David Daleiden has been charged with 15 felonies in connection with a series of videos exposing Planned Parenthood’s grisly trade in baby body parts. California Attorney General Xavier Becerra charged Daleiden and his Center for Medical Progress colleague Sandra Merritt with 14 counts of eavesdropping and 1 count of conspiracy to eavesdrop. Each of the 14 counts is related to conversations Daleiden and Merritt had with Planned Parenthood and its abortion allies in which the profiteers negotiated the sale of fetal body parts in violation of state and federal law. All the conversations were recorded legally, in restaurants or at a conference with hundreds of attendees.
“This is nothing short of a witch hunt,” said Life Legal Executive Director Alexandra Snyder. “David Daleiden’s investigative journalism provided an indispensable public service by shedding light on Planned Parenthood’s criminal activities and its callous disregard for human life. As a direct result of Daleiden’s efforts, federal and state prosecutors are investigating the nation’s largest abortion giant and its taxpayer funding is threatened. Now Planned Parenthood is calling in favors from its political cronies in retaliation.”
Becerra, a former Member of Congress, is a lifelong politician who enjoys a 100% rating with Planned Parenthood. Last year, he called on House Speaker Paul Ryan to disband the Select Congressional Panel tasked with investigating Planned Parenthood’s fetal tissue trafficking.
Calling the charges “bogus,” Daleiden says he looks forward “to showing the entire world what is on our yet-unreleased video tapes of Planned Parenthood’s criminal baby body parts enterprise, in vindication of the First Amendment rights of all.”