Attorneys for the man behind last year’s undercover Planned Parenthood videos filed motions on Thursday to throw out charges against him, alleging that prosecutors colluded with Planned Parenthood.
{mosads}David Daleiden was indicted for creating now-viral videos of Planned Parenthood employees discussing the organization’s fetal tissue donation program. A grand jury that was convened to investigate the health organization after the videos were released ended up charging Daleiden with a felony for creating and using a false driver’s license and misdemeanor for offering to purchase human organs as part of his video production.
Daleiden’s lawyers are now claiming that Planned Parenthood had an undue influence over the grand jury, a violation of his due process rights.
Their motion also alleged that prosecutors “have systematically leaked Grand Jury proceedings to unauthorized persons.”
Daleiden’s videos stirred up House and Senate Republicans, who launched congressional investigations of Planned Parenthood in July of last year. The climax of the inquiry came in September with a heated, five-hour testimony by the group’s president Cecile Richards before the House Oversight Committee.