(TRUNEWS) A Houston grand jury has cleared Planned Parenthood of fetal tissue trafficking charges and has announced indictments for the leaders of the pro-life organization responsible for the undercover videos which spurred the investigation.
Center for Medical Progress heads, David Daleiden and Sandra Merritt, have been charged with ‘tampering with governmental records’, a second-degree felony with a potential sentence of up to 20 years. Daleiden, the leader of the organization, was also charged with attempting to purchase or sell human organs, the misdemeanor originally levied against Planned Parenthood.
Under Texas Penal Code, Title 8, Chapter 37, the charge of ‘Tampering with Governmental Records’ is defined as:
A person who,
(1) knowingly makes a false entry in, or false alteration of, a governmental record;
(2) makes, presents, or uses any record, document, or thing with knowledge of its falsity and with intent that it be taken as a genuine governmental record;
(3) intentionally destroys, conceals, removes, or otherwise impairs the verity, legibility, or availability of a governmental record;(4) possesses, sells, or offers to sell a governmental record or a blank governmental record form with intent that it be used unlawfully;
(5) makes, presents, or uses a governmental record with knowledge of its falsity; or
(6) possesses, sells, or offers to sell a governmental record or a blank governmental record form with knowledge that it was obtained unlawfully.
The filled indictment released late yesterday did not contain further information regarding the specific nature of the charges being levied against the defendants, but based on the penal codes definition of the charge, the Houston grand jury could have rationalizing that both Daleiden and Merritt not only made false claims in their videos, but illegally obtained the information contained in their series.
The use of false identities, calculated lies, and fake documentation in undercover investigations is a common tool used by journalists and law enforcement officials, and has been held up in court when probable cause was evident.
The FBI for example was recently caught running a child pornography site on the dark web, which though illegal in standard context, was justified by the agency as a necessary deception in the building of their case against 1300 users who visited the site.
In this case, Planned Parenthood contests that Daleiden had no probable cause when he recorded staff and patients at least 65 times over the last eight years, while utilizing aliases, obtaining fake government identifications and creating a fake tissue procurement company.
In response to the indictments, The Center for Medical Progress reiterated those points in their press release, saying:
“The Center for Medical Progress uses the same undercover techniques that investigative journalists have used for decades in exercising our First Amendment rights to freedom of speech and of the press, and follows all applicable laws. We respect the processes of the Harris County District Attorney, and note that buying fetal tissue requires a seller as well. Planned Parenthood still cannot deny the admissions from their leadership about fetal organ sales captured on video for all the world to see.”
Additionally, LifeSiteNews has launched two petition since the indictment announcement, calling for charges to be dropped against Daleiden and Merritt, and for a new investigation to be launched against Planned Parenthood.
Their site petition has garnered 33,685 signatures and their GoPetition has earned 7576 signatures.
The post Grand Jury Indicts Planned Parenthood Activists appeared first on TRUNEWS with Rick Wiles.
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