David Daleiden has been dismissed of all charges he was facing for infiltrating a Planned Parenthood clinic under a false identity and secretly taping employees.
Prosecutors with the Harris County District Attorney’s office in Texas dismissed the charges Tuesday morning. Daleiden and a colleague, Sandra Merritt, were charged with tampering with a governmental record by using fake identification to gain access to Planned Parenthood’s facility in Houston.
Last year, Daleiden released a series of videos showing how some Planned Parenthood clinics supplied aborted fetal tissue to biomedical companies. Planned Parenthood has since sued him for posing as a fake tissue buyer to obtain the undercover footage.
Daleiden called the dimissal a “resounding vindication of the First Amendment rights of all citizen journalists and also a clear warning to any of Plannned Parenthood’s political cronies who would attack whistleblowers to protect Planned Parenthood from scrutiny.”
While a Harris County grand jury indicted Daleiden earlier this year, court filings showed that the district attorney’s office had shared evidence with Planned Parenthood, prompting cries of foul from abortion foes.
“Planned Parenthood tried to collude with public officials to manipulate the legal process to their own benefit, and they failed,” Daleiden said.
The Harris County District Attorney issued a statement saying it’s dismissing the indictments after “careful research and review.”
“The grand jury took the investigation where the facts led it, however Texas law limits what can be investigated after a grand jury extension order is issued,” the DA’s statement said.
Students for Life of America President Kristan Hawkins called Daleiden “a hero.” “We are thrilled that these scam indictments have rightly been tossed,” she said. “This is a huge win for all citizen journalists whose First Amendment rights were upheld today.”
