Planned Parenthood was cleared by a grand jury of any wrongdoing but the two creators of the edited Planned Parenthood videos have been indicted on criminal charges.
The Houston Chronicle reported:
A Harris County grand jury probe into Planned Parenthood of the Gulf Coast ended Monday with the indictments of two anti-abortion activists.
David Daleiden and Sandra Merritt were both indicted for tampering with a governmental record. An additional indictment for prohibition of the purchase and sale of human organs was issued for Daleiden, according to a release from the Harris County District Attorneys Office.
To get more stories like this, subscribe to our newsletter The Daily.
Planned Parenthood was completely cleared of any wrongdoing, and ironically, one of the makers of the videos was indicted for trying to illegally purchase fetal tissue. Planned Parenthood has been completely vindicated. The indictment of the two anti-choice activists is a devastating development for the Republican Party.
House Republicans worked closely with the producers of the videos to create a scandal that they could use in an attempt to defund the organization and take a vital healthcare resource away from millions of women. The videos were proven to have been heavily edited, as an independent analysis determined that the videos were intentionally cut to make Planned Parenthood look bad, “A video forensics expert, a television producer, an independent transcription agency, and Fusion GPS staff reviewed this material. While these analysts found no evidence that CMP inserted dialogue not spoken by Planned Parenthood staff, their review did conclude that CMP edited content out of the alleged “full footage” videos, and heavily edited the short videos so as to misrepresent statements made by Planned Parenthood representatives.”
The Republican troubles over the Planned Parenthood videos could be just beginning as Planned Parenthood filed a civil lawsuit that accused the Center For Medical Progress and their co-conspirators of:
– Violated the Racketeer Influence and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act;
– Violated the federal eavesdropping statute;
– Engaged in wire fraud, mail fraud, invasion of privacy, illegal secret recording, and trespassing; and
– Used a complex criminal enterprise to defraud Planned Parenthood and prevent it from providing health care.
Planned Parenthood has not only been cleared by the two creators of the videos could be going to jail. It’s now time for a criminal investigation into the congressional Republicans who were involved in the conspiracy against Planned Parenthood.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
