On Tuesday, the preliminary hearing commenced, which is expected to last for nine days. The purpose of this hearing is to determine whether the 15 felony charges of invasion of privacy against David Daleiden and Sandra Merritt will proceed to trial.
Daleiden, the founder and project lead of the Center for Medical Progress (CMP), has caused a national uproar with his series of undercover videos that documented the trafficking of fetal body parts by Planned Parenthood. The attorneys representing the two defendants contend that they are the targets of a political attack orchestrated by politicians such as California Attorney General Xavier Becerra and presidential hopeful Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Ca.).
As reported by Courthouse News’s Maria Dinzeo, Tuesday marked the first time any of Daleiden’s videos have been played in open court. Attorney Horatio Mihet, representing Merritt, stated that this preliminary stage is the put-up-or-shut-up stage. He further noted that what has been revealed is that the prosecution by the attorney general is political in nature and built on a house of cards.
The crux of the charges, as Dinzeo reports, is that Daleiden and Merritt improperly recorded abortion providers from Planned Parenthood at the National Abortion Federation’s (NAF) annual meetings in 2014 and 2015 in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and El Dorado, California. However, as Dinzeo adds,
Outside the courtroom, Daleiden’s attorney Peter Breen stated that California’s penal code, enacted under the California Invasion of Privacy Act, excludes any conversation that can be reasonably overheard or recorded. He further asserted that none of the content was confidential and that Daleiden, who founded the Center for Medical Progress, is an undercover journalist and should be protected by California’s shield laws.
Daleiden added in a statement,
In a recent development, Planned Parenthood abortion providers appeared in court today and admitted to supplying the body parts of children in the womb to for-profit brokers like StemExpress. This admission was made despite the Vice President of the National Abortion Federation denying any knowledge of the gruesome trafficking in fetal body parts, despite hosting StemExpress as a major vendor at the trade shows. The first day of testimony corroborated the assertion that this is a biased attack on First Amendment civil rights and a political prosecution to shield Planned Parenthood from accountability for their crimes against women and children.
Daniel Miller is responsible for nearly all of National Right to Life News' political writing.
With the election of Donald Trump to the U.S. presidency, Daniel Miller developed a deep obsession with U.S. politics that has never let go of the political scientist. Whether it's the election of Joe Biden, the midterm elections in Congress, the abortion rights debate in the Supreme Court or the mudslinging in the primaries - Daniel Miller is happy to stay up late for you.
Daniel was born and raised in New York. After living in China, working for a news agency and another stint at a major news network, he now lives in Arizona with his two daughters.
