Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast attorney Josh Schaffer admitted under oath that the Harris County District Attorney’s office broke the law by sharing evidence against undercover journalist David Daleiden leading up to the grand jury hearings against him. The evidence was shared even after the Texas Attorney General’s office had forbidden them from doing so, according to an attorney involved in the case.
After Daleiden’s Center for Medical Progress released a series of undercover videos last year showing evidence that Planned Parenthood routinely received compensation in exchange for organs harvested from aborted babies, Harris County District Attorney’s office sought to indict the pro-life activists.
In January, Daleiden and one of his associates were indicted by a grand jury for purchasing and selling organs as well as tampering with a governmental record. The DA’s office brought no charges against the nation’s largest abortion provider, whose employees were caught on video haggling over the price of organs on multiple occasions.
The Attorney General ordered the DA not to share any evidence with Planned Parenthood, which they allegedly disobeyed.
In a sworn declaration, Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast attorney Josh Schaffer admitted that Assistant DA Sunni Mitchell attempted to get around that AG’s directive in order to share raw video footage with the abortion provider.
“I was told that the Attorney General’s office agreed to give it to the Harris County District Attorney’s office on the condition that they not give it to Planned Parenthood. Mitchell told me that she would try to obtain the footage by other means,” Schaffer said.
The attorney for Planned Parenthood revealed this illegal flow of information in a statement that was included in the DA’s response to Daleiden’s motion alleging prosecutorial misconduct to quash the indictment against him.
“The recent filings by the Harris County District Attorney confirm that the DA shared confidential documents and information with abortion provider Planned Parenthood, colluding with it in the prosecution of David Daleiden,” said Peter Breen, Thomas Moore Society attorney who is representing Daleiden in a statement. “The conduct of Harris County prosecutors in this case is outrageous and illegal. We look forward to pressing our motion to quash this indictment in court.”
The DA’s efforts to share information with Planned Parenthood isn’t the first time they’ve cozied up with the abortion industry.
As The Federalist reported, the DA who indicted Daleiden has received more than $25,000 in campaign contributions from the defense attorney for abortionist Douglas Karpen, who has been described as the Kermit Gosnell of Texas.
One of the prosecutors at the same DA’s office was a member of the board of directors for the Planned Parenthood affiliate that Daleiden went after. Her LinkedIn page shows she’s served as a Planned Parenthood board member since 2013 and a fundraiser for the abortion provider since 2009, The Federalist reported.
