In a Wednesday evening town hall for GOP presidential candidates featured on “The Kelly File,” Sen. Ted Cruz took the opportunity to defend David Daleiden and Sandra Merritt of the Center for Medical Progress. Daleiden and Merritt were behind undercover videos exposing what appears to be illegal behavior by top-level Planned Parenthood officials.
When asked about the filmmakers, who were indicted by a Harris County grand jury for allegedly tampering with a governmental record (Daleiden was also indicted for allegedly violating a prohibition on purchasing human organs), Cruz said he would offer a presidential pardon if the case became a federal one.
Cruz made it clear that he believes the filmmakers were within their rights to create the undercover videos, and expressed strong disapproval of the indictment, calling out Planned Parenthood as the real problem.
“As a Texan, as a Houstonian, I was deeply dismayed and disappointed to see the Harris County district attorney bringing criminal charges against someone who went undercover to expose what appears to be vast criminal conduct by Planned Parenthood,” said Cruz.
And I’ll tell you this, I’ve pledged, if I’m elected president, on the very first day in office, I intend to instruct the U.S. Department of Justice to open an investigation into Planned Parenthood and to prosecute any and all criminal conduct by that organization.
Cruz then capitalized on an opportunity to criticize rival Donald Trump’s recent comments, in which he claimed Planned Parenthood “does do wonderful things.” Cruz argued that Planned Parenthood is a “criminal enterprise” which is not “wonderful in any way, shape or form.”
