Judge William H. Orrick III, the federal judge who granted a temporary restraining order against the release of further videos depicting Planned Parenthood medical officials’ participation in the sale of the organs of aborted babies, is an Obama appointee and a major bundler and donor for Obama’s presidential campaign.
A report by Mollie Hemingway at The Federalist revealed Public Citizen data showing Orrick raised at least $200,000 to the president’s campaign. Additionally, the judge donated $30,800 to committees supporting Obama.
Orrick granted an injunction only hours after the National Abortion Federation (NAF) requested the order.
In his restraining order Orrick states:
Having considered the arguments and papers submitted, in order to preserve the status quo and finding good cause based on the record before me, I GRANT NAF’s Ex Parte Motion, pending a hearing on Monday, August 3. Based on the record before me, I find that NAF is likely to prevail on the merits of its claims, the balance of hardships tips in its favor, NAF would be likely to suffer irreparable injury, absent an ex parte temporary restraining order, in the form of harassment, intimidation, violence, invasion of privacy, and injury to reputation, and the requested relief is in the public interest.
YOU ARE HEREBY ORDERED TO SHOW CAUSE on Monday, August 3, 2015 at 4:00 p.m., before the Honorable William H. Orrick, at 450 Golden Gate Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94102, Courtroom 2, why you, your officers, agents, servants, employees, and attorneys, and any other persons who are in active concert or participation with you, should not be enjoined and restrained from engaging in, committing, or performing, directly and indirectly, any and all of the following acts:
(1) publishing or otherwise disclosing to any third party any video, audio, photographic, or other recordings taken, or any confidential information learned, at any NAF annual meetings;
(2) publishing or otherwise disclosing to any third party the dates or locations of any future NAF meetings;
(3) publishing or otherwise disclosing to any third party the names or addresses of any NAF members learned at any NAF annual meetings; and
(4) attempting to gain access to any future NAF meetings.
Pending hearing on the above Order to Show Cause you, your officers, agents, servants, employees, and attorneys, and any other persons who are in active concert or participation with you ARE HEREBY RESTRAINED AND ENJOINED from:
(1) publishing or otherwise disclosing to any third party any video, audio, photographic, or other recordings taken, or any confidential information learned, at any NAF annual meetings;
(2) publishing or otherwise disclosing to any third party the dates or locations of any future NAF meetings; and
(3) publishing or otherwise disclosing to any third party the names or addresses of any NAF members learned at any NAF annual meetings.
As Hemingway writes:
Even though the National Abortion Federation filed its claim only hours before, Orrick quickly decided in their favor that the abortionists they represent would, ironically, be “likely to suffer irreparable injury, absent an ex parte temporary restraining order, in the form of harassment, intimidation, violence, invasion of privacy, and injury to reputation, and the requested relief is in the public interest.”
In response to Orrick’s restraining order, the Center for Medical Progress, which produced the videos, said:
The Center for Medical Progress follows all applicable laws in the course of our investigative journalism work. The National Abortion Federation is a criminal organization that has spent years conspiring with Planned Parenthood on how to violate federal laws on partial-birth abortion and fetal tissue sales. The Center for Medical Progress will contest any attempts to suppress our First Amendment rights to free speech or silence the freedom of the citizen press.
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