David Daleiden and the Center for Medical Progress filed a lawsuit on the 13th of this month against Attorney Xavier Becerra and other prominent politicians in California who prosecuted him for exposing Planned Parenthood’s illegal sale of aborted baby parts. The lawsuit also names Planned Parenthood and Kamala Harris for allegedly conspiring to violate Daleiden and the Center for Medical Progress’ First and Fourteenth Amendment civil rights.
On March 28th, 2017 David Daleiden and Sandra Merritt, undercover journalists from the Center for Medical Progress (CMP) were slapped by California Attorney General Xavier Becerra with 15 felony charges for their videos exposing Planned Parenthood as an organization with questionable and potentially criminal activity.
Daleiden and Sandra Merritt are still facing the felony charges, which would lead to possible jail time and fines if convicted.
However, Becerra has a conflict of interest, as Planned Parenthood has personally endorsed him and made multiple donations to his political campaigns.
According to the Liberty Counsel:
Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood, said, “Planned Parenthood Federation of America applauds Gov. Brown’s appointment of Rep. Xavier Becerra as California’s Attorney General. Rep. Becerra is a long-time champion for women’s reproductive rights and health. As a former California Deputy Attorney General, he understands the importance of a woman’s right to access the full range of health care, including safe, legal abortion. At a time when reproductive health is gravely under attack in states across the country, we need leaders like Rep. Becerra to be responsible stewards of the law and protect the rights of millions of Americans, including the 850,000 California women, men and families that Planned Parenthood serves every year.”
Life News adds:
“Planned Parenthood has been a long time contributor to Becerra’s campaigns… The Planned Parenthood abortion business gave Becerra $1,000 in 2014, $2,000 in 2012, $500 in 2004, $1,000 in 2002, and $1,035 in 1998.”
It’s clear, Daily Wire reported, “Becerra has a conflict of interest. Over the years, he has received a total of $5,535 dollars in campaign contributions from the organization at the center of the case.” In essence a taxpayer funded organization (Planned Parenthood), has support Becerra for years, and now, instead of remaining unbiased in his decisions, he has let his longtime relationship with Planned Parenthood allow him to unfairly punish two journalists who simply wanted to expose evil.
It’s demonstrably unfair for Becerra to indict these two journalists when he has such an obvious connection to the organization which they exposed.
Beyond the clear conflict of interest, Becerra’s prosecution of the Center for Medical Progress’ Investigators reveals a tremendous double standard. It would appear, Becerra is fine with undercover investigative journalism, as long as it doesn’t expose potentially criminal activity on the part of Planned Parenthood and fetal tissue providers. Becerra’s hypocrisy is evidenced in the lack of conviction of two animal rights organizations, Mercy for Animals and Compassion Over Killing (COK), who exercised undercover journalism tactics similar to that of the CMP in order to expose animal cruelty in California.
If Becerra really believes what the journalists from the Center for Medical Progress did to be such a violation of privacy, why weren’t organizations such as COK and Mercy for Animals held to the same standard?
It is clearly unfair to prosecute organizations or person(s) differently based upon one’s personal feelings on the issue exposed by the undercover journalists. California Attorney General Xavier Becerra is unethically stabbing the CMP investigators in an attempt to delegitimize the outrageous activity and human rights atrocities committed by Planned Parenthood, an organization that he personally has ties too.
