Unintended Consequences
So after videos came out that appeared to show illegal activities at Planned Parenthood, Republican politicians in Texas demanded criminal investigations of the organization. The Harris County District Attorney, Devon Anderson, impaneled a grand jury and presented them with all of the evidence available.
The results are in and MSNBC reports that the Texas grand jury indicts two in probe of anti-abortion videos:
The grand jury meanwhile declined to indict anyone from Planned Parenthood, Harris County District Attorney Devon Anderson said in a statement.
Indictments were issued against David Daleiden, founder of the Center for Medical Progress and self-described “citizen journalist,” for tampering with government documents, a felony, and the purchase and sale of human organs, a misdemeanor.
A tampering indictment was also issued against Sandra Merritt, who was named in a federal lawsuit filed by Planned Parenthood earlier this month.
It would appear that the grand jury came to the conclusion that Mr. Daleiden, not Planned Parenthood, traffics in human parts… Tsk, tsk…
4 comments
“Tampering with government documents”. I wonder. Could it be that when the grand jury subpoenaed the original video source from these guys, they edited the videos they turned over in response to the subpoena in order to remove embarrassing things? Usually that’s contempt, not “tampering with government documents”, but I don’t know how Texas law works.
Apparently they used forged California drivers licenses to gain access to Planned Parenthood, and the laws concerning ID have been toughened up by the ‘Real ID Law’ as part of the War on Terror™. Getting a drivers license is a real PITA now.
Oh wow! And yeah, I know about getting a driver’s license. I had to show up with a utility bill, my Social Security card, and my birth certificate, *in addition* to my Arizona driver’s license, when I moved to California after they passed these laws. Crazy. Always before, I just had to show up with my old license and a utility bill showing my current address to get my new license when I moved to a new state.
When I went to California from New York in 1983, I showed them my NY license [no photo] and told them my address. I have had a Florida driver’s license since 1991, but when I renew it I will need my old license, my birth certificate, a utility bill, my Social Security card, and a partridge in a pear tree. It is absurd.