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CMP project lead David Daleiden released the following statement today on the news about invoices being unsealed showing Planned Parenthood Mar Monte billing StemExpress for the number of “usable” “Products Of Conception (POCs)” harvested by StemExpress:

Contrary to what Planned Parenthood has long and falsely claimed, Planned Parenthood’s monthly invoices of fetal body parts show zero “reimbursements'” for shipping or packaging. They show Planned Parenthood selling baby body parts based on the number of specimens “determined in the clinic to be usable,” per contract with StemExpress. Planned Parenthood’s contracts and invoices are proof positive that their payments were tied solely to the marketability of aborted baby body parts.

Tying payments to marketable body parts in a quid pro quo is exactly the kind of criminal “valuable consideration” that federal law forbids. The Department of Justice forcefully prosecutes parties who sell endangered animal body parts for far less than the amount of money reflected in these invoices. When abortion businesses can make $25,000 a quarter selling baby body parts, it is long past time for the Department of Justice to do its job and hold them accountable.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CMP SUES DOCTOR FROM UNDERCOVER PLANNED PARENTHOOD VIDEOS FOR CALLING FOOTAGE “FAKE”
Dr. Savita Ginde, In Book and TEDx Talk, Accused Citizen Journalists of Fabricating Evidence

Contact: Matille Thebolt, mthebolt@crcpublicrelations.com, 703.683.5004

DENVER, Nov. 27–The Center for Medical Progress, responsible for the 2015 undercover video series that caught top Planned Parenthood leadership callously negotiating the harvesting and sale of aborted fetal body parts, is suing Dr. Savita Ginde, a now-former Planned Parenthood VP and Medical Director featured in the videos, for her false and defamatory claims that the undercover footage is “fake”.

As part of the video series release in July 2015, CMP published undercover footage of its meeting with Dr. Ginde, then the Chief Medical Officer of Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains, where CMP undercover investigators posed as representatives of a biotech company seeking to purchase and re-sell human fetal organs and tissues, modeling themselves after real-life fetal tissue wholesaler companies like StemExpress, Advanced Bioscience Resources, and DaVinci Biosciences, who partnered with various Planned Parenthood facilities. DaVinci was shut down by a southern California District Attorney on account of CMP’s undercover reporting.

In the footage, Dr. Ginde can be seen responding to CMP project lead David Daleiden’s comparison of a flat fee per fetus versus per-organ pricing for aborted fetal remains, stating, “I think a per-item thing works a little better, just because we can see how much we can get out of it.” Dr. Ginde also describes on the footage how frequently a fetus may be delivered intact for organ harvesting: “If someone delivers before we are able to see them for a procedure, then we are intact,” and that, “Intact is probably less than 10 percent.”

Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains had previously sold aborted fetal tissue to Colorado State University for $160 per specimen.

At the end of 2018, Dr. Ginde, who left Planned Parenthood in 2017, published a memoir and made a TEDx presentation, in which she falsely claims that the undercover footage is “dubbed”, “spliced and diced”, and even “fabricated” and “fake”, and that it does not reflect her actual statements. Earlier this month in federal court, Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains and Planned Parenthood Federation of America stipulated that “the words used by [Planned Parenthood’s] personnel and the [CMP investigators] in the video recorded by the [investigators] were spoken by those persons.”

In her book, Dr. Ginde claims the undercover footage is “manipulated” in order to “make it look like I did something that I have actually never done and said things I actually never said”, and declares, “The words and actions are completely false.” Yet Dr. Ginde also admits in the book that she never fully watched the undercover footage and “had no intention of ever doing so.”

“I welcome Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers, current and former, speaking honestly and publicly about their work, especially as it regards fetal experimentation and organ harvesting,” states Daleiden. “This is the reason CMP’s undercover footage continues to have such a profound impact on the public conscience. But anyone who tries to attack our undercover reporting by making false statements about our work should expect to make a public correction or be held accountable in a court of law.”

First Amendment lawyer Harmeet Dhillon of the Dhillon Law Group, who filed the complaint on behalf of Daleiden and CMP, notes, “The First Amendment protects the rights of every American, including Dr. Ginde, to disagree with my clients and express their own views publicly–but when someone makes demonstrably false statements and refuses to correct them, as Dr. Ginde repeatedly did in multiple forums, our clients have the right to set the record straight in court, and we look forward to our day in court against Dr. Ginde.”

The case is 2019CV031764 David Daleiden and The Center for Medical Progress, Inc. v. Dr. Savita Ginde, in Jefferson County, CO.

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Read the complaint here.

To watch CMP’s undercover video series, visit: centerformedicalprogress.org/cmp/investigative-footage

Learn more about CMP at CenterforMedicalProgress.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

AFTER VIDEOS SWORN AS TRUE, BIASED JUDGE DIRECTS PRO-PLANNED PARENTHOOD VERDICT

Top Planned Parenthood Witnesses Admitted At Trial Organization Sold Fetal Organs on Quid-Pro-Quo Basis, But Judge Orrick Blocked Jury From Hearing Video Conversations

Contact: Matille Thebolt, mthebolt@crcpublicrelations.com, 703.683.5004

SAN FRANCISCO, November 15–After a 6-week trial in which the Planned Parenthood-linked judge pre-determined the outcome on key claims, a jury of 10 rubber-stamped Planned Parenthood’s federal civil lawsuit against The Center for Medical Progress over the undercover video series showing senior-level Planned Parenthood leadership discussing the harvest and sale of aborted fetal organs and tissues.

“Justice was not done today in San Francisco. While top Planned Parenthood witnesses spent six weeks testifying under oath that the undercover videos are true and Planned Parenthood sold fetal organs on a quid pro quo basis, a biased judge with close Planned Parenthood ties spent six weeks influencing the jury with pre-determined rulings and suppressing the video evidence, all in order to rubber-stamp Planned Parenthood’s lawsuit attack on the First Amendment. This is a dangerous precedent for citizen journalism and First Amendment civil rights across the country, sending a message that speaking truth and facts to criticize the powerful is no longer protected by our institutions,” notes CMP project lead David Daleiden, one of the individual defendants in the case.

The retaliatory lawsuit against the publication of the undercover videos alleged fraud, trespass, breach of conduct, and eavesdropping as part of a conspiracy under the federal RICO act, and was brought by Planned Parenthood Federation of America and no less than 10 regional Planned Parenthood affiliates–including several subject to Congressional criminal referrals and ongoing federal investigation for their roles in fetal organ trafficking–against Daleiden, CMP undercover investigators Adrian Lopez and Sandra Merritt, CMP itself, its undercover subsidiary BioMax Procurement Services, LLC, and two early board directors.

Planned Parenthood was awarded nearly $470,000 in alleged security upgrade “damages” and $870,000 in punitive damages against the Defendants. Under RICO’s trebling provision, the total fee is nearly $2.3 million.

“Planned Parenthood made clear at trial that their so-called ‘security’ and ‘screening’ protocols before the videos were abysmal to non-existent,” Daleiden explains, “And now somehow they want to make us pay top-dollar for their own long-disregarded upgrades. The rigged verdict Judge Orrick was able to extract from the jury to feed Planned Parenthood’s media narrative is not the last word on this bogus hoax of a lawsuit.”

Although Planned Parenthood received the verdict it sought, the lawsuit and trial subjected the leader of the abortion industry to unprecedented scrutiny and the sworn testimony on the witness stand captured damning and incriminating admissions under oath:

• Planned Parenthood admitted in a stipulation that the undercover videos accurately recorded the words their leadership actually said.
• Emails from Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast abortion leadership in Houston, TX and testimony from PPGC abortion administrator Tram Nguyen revealed they wanted to “move forward” with a draft contract in which “BioMax Procurement Services” would pay PPGC $750 per fetal liver. Dr. Mary Gatter, former Planned Parenthood Los Angeles Medical Director, testified that PPLA was paid a set fee per fetal specimen. Both examples represent an illegal transaction where the volume of marketable fetal body parts is the quid pro quo.
• Leadership from PPFA’s Medical Services department testified they do not disagree with statements on the videos by former PPFA Senior Director of Medical Services Dr. Deborah Nucatola and former Planned Parenthood Orange & San Bernardino Counties Vice President Dr. Jennifer Russo about flipping fetuses in the womb to breech position in order to deliver them intact and harvest more marketable body parts, the hallmark of the criminal partial-birth abortion procedure. Dr. Nucatola testified she did not think there was anything wrong with what she described.
• The leadership of Advanced Bioscience Resources, Inc. admitted they continue to harvest fetal organs and tissues at Planned Parenthood Pacific Southwest, and that they regularly receive intact fetuses for organ harvesting.
• Planned Parenthood witnesses failed to identify any of the information recorded in CMP’s videos as confidential or proprietary.

Harmeet Dhillon of Dhillon Law Group, representing Daleiden, CMP, and BioMax, states, “While we are disappointed in today’s verdict, we intend to pursue numerous issues on appeal. The jury worked with limited information and with a number of legal and factual outcomes predetermined by the Court. This verdict, if allowed to stand, seriously threatens the ability of undercover journalists – such as David Daleiden, Sandra Merritt, Adrian Lopez, and the ABC journalists in the 20/20 undercover video played in court showing Planned Parenthood’s involvement in fetal tissue trafficking 19 years ago – to document and expose illegal practices, such as Planned Parenthood’s illegal fetal tissue sales and abortion procedures. This verdict will not be the last word on these weighty factual, legal, and moral issues – like life, they are too important to leave undefended.”

“This lawsuit is payback for David Daleiden exposing Planned Parenthood’s dirty business of buying and selling fetal parts and organs,” adds Peter Breen of the Thomas More Society, representing Daleiden. “Rather than face up to its heinous doings, Planned Parenthood chose to persecute the person who exposed it. I am fully confident that when this case has run its course, justice will prevail, and David will be vindicated.”

“This case puts the constitutionally guaranteed right to free speech on trial. It tests the sacred tenet of freedom of the press,” explains Thomas More Society president Tom Brejcha. “Planned Parenthood decided that it was above the law. Planned Parenthood was wrong, and I am confident that we will win on appeal.”

“Planned Parenthood won a temporary victory today and obtained a jury verdict in their favor against David Daleiden and his co-defendants. The verdict is the natural product of Judge Orrick’s erroneous legal rulings,” remark Lead Trial Counsel Charles LiMandri and defense attorney Paul Jonna, of the Freedom of Conscience Defense Fund, representing Daleiden, CMP, BioMax, and Adrian Lopez. “Ultimately, though, this verdict won’t stand. The court made too many mistakes and we have a tremendous record for appeal. We will continue to fight to protect the First Amendment and the rights of the unborn.” 

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Watch the videos at CenterforMedicalProgress.org

 

After 6 weeks of witness testimony full of shocking admissions by top Planned Parenthood officials, the plaintiffs and the defense laid to rest their case in a three-and-a-half-hour-long day of closing arguments.

• Harmeet Dhillon, defense attorney for CMP, Biomax, and David Daleiden, exposed in great detail the many “shortcuts” Planned Parenthood lawyers took in their attempt to convince the jury to “rubber stamp” their claims. These shortcuts, Dhillon stated, are fatal to Planned Parenthood’s case on alleged RICO, fraud, and breach of contract.
• During her closing statements, Dhillon summarized succinctly PP’s blame game, seen on the graphic below. Yet, the plaintiffs want CMP to pay for its own admitted screening and vetting deficiencies and subsequent upgrades.
• Attorney Paul Jonna, representing CMP undercover investigator Adrian Lopez, explained how his client, who is not a prolife activist, wanted to participate in CMP’s undercover investigation because the research he reviewed on Planned Parenthood’s participation in fetal trafficking was so troubling he thought it needed to be exposed.
• The last defense attorney to make his case on behalf of his client was Harry Mihet for CMP undercover investigator Sandra Merritt, was Harry Mihet. Mihet spoke with conviction and told the jury, “The same conscience that God placed inside of Sandra Merritt exists in each and every one of you.”

The jury has until Friday, November 15 to reach a verdict.

In the first of two days of closing arguments in Planned Parenthood’s retaliatory lawsuit against CMP, Judge Orrick read 105 pages of jury instructions, PPFA lawyers spent the better part of their three hours mischaracterizing evidence, and defense attorneys Peter Breen and Charles LiMandri delivered compelling arguments before the jury.

• PPFA’s lead trial counsel lied to the jury saying that CMP did not report Plaintiffs Planned Parenthood Orange & San Bernardino Counties or Planned Parenthood Mar Monte to law enforcement agencies in their respective jurisdictions. In fact, CMP had produced the reports to law enforcement in discovery in the case and Planned Parenthood has been aware of them for over a year.
• Defense attorney Breen delivered opening remarks for the defense, stating that CMP’s undercover work cut through a curtain of secrecy to expose crimes being committed by the Plaintiffs. Exposing those crimes required undercover work in order to surface information for the public.
• PPFA did not challenge the content of the videos, instead they chose to sue the messenger. Breen argued this is important because a ruling against CMP in essence is shutting down the flow of information for investigative reporting necessary for a free society.
• The Plaintiffs attempted to discredit Daleiden’s work by claiming Dean Alberty, one of the whistleblowers featured in ABC’s 20/20 investigation of fetal trafficking, lied to Congress in his sworn testimony in 2000. LiMandri set the record straight and underscored that Alberty never recanted his sworn Congressional testimony about witnessing infanticide in a Planned Parenthood clinic in Kansas while harvesting body parts.
• Trotter attempted to discredit Daleiden’s pre-undercover, comprehensive research by alleging some sources were inaccurate or outdated. LiMandri countered the Plaintiffs’ criticisms by citing CDC statistics, testimony from Advanced Bioscience Resources‘ Procurement Manager Perrin Larton and CEO Linda Tracy, and contemporary reports about fetal experimentation from scientific research journals.
• LiMandri played a clip of Gloria Feldt, PP president during ABC’s 20/20 investigation, in which Feldt states anyone who breaks the law by selling the body parts of aborted babies must be held accountable through investigation and prosecution under the law. He asked the jury to take Feldt at her word.

Closing arguments continue at 8 A.M. on Wednesday, November 13, in San Francisco Federal District Court at 450 Golden Gate Ave, San Francisco, CA 94102, in Courtroom 2 on Floor 17.

Today was the last day of witness and evidence presentations by both the Plaintiffs and the Defense in PPFA et al vs. CMP et al. Two witnesses testified for the defense, forensic accounting expert Paul Zimmer and security and law enforcement expert Jon Perkins, and then the Defense and Plaintiffs rested their cases.

• Paul Zimmer testified that Planned Parenthood’s “damages” claims against CMP for the cost of its own security upgrades lack a basic and foundational piece of information– the level of security expenditures Planned Parenthood had prior to the events at issue in the case. Zimmer testified that the completely absent historical baseline data prevents any forensic accountant from assessing damages accurately and honestly.
• Perkins, a well-respect security expert with clients including several Hollywood celebrities, called Planned Parenthood’s damages claims excessive and unnecessary. He testified that media exposure helps stop crimes in his experience.
• Perkins’ in-depth analysis concluded that Planned Parenthood and NAF failed to meet security industry standards in screening admittance for their events and facilities. He testified that if Planned Parenthood wanted to keep a certain set of known pro-life individuals out of their conferences, it should have screened new attendees against names and photos of the list it wanted to keep out. In fact, Planned Parenthood never even asked potential registrants if they were pro-life or pro-choice.

Closing arguments begin at 8 A.M. on Tuesday, November 12, in San Francisco Federal District Court at 450 Golden Gate Ave, San Francisco, CA 94102, in Courtroom 2 on Floor 17.

Day 16 featured damning admissions on the witness stand by Advanced Bioscience Resources Procurement Manager Perrin Larton and founder Linda Tracy, as well as other testimony, as Planned Parenthood’s civil trial against CMP entered its final days.

• The Defense cross-examined Kevin Paul, Plaintiff Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains’ general counsel, about the shell LLC that PPRM set up to pay for PPRM VP Savita Ginde’s rent anonymously. Planned Parenthood is suing CMP for using a subsidiary LLC, BioMax Procurement Services, to conduct the undercover investigation of fetal trafficking.
• The Defense called ABR Procurement Manager Perrin Larton to the witness stand. She testified that she does not recant any of the statements she made to David Daleiden about babies falling out intact for organ harvesting, and that ABR could receive intact fetuses as frequently as every couple months.
• ABR President Linda Tracy confirmed on the witness stand that her company harvests fetal organs and tissues from Plaintiff Planned Parenthood Pacific Southwest, but Planned Parenthood objected to any other affiliates being named.
• Tracy contradicted herself multiple times on the witness stand when asked questions that could impact Planned Parenthood’s case. Tracy first tried to say that she didn’t discuss “pricing” of fetal tissue at NAF conferences, but then faced her videotaped deposition where she testified the opposite. Under oath and on the tape played in court, Tracy indicated her conversations at NAF included pricing of baby body parts. She further testified in her deposition that at NAF she discussed ABR’s “Regulated Tissue Acquisition” harvesting, for which researchers pay $6,000 per procurement. Tracy also equivocated and contradicted her deposition testimony that her conversations at NAF were not confidential.
• ABR’s Tracy also revealed that StemExpress Founder and CEO Cate Dyer stole business information from ABR to establish her rival fetal organ and tissue procurement company.
• Statistician Michael New, PhD testified to the “low quality” and unreliability of the National Abortion Federation’s statistics on crimes and harassment against abortion providers. NAF failed to provide sufficient documentation or corroboration to support the numbers reported.

Proceedings continue at 8 A.M. on Wednesday, November 6, in San Francisco Federal District Court at 450 Golden Gate Ave, San Francisco, CA 94102, in Courtroom 2 on Floor 17.

Day 15 of Planned Parenthood’s retaliatory lawsuit against CMP undercover investigators included testimony from a Planned Parenthood-hired accountant and PPFA’s Director of Events and Conferences, Brandon Minow, about the payout Planned Parenthood is seeking for upgrades to its own deficient conference screening and vetting:

• Greg Regan, a local CPA hired by Planned Parenthood Plaintiffs, testified that Planned Parenthood seeks $630,213 from CMP in the lawsuit to pay for updates to its deficient conference admission protocols. The vast majority of that money is fees to consulting firms, with $44,000 for media monitoring, $108,600 for reviewing PPFA’s vetting practices, $53,000 for security consulting, and $29,000 for guard services for events that CMP investigators didn’t attend.
• Regan testified that he is not a security expert and that his findings did not indicate whether the security updates were necessary or not. He also admitted that he had no knowledge of what kind of money Planned Parenthood was spending on security costs before the release of the undercover videos.
• PPFA’s Director of Events and Conferences Brandon Minow revealed PP holds approximately 80 events per year, including fundraisers and 30 or so conferences. Minow revealed most of PP’s events are held at hotels because they attempt to make the space “feel private in the middle of the hustle and bustle of hotel space.”
• Both Regan and Minow admitted that the reason Planned Parenthood felt it needed to upgrade its screening and vetting protocols was because the undercover videos made typical conference attendees feel uncertain about continuing to attend Planned Parenthood events. This is a clear example of loss of barred “repetitional harm” from the publication of the videos–a loss of consumer confidence resulting from the deficiencies exposed in Planned Parenthood’s conference protocols.

Proceedings continue at 8 A.M. on Tuesday, November 5, in San Francisco Federal District Court at 450 Golden Gate Ave, San Francisco, CA 94102, in Courtroom 2 on Floor 17.

On day 14 of Planned Parenthood’s retaliatory lawsuit against CMP undercover investigators, Plaintiff PPFA’s conference organizer, the National Abortion Federation’s Security Director, a Planned Parenthood-paid “expert”, and Plaintiff Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains’ in-house lawyer, each took the witness stand in San Francisco federal court.

• Vikky Graziani, PPFA’s former conference planner, revealed to defense attorney Harmeet Dhillon that she registered CMP’s undercover subsidiary BioMax Procurement Services, LLC to exhibit at PPFA’s North American Forum on Family Planning in Miami simply based on Dr. Deborah Nucatola’s recommendation. Graziani could not name any follow up vetting that she relied on to admit BioMax other than a conversation with Dr. Nucatola that she could not recall in detail.
• Graziani also called NAF’s vetting process and security procedures for Exhibitors the “gold standard.” When asked what she knew about the vetting process for Exhibitors like BioMax, Graziani testified she had no knowledge of NAF’s vetting process but that she thought “NAF security” was in charge of it.
• Graziani admitted that PPFA’s conference check-in staff were never trained to identify fake IDs when presenting name badges to conference goers, and that PPFA only told Exhibitors to show “ID”, not “government ID”.
• NAF’s Security Director Michelle Davidson testified that NAF is not a party to Planned Parenthood’s lawsuit. Yet, PPFA is suing CMP et al for alleged breach of NAF contracts.
• Davidson testified, contrary to Graziani’s assumptions, that NAF Security did not do vetting of Exhibitors at the NAF trade shows that BioMax attended. When asked about what guidance NAF Security gave to NAF Group Purchasing, who was in charge of admitting Exhibitors, Davidson admitted, “We didn’t talk about vetting. Like I said, that wasn’t part of my department’s duties.”
• Davidson also admitted that she did not train NAF Group Purchasing to check an ID, and that the changes NAF made to its security procedures for conferences after the undercover videos were an “upgrade”.
• Drexel University professor and lawyer David Cohen, who represents several Planned Parenthood affiliates and gave legal advice to Planned Parenthood leadership involved in the current lawsuit, testified as Planned Parenthood’s expert on “harassment” of abortion providers. Cohen admitted he supports no legal limits on abortion up to 9 months, and that his use of false statements and psuedonyms in one of his books is protected by the First Amendment.
• Plaintiff PPRM’s lawyer Kevin Paul testified that PPRM’s main office and megaclinic has a sign posted outside it putting the public on notice any conversations taking place on the grounds of the “campus” may be recorded.

Proceedings continue at 8 A.M. on Monday, November 4, in San Francisco Federal District Court at 450 Golden Gate Ave, San Francisco, CA 94102, in Courtroom 2 on Floor 17.

CMP project lead David Daleiden took the stand today for a fourth day after a weeklong break to finish his testimony about the trade in body parts from abortions.

• Defense attorneys Harmeet Dillon, Charles Limandri, and others, as well as Planned Parenthood lawyer Rhonda Trotter, questioned Daleiden for most of day 13 about the civil counts filed by PPFA against CMP et al:
  § Civil RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations) Conspiracy
  § Illegal Video Recording
  § Fraud
  § Trespass
  § Breach of Contract
• Dillon question Daleiden about a prominently displayed Planned Parenthood sign at PPFA’s National Conference in Washington, DC that put all attendees on notice of continuous video taping. The sign read: Planned Parenthood is photographing and/or recording this event and all attendees. By entering you agree to allow Planned Parenthood to take pictures and video of you and to use those images for any purpose, including advertising purposes, to promote the Planned Parenthood mission. If you have any concerns about this, please let our staff know or feel free to exit the premises.
• In response to LiMandri’s questioning about CMP’s purpose in the video releases, Daleiden explained at length that CMP always released the entire conversation so as not be accused of misrepresenting what was said. He also testified that no videos were spliced to make PP doctors or officials say anything they did not actually say.
• LiMandri asked Daleiden one last question, “Finally, are you proud of the work you did for CMP with this undercover investigation?” Daleiden responded, “Yes, I am.” When asked why, he gestured toward Planned Parenthood in the courtroom and replied, “Because we documented and exposed these Plaintiffs’ trafficking in fetal body parts.”

Proceedings continue at 8:00 A.M. on Friday, November 1, in San Francisco Federal District Court at 450 Golden Gate Ave, San Francisco, CA 94102, in Courtroom 2 on Floor 17.