Investigators search home of man behind Planned Parenthood sting videos
California investigators on Tuesday evening searched the apartment of David Daleiden, the anti-abortion activist behind the series of sting videos released last summer showing Planned Parenthood officials discussing fees for fetal tissue and organs.
California Attorney General Kamala Harris said last summer that she would investigate whether Daleiden broke laws in the course of his sting operation, which spurred a huge political battle over Planned Parenthood’s federal funding. Daleiden filmed part of his project in Planned Parenthood clinics in California.
Investigators took Daleiden’s personal laptop and multiple hard drives from his Orange County, Calif., home, according to a source close to Daleiden. They also attempted to take his phone as he was talking to his attorneys, the source said.
Daleiden has denied that he broke any laws. But officials with Planned Parenthood, the National Abortion Federation and their allies say he used false identification, broke confidentiality agreements and recorded without consent, among other charges. Besides facing at least two civil lawsuits, Daleiden has been indicted in Harris County, Texas, for using false identification and trying to buy human tissue. He posted bond in February.
Daleiden said in a statement Tuesday evening that investigators took his personal information and all of his video footage. He said they “ignored” work in his home that showed an illegal agreement between StemExpress, a tissue procurement company, and Planned Parenthood. Both organizations have repeatedly said they did nothing illegal.
Daleiden accused Harris -- who is running for California’s open Senate seat -- of refusing to investigate the women’s health organization because of political ties.
“This is no surprise — Planned Parenthood’s bought-and-paid-for AG has steadfastly refused to enforce the law against the baby body parts traffickers in our state, or even investigate them--while at the same time doing their bidding to harass and intimidate citizen journalists,” he said in a statement. “We will pursue all remedies to vindicate our First Amendment rights.”
Planned Parenthood spokeswoman Erica Sackin said Daleiden’s “lies are catching up with him.”
“David Daleiden engaged in an elaborate criminal conspiracy to deceive the public and ban abortion in this country, and now he’s paying the price,” she said. “The only people who engaged in wrongdoing are the extremists who broke multiple laws to spread lies about Planned Parenthood -- and it looks like they’re finally being held accountable.”
One of Daleiden’s legal advisers, former prosector Matt Heffron, said in a statement that the search was an “oppressive abuse of government power.”
“To storm into a private citizen’s home with a search warrant is outrageously out of proportion for the type of crime alleged,” he said.