Grand jury in Planned Parenthood case restores faith in system

David Daleiden was a master name-dropper with a flawless memory and a good handle on science, all of which he used to infiltrate the highest levels of the abortion industry, posing as a vendor.

But he wasn’t much good at research protocol.

Following a visit to a local Planned Parenthood affiliate in April, Daleiden began emailing the research director, according to Josh Schaffer, a Houston criminal defense attorney representing Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast.

Something in the emails gave folks at Planned Parenthood pause, and they hesitated in responding. Then in late June, Daleiden made a “last-ditch” attempt to entrap the organization, said Schaffer, who declined to release that email, citing a pending criminal case.

But Schaffer said Daleiden attached a contract to the message that offered to procure a liver and thymus of an aborted fetus for a startling sum, $1,600. The standard rate to reimburse for administrative costs associated with fetal tissue donation ranges from $25 to $50 per sample.

That email led Planned Parenthood’s local research director to cut off all contact with Daleiden. This week, it led a Harris County grand jury to indict the anti-abortion activist for the very crime he accused the organization of committing: the purchase or sale of human organs. It’s a stunning irony. Daleiden and his associate, Sandra Merritt, both of California, face that misdemeanor charge and also are accused of tampering with a government record, a second-degree felony with a possible sentence of up to 20 years in prison, for allegedly falsifying the California driver licenses they used to gain access to Planned Parenthood facilities.

Perhaps the biggest stunner, though, is that justice prevailed over politics.

Ever since Daleiden released his first misleading, heavily edited, undercover video, claiming

it showed Planned Parenthood profiting off the sale of fetal tissue donation, anti-abortion rights Republicans have jumped at the chance to profit themselves, politically.

In Texas, state officials and agencies began their own inquiries, which are ongoing. Texas moved to cut crucial Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood, the state’s largest family planning contractor.

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick loudly called on Harris County District Attorney Devon Anderson to investigate. Anderson, herself a “pro-life” Republican who has been endorsed by the Texas Right to Life PAC, quickly obliged. But, she warned: “we must go where the evidence leads us.”

And, she did.

‘About the facts’

Not only did the Harris County grand jury clear Planned Parenthood of criminal wrongdoing, the group of citizens, after several months of investigation, “took no action.” In legalese, that means it didn’t even see the need to take a vote on whether Planned Parenthood broke the law.

At the beginning, Schaffer, the Planned Parenthood attorney, said he wasn’t certain the organization would be treated fairly. But he was soon reassured.

“It was clear to me during my interaction with the Harris County district attorney and law enforcement that their investigation was not political,” Schaffer said. “They only cared about the facts, the evidence, and how the law would apply to it. They looked under every single stone.”

This, of course, was not the outcome that partisans had hoped for, not even the ones with law degrees. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott — a former Texas Supreme Court justice, for heaven’s sake — was quick to reassure Texans that state investigations into Planned Parenthood would continue, I might add, at taxpayer expense.

Meanwhile, the district attorney is taking a beating by her fellow Republicans and conservative media.

Over on the alternative universe of Fox News, host Megyn Kelly asked her “senior judicial analyst” if the grand jury’s decision was a “political hit job,” and he gleefully agreed.

Neither mentioned Anderson’s political leanings. No, that would require journalistic integrity.

And speaking of journalistic integrity, which Daleiden seemed to cite in defense of his actions, no, Mr. Daleiden, you are not a journalist. No respectable journalist falsifies documents and lies about who he is. You are a fraud. And your cover is blown.

It’s my job to criticize politicians, not to praise them. And I certainly have criticized Anderson’s handling of other cases. Not this time.

Reforms implemented

She deserves praise for doing the right thing under pressure and for giving us a reason to believe in a system that fails too often.

This isn’t the first time Anderson has made a tough choice. Under pressure from the police union to retry Alfred Dewayne Brown in a Houston police officer’s callous murder, Anderson decided last year there wasn’t sufficient evidence, and Brown went free.

Anderson has recently implemented reforms, including expanded diversions for first-time offenders, and spoke out in favor of a controversial idea to allow defense attorneys at probable cause hearings.

We know now that Daleiden is a fake, a phony. And so are politicians who find it politically expedient to pretend he’s not.

Devon Anderson, meanwhile, might just be the real thing.