A new lawsuit accuses Vice President Kamala Harris of a dangerous abuse of power.
Lawyers for David Daleiden filed the suit on Wednesday. They say that Harris conspired with abortion providers to prosecute their client. The conspiracy allegedly originated from Daleiden's recordings of Planned Parenthood officials reportedly discussing fetal tissue procurement. For its part, Planned Parenthood said the footage was deceptively edited. The organization's then-President Cecile Richards said video analysis by research firm Fusion GPS proves this—a claim Daleiden adamantly denies.
Kamala Harris Launches Criminal Investigation
Upon learning of Daleiden's undercover videos, then-Attorney General Harris obtained a search warrant and ordered a raid on his apartment.
Meanwhile, representatives from Planned Parenthood and the National Abortion Federation (NAF) filed a lawsuit blocking the release of any future videos.
Following a judicial injunction against Daleiden, Harris reportedly met with abortion provider executives. She then spearheaded legislation in Sacramento (in collaboration with Planned Parenthood) to make recording and disseminating communications with healthcare providers a crime.
All the while, Harris was running for U.S. Senate.
SEE ALSO: Governor Signs Another Hot Button Abortion Bill Into Law
Harris eventually won the 2016 California Senate election in a landslide.
Politically-Motivated Charges?
In 2017, Harris' successor, Xavier Becerra, filed 15 felony charges against Daleiden and fellow activist Sandra Merritt. Becerra used California's eavesdropping law to charge both Daleiden and Merritt.
To this day, Daleiden says that the prosecution was nothing more than a political vendetta that Harris used to advance her career. His new suit adds another twist to the controversy.
As Fox News reports:
As attorney general, Harris took the unprecedented step of charging Daleiden with violating a state eavesdropping law. Part of the investigation entailed seizing a variety of materials from Daleiden's apartment — including then-unreleased undercover video footage of Planned Parenthood.
Daleiden's attorneys argue that one of Harris' appointees, Deputy Attorney General Johnette Jauron, effectively admitted in May 2021 that she abused the powers of her office by giving the National Abortion Federation (NAF) that footage and other materials seized during a raid in 2016 from Daleiden's apartment as part of Harris' criminal investigation. By that time, NAF was embroiled in a civil suit against Daleiden.
Superior Court of San Francisco County Judge Christopher Hite had asked Jauron about evidence in May of this year, while noting that Daleiden retained different rights in his criminal proceeding, ongoing since 2016, than he did in his civil trial with NAF, which began in July 2015.
In response to the judge, the deputy AG said that she had “provided NAF with everything that I provided Defendant [Daleiden].”
Daleiden's attorneys argue this statement implied Jauron was colluding with the NAF.
Another Discovery Raises Questions
His attorneys also say that billing records further corroborate that Harris' office shared Daleiden's recordings with the NAF. Records show NAF civil attorney Alexandra Laks billed $262.50 to “coordinate review of new videos.” Laks's April 6, 2016, entry doesn't include any additional information but interestingly came one day after the raid on Daleiden's apartment.
SEE ALSO: Biden Administration Defies Rules to Help Planned Parenthood
After years of litigation, a judge ruled in December that prosecutors could try Daleiden on nine counts of eavesdropping and invasion of privacy and Merritt on eight. A separate civil trial awarded Planned Parenthood $2.2 million in damages in November. The Thomas Moore Society has appealed that ruling.
As of this publication, the California Department of Justice has not responded to Fox News' request for comment.
So what do you think? Will Daleiden and Merritt eventually be found not guilty? And who is your favorite citizen journalist? As always, share your thoughts with us below!
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.
