Image source: screengrab
Two former Los Angeles County District Attorneys — Steve Cooley and Brenford J. Ferreira, along with their firm, Steve Cooley and Associates (SCA) — have taken up the defense of David Daleiden, the undercover citizen journalist who brought to light the Planned Parenthood videos that revealed some of the shocking practices involving the harvesting and sale of human body parts at America’s top abortion provider.
In a statement released to the media today, Cooley and Ferreira say that they are “proud to announce their defense of citizen journalist David Daleiden against the grossly politically-motivated prosecution from the California Attorney General’s office.” SCA has created a media resources page related to the case, which features the following new, 3-minute trailer of Daleiden’s videos, released through his organization, The Center for Medical Progress, some of which have, due to court order, never been seen by the public:
https://youtu.be/Sq1ycCmX3uU?rel=0
According to the SCA media resources page,
The plaintiff in the civil suit, the National Abortion Federation (NAF) and its partner Planned Parenthood (PP), had importuned the Attorney General to initiate a criminal investigation into David in order to further suppress his undercover journalism. You see, David had exposed the most infamous and disturbing story of unethical and illegal medical practices since the Tuskegee Institute scandal-the harvesting and sale for profit of fetal organs, tissues and limbs from late term aborted fetuses.
When several of his videos hit the internet, the public outrage prompted congressional hearings and calls for the Federal defunding of Planned Parenthood. The civil suit resulted in an injunction (which is currently on appeal) preventing David from posting any videos taken at the 2014 and 2015 NAF conventions held in San Francisco and preventing David from naming or otherwise identifying anyone he filmed at those conferences.
But according to Steve Cooley, “Then-Attorney General, now U.S. Senator Kamala Harris, wielded unprecedented police power against a true American journalist while civil suits were already pending in Federal District Court concerning the same video-recordings.”
“Public Records Act requests filed by SCA,” said Cooley, “reveal the Attorney General’s real interest in this case is entirely political, meant to manipulate the law to do the bidding of their benefactors at Planned Parenthood.”
SCA revealed that Daleiden’s accusers were for some reason listed anonymously in the complaint filed against him, and a request for their identities to be revealed was ignored. Daleiden’s attorneys were forced to file a demurrer (a form of objection) to the complaint, stating that it “does not substantially conform to the provisions of [the] Penal Code…nor does it provide Mr. Daleiden with due process.”
Following this filing, Xavier Becerra, the new California Attorney General, “sent SCA a password-protected list of Does 1 through 14, stating that the names were somehow confidential, rather than amending the publicly filed complaint to publicly list David’s accusers. There is no protective order in place in state court that would protect the names of the Does, and David is entitled to a public defense.”
The full list of complainants has now been made available on the SCA media page, along with a viewable playlist of 17 videos related to the interviews of those involved in the complaint, some of which are becoming public for the first time as a part of this case.
Brent Ferreira, who wrote the demurrer to the complaint against Daleiden, said that “The First Amendment must apply equally whether you are pro-choice or pro-life, and a publicly-accused defendant is entitled to face his accusers in a public trial.”
“Anything less,” Ferreira continued, “is a corrupt attempt by the Attorney General to orchestrate a star-chamber proceeding reminiscent of the witch hunts and show trials of more unenlightened eras.”
The videos released by Daleiden have proven extremely controversial, leading to an investigation in their legality in multiple states. But even some outspoken opponents of the videos recognize that the legal proceedings against Daleiden in California are draconian. In a March 30, 2017 editorial, the Los Angeles Times Editorial Board wrote that
There’s no question that anti-abortion activist David Daleiden surreptitiously recorded healthcare and biomedical services employees across the state of California with the intent of discrediting the healthcare provider, Planned Parenthood — something his heavily edited videos failed to do. There’s also no question that it’s against state law to record confidential conversations without the consent of all the parties involved.
But that doesn’t mean that California Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra should have charged Daleiden and his co-conspirator, Susan Merritt, with 15 felony counts — one for each of the 14 people recorded, and a 15th for conspiracy. It’s disturbingly aggressive for Becerra to apply this criminal statute to people who were trying to influence a contested issue of public policy, regardless of how sound or popular that policy may be. Planned Parenthood and biomedical company StemExpress, which was also featured in the videos, have another remedy for the harm that was done to them: They can sue Daleiden and Merritt for damages. The state doesn’t need to threaten the pair with prison time. [emphasis added]
My God. I know a good many women who had abortions back “in the old days” of the 70s and 80s when the wholesale consolidation of the systematic murder of children was not yet formed. Back then, there was indeed some fluff about life, formation, embryology, etc. on the medical side (I’m a medical professional). It is what people hid behind. Willing confusion, yes, but there was cover for it. Now there is not a shred of cover left. There is absolutely no doubt in any medical quarter any longer that there is not the death a human occurring in abortion. And in truth there is absolutely no doubt, short of them having been lobotomized, but only self-delusion, in any person who claims not to know what is really going on in an abortion. All that has been left to the argument for a long time is the faux-compassion side of the argument, with all of its histrionic wailing about “rights.” This video takes away all of that, too, and raises to blunt and overt “in your face” proof of the utterly satanic corporate, financial and willing collusion-in-evil nature of the abortion industry. No place to hide. Please, please, please make sure this article lands in the inboxes of all you know. You may lose friends, family, business as a result…..no matter. Do it. We should all be haunted by our Catholic surety that those who know of evil and do not try to stop it are held at Judgement to more account than those who (perhaps) unwittingly perpetrate it. That is a terrifying thought, almost as terrifying as this video.
There is nothing, but nothing, that shows the lie of the liberal’s “compassion” than his / her absolute pitilessness when it comes to abortion.
This pitilessness goes back a long way. At the age of fifteen in a “religious education” class (this was in 1978) I was actually physically spat at by several girls in the class when I was the only one to put his hand up when the teacher asked who was against abortion.
I remember saying back in the 80’s when pro lifers believed that once science proved the humanity of the child our “foes” would embrace the pro life cause– in a prophetic moment, an insight of the Holy Spirit no doubt– I said, “no, I don’t think so. Once science proves the humanity of the baby they will say, so what? What if it is a baby. I can still kill it.” Pitilessness is the right word, Uncle Joe. Utter pitilessness born of terrible diabolic selfishness.
Spot on. The new pagans are utterly spiritually blind, just like the old ones. And so we have to start again.
I do not know anymore if it is possible to start again.
I guess our Lord will have to see to that, and I tremble at the thought of it.
Good point Weissfjord, yes this is right, isn’t it? Post-Incarnation, there are no more excuses.
CS – it took four or five centuries for the Faith to conquer paganism even in Italy. We have no choice but to start again, assuming that Our Lord Jesus Christ gives us the time, because He commands us to preach the Gospel to all nations (in all times).
And Martin Luther’s, et al, lies have had 500 years now. How’s that working out for society?
The new pagans are much worse than the old variety given that they live Annis Domini. Even the Ancient Greeks, 500 years before Christ, knew that abortion was evil as can be seen from the Hippocratic Oath including the words ‘I will not give to a woman a pessary to cause abortion.’ No wonder the ‘modernized’ version dropped that reference to salve the troubled consciences of the facilitators of the Silent Holocaust.
BINGO!
IMHO, they’re worse than the original old pagans. Somewhere deep inside they know. They just think they can con their way out of judgment when the time comes. Or they’ve bought into one of the lies, there is no hell, or very few souls go there.
I feel this, Great Stalin. I was turned in as a teacher by students to whom I showed a video of the development of the fetus through its various stages, with real photography and ultrasound imagery, all part of an embryology lecture in an Anatomy and Physiology class. They practically hissed at me ‘WHERE did you get this? WHY are you showing this?” It was all seen, despite being a very authentic science movie, as undercutting their rights to murder. I was called in by the Dean. Yadda-yadda. This was the early 90’s. Warned even then, though the term was not used, to not harm the snowflakes’ tender feelings. I kept my job. Barely. I continued to do what I was doing, made sure to simply alter language to at least a 51/49% use of “fetus” over “baby.” Funny enough that did it for the next and ongoing groups. I used to LOVE telling them that “fetus” is simply Latin for “the young one of a species.” I’d follow that with “And what species are we??” To which at least one or two students would say “Human,” and I’d follow with “Exactly, so the fetus is the young one of the human species.”
Bovine stares. Dumbfounded blankness. “BABY” is something they just cannot take. And take away from “fetus” the “THING-ness” meaning, and they are lost. All that said, occasionally there are and more as time goes on a few students who have a eureka moment, and see, and sit their nodding, and that is victory enough. So long as I keep the job. 😉
God bless you Julia. I read your post and I ask myself, “what sort of world are we living in???” That a science film gets you into trouble, a regular educational science film because it shows the humanity of an unborn child. This boggles my mind. But it really is all of a piece with this burgeoning snowflake culture,. I have retired from teaching but I can remember having a high level lit class some years ago that dealt with Western classics. We started with the Greeks and moved upward. When I got to the play Everyman, some of them were literally squirming in their seats. The play shows a soul preparing to meet Christ and how frightened this soul is because he never took seriously the commandments. None of his “false friends” that he lavished all his time on will go with him. Finally only Good Works will accompany him. And Good Works is in a pretty anemic state. Of course the devil is gleefully awaiting his prize but by the holy Sacraments the soul is saved. I explained Medieval culture and sketched in the background but I got quite a reaction. they were outraged. They accused me of teaching religion yadda yadda. It was tense. Of course I found out later that many of them were doing some shadowy things, occult activities etc. So no surprise they writhed like snakes. Poor poor things. I prayed for them ever after. I still do. For all my students.
Yes, God bless Julia indeed. What an insane world.
Insane world is right. That is a VAST UNDERSTATEMENT!
Peoplw wonder where they got Concentration camp guards. Look around – we are surrounded. At least the SS wore their skull emblem.
Nothing shows more glaringly how far we have fallen. To prosecute an undercover whistle blower for telling the truth because this murder, dismemberment, and profiteering is legal. What’s to stop victims of the false charity of euthenasia from yielding up their organs for organ transplants. We are neck deep in “Frankenculture” for sure.
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Don’t tell Mark Shea that. He was one of those who vigorously opposed Dalaiden’s efforts.
Satan’s major thrust!
How easy of a time he had of it. So infested was the Church with homosexuality, sexual child abuse, that the sins of the Church hierarchy condemned them, held them hostage…….and Satan easily marched on, without resistance.
Nothing has changed, in fact it has worsened in my opinion, but for a few pockets of devoted, faithful who call witness to this diabolical action of abortion. Pro abort politicians receive our Lord in the Eucharist!
This all must be answered for.
And it will be, cs. As Our Lady of Akita said, the good will suffer along with the guilty,both priests and people.
Pope Paul VI said that the smoke of Satan has entered the sanctuary. The clergy no longer take seriously what they claim to believe and uphold. That not as dramatic as the examples you cite but it’s probably more pervasive than you might think. That, really, is where Satan is winning, by turning Catholicism into a pseudo-intellectual commitment that focuses on economic issues.
For those of you who say that “the gates of Hell will not prevail,” you’re right because Satan and Hell are thrown into the Lake of Fire at the Last Judgement. But that phrase doesn’t mean that Catholic leaders won’t turn into apostates and satanic minions, let alone false shepherds.
The video has been pulled. Interesting….. the battle rages.
Justice?
This all began with the apostate Martin Luther. Since then there are over 30,000 Protestant denominations who have claimed the ‘right of free choice’ which of course has led to the most grievous offense against Almighty God, the Creator of Life!