Excellent!!! Grand jury indicts leader behind Planned Parenthood videos

[RKP5637]

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2016/01/25/planned-parenthood-videos-grand-jury-indictment/79318450/?csp=breakingnews

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A Texas grand jury investigating Planned Parenthood has indicted two anti-abortion activists who covertly shot videos of the organization.

Harris County District Attorney Devon Anderson announced Monday that Center for Medical Progress founder David Daleiden was indicted on a felony charge of tampering with a governmental record and a misdemeanor count related to purchasing human organs. Another activist was also indicted on a charge of tampering with a governmental record.

[Tarheel_Dem]

1. K&R

[lamp_shade]

2. I wonder what Carly's reaction, if any, will be. n/t

[gratuitous]

7. Rut roh

But can you believe her incredible luck? Because she's (1) completely irrelevant to today's political scene; and (b) heavily insulated by Republican Amnesia, Ms. Fiorina will not be asked about her mulish stubbornness in clinging to her story about a non-existent videotape. By the time these yahoos are convicted in Texas for their shenanigans in two thousand ten and five, there will be hardly a man alive who remembers that Carly Fiorina existed or that she hitched her political wagon to his black dwarf star.

[pinboy3niner]

10. I can picture her reaction...

[malaise]

3. This is huge

Rec

[Kingofalldems]

4. Was O'Keeffe involved in that video?

[markpkessinger]

5. Freeperville is having a collective meltdown over this.

I took a peek because . . . I had to.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3388391/posts

[RKP5637]

8. I can't look, thanks for looking. Be careful of looking too much, it starts

to lower ones IQ!

[retrowire]

19. Oh GOD MY EYES

They're complaining that the prosecutors didn't bother to look at the videos.

The videos were proven to be highly edited and false.

Why don't they acknowledge this?

[BlueJazz]

35. It's incredible, isn't it? They ramble on about the subject as if the films were real. They want..

...to believe something that's just not there.

[niyad]

45. quick--do you need a drink? a de-lousing shower? a nap? you brave, brave soul!!

[markpkessinger]

46. I looked at it rather as if I were going to the circus!

[niyad]

47. a very good viewpoint.

[brer cat]

6. K&R!

[malaise]

9. Kick n/t

[malaise]

11. This should be the leading Prime Time news story

People were killed as a result of their criminality and the pandering by self-interested politicians and media hacks.

[RKP5637]

12. It certainly should be!!! n/t

[Kingofalldems]

13. Kick.

[Kber]

14. In Texas, no less.

And not the republic of Austin. Harris County!

Time to repeat my prediction that Texas goes blue by 2024.

[RKP5637]

15. I was amazed by that! Good for Texas!!! n/t

[kentauros]

24. We do good things here.

But, because Texas is DU's favorite to bash and hate, such things usually get ignored as not helping the hate-mongering paradigm.

By the way, Austin isn't nearly as liberal as everyone still seems to think. From looking at voting maps, while Houston is most definitely purple, Austin is becoming less blue with every election. San Antonio is the bluest and most liberal city in the state. Think Cisneros

[Jim Beard]

29. I tend to think if its outside of Austin, its right wing but it really isn't

its the inner cities of Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, Austin and El Paso that vote Democratic. Forth Worth and Corpus Christi votes RED

I haven't figured out Corpus Christi except maybe the Naval station, having a large vote of republicans and also TEXAS Gerrymandering.

I course the burbs, rural counties and the smaller cities like Amarillo, Lubbock, Midland, Abilene, Whiticha Falls and others are what carry the day for the Republicans.

[kentauros]

31. I can't figure out Corpus Christi, either.

However, we do have a couple of DUers from there that tell us they're doing their best to change it

Now, if you look at this map, you'll see that all of the rural counties along the Rio Grande vote Democratic, too. East Texas (i.e., West Louisiana) probably accounts for most of Redneckistan in Texas, and their crazy reps.

[Kber]

34. I lived (briefly) in Houston

It is a diverse state that, imo, sends republicans to government more because of gerrymandered than a true reflection of the population.

And, as a NJ resident, I feel your pain, but we will keep on keeping on.

[kentauros]

37. There's no pain here.

We just elected another Dem to mayor (Sylvester Turner) so that's always helpful and hopeful.

Yes, gerrymandering is a big problem here, as is the case all across the country. We just have to wait for court cases challenging them to work their way up through the system, as usual.

Houston is also the most diverse city in the country, and that's helping to change things for the better. The good ol' boys are moving further and further outside the city limits and allowing us to get bluer.

It's not painful living here at all.

[Kber]

38. I meant the pain of people assuming things about your state

Without real knowledge.

No insult intended.

[kentauros]

39. Okay, sorry for the assumption on my part.

And yes, it got tiring years ago. I tell people here from time to time that I'm tempted to start naming their state any time something bad happens there. Such as "Wisconsin. Figures." "Ohio. Nuff said." "Washington. (eye-roll)" but I don't think they'd get the nuance

[Jim Beard]

43. I really liked Sylvester. I first heard him speak at a TEXAS Freedom News discussion at the 2002 Tex

Democratic Convention in Texas. Very impressive then.

[Jim Beard]

42. Plus those elections are in the "OFF" years

[yuiyoshida]

16. Great, may they

kick their asses.

[RKP5637]

17. Yep, they deserve the worst!!! n/t

[hifiguy]

18. The Crowbar Hilton awaits them. nt

[sinkingfeeling]

20. Their indictments will help Planned Parenthood's law suit

Hope they have to pay about $500 million.

[misterhighwasted]

25. AND strip Center for Medical Progress's Tax Free C3 status

This is a damn big deal today.
Texas no less.
Couldn't happen to a more corrupt bunch of a**holes.
MSNBC just had a short segment on it & I hope its addressed in tonight's CNN Town Hall.

Kudos to PP

[G_j]

21. K&R!

[Wounded Bear]

22. K & R ......

Put these assholes away for a good long time. I long to see more RW assholes perp-walked die to their bullshit tactics.

[63splitwindow]

23. I rarely say this but... PERFECT!!! n/t

[spooky3]

26. Here's a Wash. Post article about the same thing:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2016/01/25/creator-of-anti-planned-parenthood-videos-faces-felony-charge/?hpid=hp_rhp-top-table-main_planned-parenthhod-indict-550pm%3Ahomepage%2Fstory

[pinboy3niner]

28. The AP wire story by Paul J. Weber pointed out about CMP:

Despite the lofty name of the Center for Medical Progress, public filings suggest only a small number of people are affiliated with the nonprofit, none of whom are scientists or physicians engaged in advancing medical treatments. The people named as its top officers are longtime anti-abortion activists with a history of generating headlines.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/grand-jury-indicts-leader-planned-parenthood-videos-36512019

[spooky3]

32. "none of whom are scientists or physicians" -- that says it all! n/t

[spanone]

27. K&R...

[dumbcat]

30. So how were the videos considered "government records?"

How did they become government records?

[TBF]

33. They weren't -

if you have a quote and cite bring it here because all I can find is this from the NYTimes:

"Another center employee, Sandra Merritt, was indicted on a felony charge of tampering with a governmental record." http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/26/us/2-abortion-foes-behind-planned-parenthood-videos-are-indicted.html?ref=topics

Merritt was indicted for tampering with a governmental record. To my knowledge they have not released what "governmental record" was tampered with. If you can find that I'd love to see it.

[dumbcat]

36. I always thought that they had altered and edited the videos to make it look like

PP was selling stuff they shouldn't. It was all over DU, talking about the "edited video", "changed video", and "lies."

If that wasn't it, what was the government record that was altered to make the videos edited, altered, or lies? I'm confused.

[TBF]

41. Like I said very clearly - I have not seen anything

that indicates what "governmental record" they are talking about. I don't think that has been released yet. If you can find it let me know. People say all kinds of things on DU - I'm only interested in facts that have been verified.

The article states:

On Monday, the Harris County district attorney, Devon Anderson, said in a statement that grand jurors had cleared Planned Parenthood of any wrongdoing. She declined to provide details about the case against Mr. Daleiden and Ms. Merritt, including any documents or evidence presented to the grand jury, citing state law on the secrecy of grand jury proceedings.

[dumbcat]

48. Looks like it was the ID cards

Way down in the NYT article you cited:

"The record-tampering charges appeared to involve their use of fake identification."

That seems a bit of a stretch. It doesn't involve the accuracy of the videos. Something else must be going on.

[TBF]

49. Just re-read and found that -

yes, you're correct. That's all I can find. At this level it's just the grand jury indicting. All they have to do is determine whether charges can/should be brought. I believe (not a lawyer - hoping someone will chime in here to add or correct info) that more charges can be added after indictment. I've seen words to the effect that prosecutors will only put up the minimum info they need to get the indictment. After that they can compel documents/testimony for the trial.

[Quayblue]

40. "purchasing human organs"

Wtf.

Now this is some repugnant shit.

[Megahurtz]

44. Good. n/t

[Orrex]

50. Governor Texas was quick to assert that the state protects all human life

He was lying, of course, but I'm sure that it plays well to a certain segment of the constituency.