Center for Medical Progress (CMP) director David Daleiden revealed on April 5 that agents from the California attorney general’s office searched his Orange County apartment, seizing “all video footage” related to CMP’s investigation into Planned Parenthood’s involvement in the fetal tissue trade.
Reporting the raid on CMP’s Facebook page, Daleiden characterized the search and seizure of the videos as an “attack on citizen journalism.” He blamed the decision for the raid on the close alliance between California Attorney General Kamala Harris and Planned Parenthood.
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“Kamala Harris, who was elected with tens of thousands of dollars from taxpayer-funded Planned Parenthood … has steadfastly refused to enforce the law against the baby body parts traffickers in our state,” Daleiden wrote. On several occasions, Harris has publicly defended Planned Parenthood, and the abortion industry giant donated thousands of dollars to the Democrat’s successful 2014 re-election bid. (Leading Republican presidential contender Donald Trump has made campaign contributions to Harris as well, giving a total of $11,000.)
Daleiden noted in the Facebook post that the state attorney’s agents left behind documents that he alleges show the “illicit scheme between StemExpress and Planned Parenthood.”
Harris, who last year announced her candidacy for the Senate seat that 75-year-old Barbara Boxer will vacate when she retires at the end of this term, pledged in July to investigate CMP. The timing of the search of Daleiden’s apartment might be a response to mounting pressure against Harris: A Los Angeles Times columnist recently accused her of inaction in the CMP investigation.
A spokesperson for Harris said the attorney general’s office does not comment on ongoing cases.
This is not the first time a government lawyer has gone after Daleiden. In January, a Houston grand jury charged Daleiden and CMP employee Sandra Merritt with illegal acts stemming from CMP’s undercover investigation of the Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast (PPGC) abortion center. In that case, pro-lifers questioned Harris County District Attorney Devon Anderson’s ability to conduct an impartial investigation. One of Anderson’s assistant district attorneys held a position on PPGC’s board of directors. While indicting Daleiden, the grand jury seemingly overlooked video evidence of Planned Parenthood aborting babies alive to obtain valuable “intact fetal cadavers.”
Daleiden also faces two lawsuits in California, filed last year by the National Abortion Federation and Planned Parenthood.
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