenthood.
StemExpress discontinued its work with the abortion giant after CMP released videos revealing its involvement with the organization.
Last month, a Texas judge dropped the misdemeanor count against Daleiden, and Harris County District Attorney Devon Anderson advised that she would not seek to appeal. She, however, said that her office planned to remain “focused on the felony charge.”
On Tuesday, District Judge Brock Thomas dismissed the charge upon Anderson’s request.
“The grand jury took the investigation where the facts led it, however Texas law limits what can be investigated after a grand jury extension order is issued,” she said in a statement. “In light of this and after careful research and review, this office dismissed the indictments.”
Daleiden expressed thankfulness for the development.
“I’m glad the first Amendment rights of all citizen journalists have been vindicated today,” he told reporters. “And I would just note that Planned Parenthood is still under investigation by the United States Congress, as they should be, because they are the real criminals in this matter.”
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Judge Tosses Charges Against Planned Parenthood Investigators
‘Planned Parenthood tried to collude with public officials to manipulate the legal process to their own benefit, and they failed’
BY BILL MCMORRIS
SEE: http://freebeacon.com/issues/judge-tosses-charges-planned-parenthood-investigators/; republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, and research purposes:
A Texas judge threw out charges against the undercover videographers who exposed Planned Parenthood’s organ harvesting operation.
Judge Brock Thomas dismissed the tampering with government records charge against Center for Medical Progress founder David Daleiden.
Daleiden was accused of using a fake ID in undercover discussions with top Planned Parenthood executives. The footage showing top officials discussing how they “line item” baby organs to boost payments from researchers was later published online leading to a public and political backlash against the nation’s top abortion provider.
Peter Breen, a Thomas More Society attorney who represented Daleiden, said called the victory a “huge win for the First Amendment.” Defense attorneys argued that the Center for Medical Progress’ techniques were no different than past undercover press investigations.
“Today’s dismissal in Houston is a huge win for the First Amendment rights of undercover journalists,” Breen said. “This meritless and retaliatory prosecution should never have been brought. Planned Parenthood did wrong here, not David Daleiden.”
Tuesday’s dismissal means Daleiden and his partner, Sandra Merritt, no longer face charges connected to a January indictment. In June, Harris County Judge Diane Bull threw out a charge of attempting to purchase a baby organ, citing a “defective indictment.”
Daleiden posted a video in August 2015 showing Melissa Farrell, director of research for Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast, discussing how abortion providers alter procedures to procure intact organs—a potential violation of federal law. Farrell also discussed how medical personnel can dissect an intact baby’s parts after its removal from the womb in order to charge higher prices.
“If we alter our process, and we are able to obtain intact fetal cadavers, we can make it part of the budget that any dissections are this, and splitting the specimens into different shipments is this. It’s all just a matter of line items,” Farrell says in the video.
Daleiden called the charges “bogus” and “politically motivated” in a release and said that the dismissal was “a resounding vindication” of his work.
“The dismissal of the bogus, politically motivated charges against CMP … is a resounding vindication of the First Amendment rights of all citizen journalists, and also a clear warning to any of Planned Parenthood’s political cronies who would attack whistle blowers to protect Planned Parenthood from scrutiny,” Daleiden said in a release. “Planned Parenthood tried to collude with public officials to manipulate the legal process to their own benefit, and they failed.”
Planned Parenthood did not respond to request for comment.
Planned Parenthood has been the subject of a number of state, congressional, and federal investigations since the Center for Medical Progress began publishing its video series online in 2015.