The undercover video journalist, David Daleiden, who exposed the alleged involvement of Planned Parenthood in the illegal sale of the body parts of aborted babies will appeal the judgment against him handed down by the jury in the federal case.
“This lawsuit is payback for David Daleiden exposing Planned Parenthood’s dirty business of buying and selling fetal parts and organs,” said lead Thomas More Society defense attorney Peter Breen in a press statement. “We intend to seek vindication for David on appeal. His investigation into criminal activity by America’s largest abortion provider utilized standard investigative journalism techniques, those applied regularly by news outlets across the country.”
On Friday, the jury in the case brought against Daleiden and his colleagues at Center for Medical Progress (CMP) sided with Planned Parenthood and awarded punitive damages to the abortion chain of over $2.2 million.
The jury found the undercover video journalists caused “substantial harm” to Planned Parenthood with its video series that exposed numerous officials of the organization and its partners in the biomedical procurement industry allegedly discussing the sale of fetal body parts and altering abortion procedures in order to ensure the harvesting of intact organs for sale.
“David’s findings revealed practices so abhorrent that the United States Congress issued criminal referrals for Planned Parenthood, and numerous states and elected officials have moved to strip it of funding,” Breen said. “Rather than face up to its heinous doings, Planned Parenthood chose to persecute the person who exposed it. I am fully confident that when this case has run its course, justice will prevail, and David will be vindicated.”
The jury verdict form states Daleiden and his colleagues were in violation of the Federal Racketeer Influenced Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) or conspired to violate RICO.
The jury also said the undercover team breached Planned Parenthood’s national conference exhibitor and nondisclosure agreements and committed fraud or conspired “to commit fraud through intentional misrepresentation.”
Prior to the start of the trial, U.S. District Judge William Orrick III ruled the jury would not be allowed to consider any information Daleiden gleaned from the video recordings in determining its verdict.
Orrick was the subject of controversy as he presided over the case, during which he imposed a gag order on CMP regarding the online publication of the National Abortion Federation (NAF) and Planned Parenthood video footage. Daleiden and his attorneys claimed the order violated their First Amendment rights.
CMP had requested Orrick’s disqualification “on the grounds that there is evidence of bias in favor of the plaintiff and prejudice against the defendants.”
Evidence uncovered by Daleiden and his attorneys included that the Good Samaritan Family Resource Center — an entity that is in partnership with a Planned Parenthood affiliate, a member of the NAF — had named Orrick as an emeritus member of its board.
In addition, Orrick’s wife’s Facebook account indicates support for Planned Parenthood and criticism of Daleiden and CMP.
Planned Parenthood has yet to be prosecuted for any of the allegations of profiting from the sales of the body parts of babies aborted in its clinics.
In June, Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and his predecessor Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), current chairman of the Committee on Finance, wrote to Attorney General William Barr and FBI Director Christopher Wray, seeking an update on the federal investigation that was supposedly launched in 2017 into the allegations raised, in part, through the video documentation by CMP.
The senators asked Barr and Wray to respond to their inquiry no later than July 2.
In August, Breitbart News reached out to the Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) press team for an update on the Department of Justice/FBI response and was informed SJC was still awaiting a response.
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