David Daleiden and his attorneys, including Thomas More Society Special Counsel Peter Breen, spoke to a supportive public following a hearing in the Superior Court of the State of California, County of San Francisco. Daleiden entered a plea of "not guilty," after a hearing on his demurrer, which objected to the validity of the complaint filed by California Attorney General Xavier Becerra against Daleiden. Judge Christopher C. Hite did not grant Daleiden's petition but, according to Breen, he did acknowledge that Daleiden will receive a hearing on his affirmative defenses at an upcoming preliminary probable cause hearing. Daleiden's primary affirmative defenses are, first, that the undercover recordings at issue were made in public places and, second, that he sought and uncovered evidence of illegal partial birth abortions and medical battery on women seeking abortions, bringing his recording efforts under the violent crime safe harbor in the California recording statute. "We're going to get a hearing on this," declared Breen, who called the charges weak and outrageous, adding that "This case should have never been brought."
The charges revolve around undercover videos made by Daleiden and colleague Sandra Susan Merritt during their research for the Center for Medical Progress. Becerra is accusing Daleiden of privacy violations, even though the film footage was shot in public locations, including restaurants and hotel conference rooms. The videos expose the alleged involvement of Planned Parenthood in trafficking aborted baby body parts.
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