Judge’s Ruling Shows the Sleazy Extent of the Center for Medical Progress Conspiracy
Planned Parenthood has released the ruling issued by federal Judge William Orrick that prohibits the Center for Medical Progress from releasing videos they obtained illegally at National Abortion Federation meetings, and the document is incredibly revealing. The 42-page judgment describes in detail the CMP’s conspiracy to smear and libel Planned Parenthood for political purposes, with the ultimate goal of banning legal abortion in the United States.
In order to perpetrate their fraud, David Daleiden and his accomplices created fake identities and fake California driver’s licenses, registered a dummy corporation and signed non-disclosure agreements they had no intention of honoring. This was an amazingly sleazy, dishonest operation; by no stretch of the imagination could it be called “investigative journalism.” Journalists who break laws and sign agreements with the intent of breaking them are subject to the same legal penalties as any other US citizen who commits crimes and violates signed agreements.
It’s very clear that Judge Orrick sees the Center for Medical Progress for what it is: a criminal enterprise formed for the express purpose of defrauding and deceiving the public into believing lies about Planned Parenthood and their partners. Here are some excerpts from the injunction:
“I have reviewed those transcripts and recordings and find no evidence of actual criminal wrongdoing. That defendants did not promptly turn over those recordings to law enforcement likewise belies their claim that they uncovered criminal wrongdoing, and instead supports NAF’s contention that defendants’ goal instead is to falsely portray the operations of NAF’s members through continued release of its ‘curated’ videos as part of its strategy to alter the political landscape with respect to abortion and the public perception of NAF’s members.
“Moreover, a report submitted by NAF of an analysis of many of the ‘highlight’ and ‘full’ videos released by CMP concluded that the ‘curated’ or highlight Project videos were ‘misleading’ and suggests that the ‘full’ videos defendants released along with their ‘highlights’ were also edited.
“Defendants engaged in repeated instances of fraud, including the manufacture of fake documents, the creation and registration with the state of California of a fake company, and repeated false statements to a numerous NAF representatives and NAF members in order to infiltrate NAF and implement their Human Capital Project. The products of that Project – achieved in large part from the infiltration – thus far have not been pieces of journalistic integrity, but misleadingly edited videos and unfounded assertions (at least with respect to the NAF materials) of criminal misconduct. Defendants did not – as Daleiden repeatedly asserts – use widely accepted investigatory journalism techniques. Defendants provide no evidence to support that assertion and no cases on point.”
The full ruling: