Judge Tosses 5 Felony Charges Against Journalist Who Exposed Planned Parenthood
The case had exposed potentially illegal practices by abortion giant Planned Parenthood
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Five of the standing 14 felony charges against journalist David Daleiden, who exposed abortion giant Planned Parenthood in the so-called “Baby Body Parts” case, were dropped by a San Francisco Superior Court judge on Friday, according to reports.
The case had exposed potentially illegal practices by abortion giant Planned Parenthood.
The nonprofit law firm representing Daleiden, the Thomas More Society, said in a press release as per The Daily Wire:
“Today, Thomas More Society attorneys secured the dismissal of five more felony counts, six in total, after the Preliminary Hearing in the California criminal case against undercover journalist David Daleiden."
“Superior Court Judge Christopher Hite issued his final probable cause order today, leaving nine out of an original fifteen felony counts, to proceed to trial,” the press release added.
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The ruling on Friday concluded the preliminary hearing, which was held in September 2019, according to the nonprofit.
Daleiden lawyer and Thomas More Society VP, Peter Breen, said the legal team was “pleased” after the judge dropped another five felonies.
“We are very pleased by the decision today to throw out another five felony charges against David Daleiden,” Breen said in a statement.
“As to the remaining counts, we have strong defenses that we intend to vigorously pursue on appeal until every last one of these specious felony charges are thrown out of court,” he continued.
“Mr. Daleiden followed the same commonly accepted practices, including videotaping in public places, as other undercover journalists.”
“David Daleiden is being charged as a criminal for openly delivering information that the public has a right to know, information that the abortion lobby and its financially supported elected officials would rather keep hidden,” Breen continued.
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“This prosecution by the State of California is an abuse of the justice system, and we are confident that, in the end, we will totally vindicate David.”
In November, planned Parenthood officials admitted to trafficking the body parts of aborted babies during a preliminary hearing.
David Daleiden and Sandra Merritt, faced five felony charges after exposing the abortion provider’s unethical trade in baby body parts in a series of undercover videos.
The videos revealed the fetal tissue trafficking practice of Planned Parenthood and its partners in the biomedical procurement industry, during the hearing's second week in San Francisco.
The undercover journalists were the first to be criminally prosecuted in the history of the state of California, as Liberty Counsel has pointed out, indicating that the charges appear to be politically motivated.
Planned Parenthood was awarded nearly $2 million after Daleiden and Merritt's recorded executives 'haggling' over the prices of aborted baby body parts.
“Undercover Journalism now comes with a $2 million price tag,” Breen said.
