Planned Parenthood relied heavily on its political allies to suppress the First Amendment rights of pro-life investigators David Daleiden and Sandra Merritt after the pair uncovered the corporation’s illegal trafficking of aborted body parts. Former California General Kamala Harris and current California Attorney General Xavier Becerra both pursued charges against the Center for Medical Progress (CMP) journalists instead of prosecuting Planned Parenthood for its criminal activities.
The federal civil rights lawsuit Daleiden filed in response has exposed how far Planned Parenthood’s political contacts will go to defend the organization’s reputation.
A recent update from Daleiden revealed that Planned Parenthood, Harris, and Becerra have all responded to the lawsuit filed against them, adding that all parties named in the suit have admitted the only reason Daleiden is being prosecuted is because the content of what he has said is something Planned Parenthood considers objectionable. The footage from Daleiden’s undercover investigation showed Planned Parenthood staff members coldly discussing the harvesting of fetal organs and negotiating the price of these “specimens.”
BREAKING: @PPFA @KamalaHarris @AGBecerra have replied to my federal civil rights lawsuit against them and ADMIT:
?they are punishing me because of WHAT I am saying
?PP worked to influence KH's case
?Judge Orrick (who opened PP clinic) is responsible for their success(1/2)
— David Daleiden (@daviddaleiden) August 4, 2020
These efforts from Daleiden and his CMP team exposed the unethical behavior of the abortion provider, and Planned Parenthood retaliated for the increased public scrutiny by conspiring with then-Attorney General Harris. Planned Parenthood executives communicated with Harris’s office through multiple in-person meetings and email exchanges to determine how a warrant might be obtained to seize the video footage Daleiden gathered.
According to Daleiden’s recent post, this point has not yet been addressed yet by any of the parties named in the civil rights lawsuit.
Yet they all FAIL to address or even acknowledge the in-person lobbying meeting @KamalaHarris had with multiple PP execs about @PPActionCA political goals in CA which included discussing investigation against me.@AGBecerra must STOP punishing speech @PPFA disfavors!
(2/2)
— David Daleiden (@daviddaleiden) August 4, 2020
Becerra could have corrected the mistakes of his predecessor by choosing to investigate Planned Parenthood for selling the aborted body parts of children. But as a “champion” of Planned Parenthood, he refused open an investigation into the abortion provider and instead pursued the prosecution of Daleiden and Merritt in an unprecedented attack on freedom of speech and freedom of the press.
Harris is now being considered as a potential vice presidential pick for Democratic nominee Joe Biden, making her longstanding ties to Planned Parenthood worth mentioning. The raid Harris led on Daleiden’s home was recently mentioned on Tucker Carlson Tonight, with Carlson drawing attention to how both Harris and Becerra weaponized California’s video recording laws to cover up Planned Parenthood’s crimes.
The fact that Daleiden used the same undercover reporting methods that journalists have relied on for years without any fear of prosecution makes the charges against him more egregious. Even the U.S. Reporters’ Committee objected to CMP’s prosecution.
“I think what we can conclude from this episode is that Kamala Harris, or any politician willing to use law enforcement to stop journalism she doesn’t like, probably doesn’t care too much about civil liberties or equality under the law, and indeed, she doesn’t,” Carlson said.
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