All charges against Daniel Daleiden have been dismissed

Josie said:

D.A. Dismisses All Bogus Charges Against David Daleiden for Exposing Planned Parenthood | LifeNews.com

The Harris County District Attorney’s office on Tuesday dismissed all charges against anti-abortion activists who secretly videotaped Planned Parenthood officials in Houston.
David Robert Daleiden and Sandra Merritt were charged with tampering with a governmental record, for using a fake identification to gain access to the facility. In a surprise move before a hearing on the legitimacy of the indictment, prosecutors dismissed the charges.
Deleiden and his attorneys claimed victory for the anti-abortion movement, saying they were satisfied with the decision.
Daleiden, 27, and Sandra Merritt, 62, both of Davis, Calif., were indicted by a Harris County grand jury in January, accused of tampering with a government record for allegedly using fake driver licenses to conceal their identities while dealing with a Houston Planned Parenthood clinic.

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Chomsky said:

I'm blown away that one can make and use a fake Texas D/L, and face no consequences! What???

(there must be more to the story)

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In her ruling, Judge Diane Bull said her court lacked the jurisdiction to take up the case because of a technical problem with the indictment filed by prosecutors. Prosecutors failed to "negate" an exception in the penal code related to the charge against Daleiden, voiding the indictment, she wrote.

Daleiden still faces a second-degree felony charge for tampering with a governmental record, which carries a punishment of up to 20 years in prison. He is accused of using a fake California driver’s license to enter the Planned Parenthood facilities where he recorded staff discussing the costs of providing fetal tissue for research.

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In a statement Tuesday, Harris County District Attorney Devon Anderson said the judge’s ruling was not based on Daleiden's motion to quash the indictments.

“The basis for the judge’s ruling was not raised by the defense at any time,” Anderson said. “We do not intend to appeal the judge’s decision. Our office remains focused on the felony charge pending in the 338th District Court.”

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Gina said:

There is.


https://www.texastribune.org/2016/06/14/misdemeanor-charge-against-anti-abortion-activist-/

He skates on the misdemeanor charges on a technicality but still faces the felony charge.

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sangha said:

That's an older story about the dropping of a misdemeanor charge of offering to buy fetal tissue.

This new development is about the dismissing of felony charges of tampering with a govt document, using false ID, etc

Odd thing is I see no explanation for why the charges were dismissed. Also odd is the use of the word dismiss. Usually, judges dismiss charges while prosecutors (such as the DA in this case) drop charges.

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Gina said:

There is.


https://www.texastribune.org/2016/06/14/misdemeanor-charge-against-anti-abortion-activist-/

He skates on the misdemeanor charges on a technicality but still faces the felony charge.

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Chomsky said:

I'm blown away that one can make and use a fake Texas D/L, and face no consequences! What???

(there must be more to the story)

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Josie said:

He was working as an undercover journalist.

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Josie said:

He was working as an undercover journalist.

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sangha said:

That's an older story about the dropping of a misdemeanor charge of offering to buy fetal tissue.

This new development is about the dismissing of felony charges of tampering with a govt document, using false ID, etc

Odd thing is I see no explanation for why the charges were dismissed. Also odd is the use of the word dismiss. Usually, judges dismiss charges while prosecutors (such as the DA in this case) drop charges.

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Josie said:

Your article was written in June when the misdemeanor charge was dropped.

Today is this...

https://www.texastribune.org/2016/07/26/texas-planned-parenthood-abortion-activists-charge/

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sangha said:

That's an older story about the dropping of a misdemeanor charge of offering to buy fetal tissue.

This new development is about the dismissing of felony charges of tampering with a govt document, using false ID, etc

Odd thing is I see no explanation for why the charges were dismissed. Also odd is the use of the word dismiss. Usually, judges dismiss charges while prosecutors (such as the DA in this case) drop charges.

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Chomsky said:

Yes, I'm still lost to understand this.

In effect, this diminishes the validity of a Texas D/L.

Something doesn't make sense here.

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Texas prosecutors on Tuesday dropped the last remaining charges against two California anti-abortion activists who made undercover videos of themselves trying to buy fetal tissue from Planned Parenthood, agreeing with the defense’s argument that the grand jury exceeded its authority by investigating the activists after clearing Planned Parenthood of wrongdoing....

“The grand jury took the investigation where the facts led it, however Texas law limits what can be investigated after a grand jury extension order is issued,” District Attorney Devon Anderson said in a statement. “In light of this and after careful research and review, this office dismissed the indictments.”

Anderson,a Republican who ran as a “proud, pro-life Texan mother of two” during the 2014 election, supported the charges when they were handed down in January, stressing at the time that at the outset of the investigation, she stated that “we must go where the evidence leads us.” That didn’t sit well with many members of her party.

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year2late said:

So all you have to do is say you are an undercover journalist to get away with a crime? Did he check with a DA or someone like that to say his use of a false ID was legally ok?

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nota bene said:

I think the judge found David Daleiden’s felony motion to quash compelling. Re the fake ID and from that motion:

The instant indictment charges the defendant with tampering with a governmental document. The indictment alleges that Mr. Daleiden violated Texas Penal Code Sec. 37.10. The indictment issued against this defendant is legally invalid because it was not rendered during the grand jury’s original term, and the grand jury failed to comply with, or otherwise exceeded the authority they were granted pursuant to the vague and ambiguous “hold over” order executed on December 16, 2015. In addition the instant indictment being void, numerous violations of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure have impugned the integrity of the 232nd grand jury process and warrant that the instant indictment be quashed.
https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=david+daleiden+felony+motion+to+quash

There was evidence of collusion between a Harris County prosecutors and Planned Parenthood. From The Federalist in May:

Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast attorney Josh Schaffer admitted under oath that the Harris County District Attorney’s office broke the law by sharing evidence against undercover journalist David Daleiden leading up to the grand jury hearings against him. The evidence was shared even after the Texas Attorney General’s office had forbidden them from doing so, according to an attorney involved in the case.

…The attorney for Planned Parenthood revealed this illegal flow of information in a statement that was included in the DA’s response to Daleiden’s motion alleging prosecutorial misconduct to quash the indictment against him.

Atty: DA Illegally Shared Evidence With Planned Parenthood

From The Federalist today:

The investigation by the Harris County District Attorney was questionable from the beginning. Even though multiple Planned Parenthood executives are shown on tape conspiring to traffic human organs for profit, the prosecutors refused to seek any charges against Planned Parenthood for organ trafficking. Lauren Reeder, one of the prosecutors in the Harris County District Attorney’s office, was a member of the board of directors for a Texas Planned Parenthood affiliate targeted by Daleiden. Reeder’s LinkedIn page showed that she began serving as a fundraiser for Planned Parenthood in 2009 and become a board member of Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast in 2013.

Harris County prosecutors also illegaly shared evidence against Dalieden with Planned Parenthood, even though the Texas Attorney General’s office explicitly prohibited it….

Charges Dropped Against Planned Parenthood Whistleblower

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As a proud, pro-life Texan and mother of two, I am honored to be endorsed by Texas Right to Life PAC. I will always take a stand for those who cannot yet defend themselves.

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Gina said:

It was a procedural/technical issue.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nati...8cc92e-5340-11e6-b652-315ae5d4d4dd_story.html

The prosecutor felt the charges were worth filing, but the indictments went beyond the scope of the authority of the Grand Jury and so the DA's office agreed and dropped the charges. The result does not speak to their innocence.

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Chomsky said:

I'm blown away that one can make and use a fake Texas D/L, and face no consequences! What???

(there must be more to the story)

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Fishking said:

For what purpose was it used?

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Chomsky said:

?????

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Gina said:

I find it hard to believe she that as she ran as being pro-life, she would collude with Planned Parenthood.

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Fishking said:

I mean, I could make fake U.S. money to play around with in my house all day long, as long as I'm not trying to defraud anyone with it.

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nota bene said:

Perhaps she is simply incompetent. She also botched the grand jury investigation of Douglas Karpen, who is sometimes referred to as the "Kermit Gosnell of Texas," despite eyewitness testimony of babies being born alive and having their necks wrung and also despite photographic evidence.

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Chomsky said:

The subject is D/L I.D.

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