California AG Moves to Exclude Evidence from Daleiden Trial

CMP Investigative Journalist David Daleiden
photo credit: American Life League / Flickr

The Center for Medical Progress (CMP) continues to fight a legal battle against the state of California, which has pressed charges against the CMP for its undercover journalism exposing abortion businesses' practice of harvesting and selling body parts from aborted children. In a recent development, California Attorney General Rob Bonta has filed a request to exclude evidence that would help the CMP establish the legality of its undercover journalism.

In 2015, the CMP started releasing recordings of undercover conversations with employees of Planned Parenthood and other abortion businesses. Those conversations exposed that Planned Parenthood was illegally profiting from the sale of fetal body parts and that the abortion business was altering abortion procedures for the purpose of harvesting more intact body parts.

California has accused the CMP of breaking state privacy laws during its investigation, but those laws expressly allow undercover recordings if they are intended to reveal evidence of violent crimes. That exception is the focus of the CMP's defense, and it is the focus of the evidence that the state of California is attempting to block.

The evidence in question is sworn testimony from former Orange County District Attorney and former Superior Court Judge Tony Rackauckas. He is willing to testify that his office responded to CMP recordings by taking action against Da Vinci companies, which admitted to selling body parts harvested from aborted children.

In response to California's attempt to block Rackauckas's testimony, CMP attorneys filed a statement:

"The AG castigates Mr. Daleiden as an agent provocateur who sought only to damage Planned Parenthood. Mr. Rackaukas[‘] testimony would be extremely relevant to Mr. Daleiden’s credibility and character concerning his search for violent crimes. In addition, there is probably no greater expert on what constitutes evidence of all crimes than the five-term District Attorney of Orange County, Tony Rackaukas."

Click here to read more.