National Abortion Federation seeks to drop multiple charges against pro-life journalists

This weekend, the Center for Medical Progress (CMP) — a group of pro-life undercover journalists which has been embattled in court after revealing a series of videos documenting the abortion industry’s sordid business of buying and selling aborted fetal body parts for profit — said that the National Abortion Federation has dropped seven of 11 charges against CMP. “They’re terrified of discovery,” noted one commenter.

That remark was echoed by pro-life activist Troy Newman, who says he is also a defendant in the case. He wrote in a publicly shared Facebook post, “… I’m a defendant in this same lawsuit. This is not something to celebrate. The National Abortion Federation asked the court to dismiss 4 of their 7 allegations against us. We believe they are doing this for two reasons. One, to expedite the trial, and two, to avoid damning discovery on their illegal baby bodies for cash scheme. The judge is not friendly to our cause and has allowed these barbarians to escape our demands for discovery. And the beat goes on.”

However, CMP founder David Daleiden had his own take, posted on Twitter:

David Daleiden

@daviddaleiden

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Over the weekend @PPact proxies @NatAbortionFed DROPPED all their bogus accusations of RICO, fraud, illegal video, etc against me! Now all they have left is a few bogus contract disputes. NAF is just mad that my undercover team were better Exhibitors than their regular members!

11:32 PM · Jul 23, 2018

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Daleiden and CMP have faced an uphill battle in the case, as Judge William Orrick is pro-choice and has close ties with Planned Parenthood, yet has been allowed to remain on the case. As reported by Live Action News in April 2018:

In July 2015, Judge William Orrick, who, with his wife, has been so intimately involved with Planned Parenthood that his impartiality in the case has been rightly questioned, ruled that the CMP’s NAF videos could possibly cause harm to abortion providers and compromise their safety. Therefore, any potential evidence of the illegal trafficking of fetal tissue in the undercover videos is being suppressed by Judge Orrick’s gag order.

Daleiden noted on Twitter that NAF dropped “bogus accusations” of… fraud” and “illegal video.” These accusations have been front and center, as Planned Parenthood, in its own lawsuit against CMP, accused CMP and Daleiden of the same. However, Daleiden recently petitioned a judge presiding over Planned Parenthood’s separate lawsuit to force the abortion giant to essentially “put up, or shut up” and provide documentation proving that they received no profit from the sale of aborted baby body parts.

It remains to be seen as to how the dismissal of the majority of charges will affect NAF’s case against Daleiden and CMP.