A Texas judge has dismissed a misdemeanor charge against David Daleiden, the creator of a series of bogus undercover sting videos targeting Planned Parenthood. Daleiden still faces a felony charge, but in his customary fashion, he went ahead and issued a statement declaring victory over Planned Parenthood.
Daleiden and Sandra Merritt, one of his employees at the Center For Medical Progress, both face felony charges of tampering with a government record for using fake IDs in the course of their work non-stinging Planned Parenthood and organizations that work with them. Daleiden also faced a misdemeanor charge related to the prohibition against trying to purchase human organs, a thing he’s accused of suggesting he wanted to do during his secretly recorded conversations. A Harris County judge dismissed that misdemeanor charge late Monday; prosecutors said they would focus on prosecuting the felony instead of fighting the judge’s decision.
In a statement, Daleiden congratulated himself in the third person, accused the Harris County District Attorney of being in league with Planned Parenthood, and accused Planned Parenthood, once again, of selling “baby parts”:
Judge Diane Bull’s swift dismissal of the bogus charge against CMP founder David Daleiden of trafficking human organs is the latest confirmation that the indictments from a runaway grand jury in Houston were a politically-motivated sham all along. In finding that the indictment was void on its face, Judge Bull’s ruling directly contradicts the District Attorney’s argument that the indictment was valid despite the DA’s collusion with Planned Parenthood. The dismissal of the first indictment today sends a strong message to Planned Parenthood and their political cronies that colluding to suppress the First Amendment rights of citizen journalists will never work. The Center for Medical Progress follows all applicable laws in the course of its investigative journalism work and as more details about Planned Parenthood’s contracts for aborted baby parts come to light, it’s clear that Planned Parenthood and their business partners like StemExpress are the ones who are guilty of trafficking in human body parts.
Daleiden’s house in Orange County was raided in April by investigators with the California Department of Justice, suggesting he’s being investigated for criminal activity there as well.
Daleiden leaving court in Houston in February. Photo via AP