California Prosecutors Attempt To Ban Exculpatory Evidence From Pro-Life Journalist’s Criminal TrialBy Madeline Osburn
February 18, 2022
California prosecutors in the upcoming criminal trial of David Daleiden, who could face jail time for recording conversations with Planned Parenthood employees about baby body part trafficking, filed a pretrial motion requesting specific evidence be barred from the trial. Friday afternoon, Daleiden and his legal team filed a response to that motion, arguing that prosecutors are attempting to ban exculpatory evidence that proves his undercover videos were indeed legal.
Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office is prosecuting Daleiden as if the charges against him include violating National Abortion Federation (NAF) policies when he recorded conversations at their convention. Daleiden’s counsel argues that NAF’s policies and procedures are irrelevant because he was seeking evidence of criminal activity, in accordance with California law.
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The AG’s office seeks to exclude one piece of evidence in particular from the trial: testimony from the former Orange County district attorney, Tony Rackauckas. The former DA has testified that without Daleiden’s undercover videos, he would have never been able to sue and effectively shut down illegal fetal tissue harvesting businesses operating in California, also known as Planned Parenthood’s “middle-man” procurement companies.
The state wants to prevent Rackauckas from testifying because his statements affirm what California state law already establishes, and is the crux of Daleiden’s defense: Journalists recording undercover videos are protected by law if they are making reasonable, good faith efforts to investigate violent crimes.
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Source:
https://thefederalist.com/2022/02/18/california-prosecutors-attempt-to-ban-exculpatory-evidence-from-pro-life-journalists-criminal-trial/
