Undercover journalist David Daleiden, who released shocking videos in 2015 exposing the abortion industry’s illegal practice of harvesting and selling baby body parts, has been exonerated after a nearly decade-long legal battle.
Daleiden, the founder of the Center for Medical Progress, reported on X, “As promised, the final charge has been DISMISSED and the case completely expunged…”
He released a longer statement explaining, “After enduring 9 years of weaponized political prosecution, putting an end to the lawfare launched by Kamala Harris is a huge victory for my investigative reporting and for the public’s right to know the truth about Planned Parenthood’s sale of aborted baby body parts.”
VICTORY!!! California DROPS Prosecution Launched by @KamalaHarris to Cover Up #PPSellsBabyParts Undercover Videos pic.twitter.com/y1ityd8eYw
— David Daleiden (@daviddaleiden) January 28, 2025
Daleiden reached an agreement to plead “no contest” on a single charge that involves no admission of wrongdoing, no fines, and no probation. The deal involves a final verdict of “not guilty” and the case being dismissed.
Last year, Daleiden’s colleague, pro-life activist Sandra Merritt, also walked free after eight years of being prosecuted for making undercover videos about Planned Parenthood. The California Attorney General’s office agreed to the plea deal.
“Sandra Merritt did nothing wrong. She did the right thing by exposing the depravity of the abortion industry. This plea agreement ends an unjust criminal case by dropping these baseless criminal charges without any prison time, fines or other penalties,” said Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Staver.
***Please sign up for CBN Newsletters and download the CBN News app to receive the latest news from a Christian perspective.***
As CBN News has reported for years, Daleiden and Merritt released shocking undercover videos in 2015 exposing the abortion industry’s illegal practice of harvesting and selling baby body parts.
“The recordings capture Planned Parenthood executives haggling over the prices of baby body parts, picking through bloodied arms and legs of aborted babies in a pie tray, and discussing how to alter abortion methods to avoid violating partial-birth abortion law and obtain more profitable body parts to sell,” Liberty Counsel, a non-profit legal group that represented Merritt, previously explained.
The case against Daleiden and Merritt was launched by California Attorney General Kamala Harris, who began a criminal investigation of them and authorized a raid on Daleiden’s home in 2016. The case was handed off to her successor, Xavier Becerra, who prosecuted the pro-lifers instead of Planned Parenthood.
After learning of Daleiden’s exoneration, Sen. Ted Cruz posted, “Becerra and Harris weaponized the judicial process to punish an activist who exposed the barbarism of the abortion industry. 11 years later, justice has finally been served following the dismissal of the last charge against Daleiden. Blue-state lawfare like this must never be allowed to happen again.”
THE BACK STORY:
2019: Undercover Journalists on Trial After Exposing Planned Parenthood’s Illegal Baby Parts Trafficking
2020: Abortion Directors Admit Under Oath to Using Partial-Birth Procedure to Harvest Baby Parts to Sell
