(This case will not go to trial. If the defense can bring out the horrendous Nazi medical practices that was perpetrated by Planned Parenthood,PP will not allow this case to go to trial.They want all these debauched Nazi activities hidden from public view. If this hero is convicted the next president,if a conservative, will pardon him at the earliest opportunity. BLL)
HOUSTON, February 4, 2016 (LifeSiteNews)
- This morning, Harris County prosecutor's office offered David
Daleiden a plea deal. His legal team, in turn, made a counter-offer.
"The only thing we're going to accept right now is an apology," said
Terry Yates, one of four attorneys who flanked Daleiden down the
corridors of the courthouse as he visited two court rooms to face felony
and misdemeanor charges.
He confirmed an offer had been made but was unlikely to be accepted.
Instead, Yates said that a hearing before Judge Brock Thomas of Texas
District 338 had been scheduled for March 28. "At that time, we
anticipate filing a couple of motions" asking that all charges be
dismissed at once. "We believe the indictments are factually and legally
insufficient."
"The old Texas expression 'all hat and no cattle' - that's what we
believe these indictments are. There's not much to them," he said.
Peter Breen of the Thomas More Society reiterated that stance during a
press conference co-hosted by LifeSiteNews at 11 a.m. local time.
When asked if Daleiden would plead guilty to lesser charges offered
by Harris County District Attorney Devon Anderson, Breen replied, "At
this point, no."
"What we really want is an apology," Breen said, standing next to
fellow counsel Briscoe Cain, Texas attorney for Operation Rescue. "He
deserves an apology...He is innocent."
His legal team felt certain he would prevail on the substance of the charges without admitting guilt to any of them.
"The reality is David is a modern day hero," Jared Woodfill, another
Daleiden attorney, told LifeSiteNews inside the courthouse. "He has
exposed the wrongdoing that has been occurring at abortion clinics all
across this country. And the fact that he's here today is a miscarriage
of justice."
"He will be vindicated," he said.
The 27-year-old Daleiden appeared unflappable - smiling,
well-groomed, wearing a black jacket, blue shirt, and black tie as he
spoke briefly with reporters, including LifeSiteNews.
"I'm very grateful for all the support from the public, especially
from the people of Houston," he said, some of whom held handmade signs
that said "I Stand with Sandra and David" as he presented himself for booking and paid bail this morning.
Attorneys did not disclose the terms of the agreement prosecutors had
offered. If convicted, Daleiden and fellow pro-life investigative
journalist Sandra Merritt face up to 20 years in prison and a $10,000
fine.
However, the charges could be dismissed at any time. LifeSiteNews
delivered the first batch of signatures, more than 106,000, on its petition to the DA's office asking that all charges against Daleiden be dropped at once.
If that fails? "We're ready to go to trial," Woodfill told LifeSiteNews.
HOUSTON, February 4, 2016 (LifeSiteNews)
- Pro-life leaders have presented more than 106,000 signatures to the
Harris County district attorney's office, demanding that charges be
dropped against David Daleiden.
It was the first batch of signatures to be dropped off in LifeSiteNews' ongoing petition.
It asks prosecutor Devon Anderson to dismiss the charges facing
Daleiden and his fellow investigator Sandra Merritt, which could result
in 20 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
"Houston, we do have a problem," said Rev. Patrick Mahoney of the
Christian Defense Coalition at a press conference at 11 a.m. local time.
"We are standing in solidarity and say, 'When you attack David
Daleiden and Sandra Merritt, you are attacking us and our community,'"
Rev. Mahoney continued. "Do not proceed with these unjust indictments."
Congressman Kevin Brady, a Texas
Republican, sent a statement to the gathering saying, "Instead of
society persecuting the truth tellers, Planned Parenthood needs to
answer for their gruesome practices," as well as apologizing to adoptive
families like his own, which the abortion provider has "prevented from
being whole."
The local indictment, made by the Houston-area grand jury last
Monday, has drawn national coverage as the first skirmish in a war
between Planned Parenthood and those who sought to expose their
practices.
"In delivering these petitions, I am representing more than 100,000
people who demand that these charges against this 27-year-old man and
his fellow investigator be dropped at once," said LifeSiteNews reporter
Lisa Bourne.
"The next move is up to the Harris County DA's office," she said,
reading a statement prepared by LifeSiteNews. "These petitions prove
that the world is watching."
"The indictment is another example of Planned Parenthood's
bare-fisted intimidation tactics," she added, similar to campaigns taken
against former Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline and the Susan G.
Komen Foundation.
LifeSiteNews
reporter Lisa Bourne and the Christian Defense Coalition's Patrick
Mahoney deliver LifeSiteNews' petition to the Houston DA's office. Andy
Parrish, PR director for LifeSiteNews, who was in Houston with Bourne,
said he was honored to tell David of the 106,000 LifeSite petition
signers who were standing with him. "These signatures are just the
beginning. The coalition standing behind David is growing. We've got
100,000, but let's double that."
David Daleiden addressed the crowd alongside two of his attorneys,
Peter Breen and Briscoe Cain, and thanked all those who showed their
support for him during his latest legal showdown.
"I just want to say thank you to everyone at LifeSiteNews and
everyone who shared the petition, who signed it, and made it possible to
deliver that today," Daleiden told LifeSiteNews. "It means a lot to me,
and to Sandra, and to the Center for Medical Progress. Thank you for
your faithfulness and for standing up for us."
He hoped everyone would remain united in demanding justice be done -
and, like Cheryl Sullenger of Operation Rescue, hopes that Planned
Parenthood Gulf Coast be indicted.
"I firmly believe that if we stay the course, if we stay together, we
will bring about a day when there is no longer a price tag on human
life," Daleiden said.
During the windy 45-minute-long press conference, speakers at the
rostrum defended Daleiden's undercover journalism tactics in the face of
sometimes hostile questions from the established press.
"No
one can deny that this was the number one investigative journalism
story of 2015," Rev. Mahoney said, citing statistics of the story's
impact on the mainstream media.
In the new media environment of 2016, someone does not need a degree from Northwestern or Columbia to be a journalist, he said.
"He broke one of the biggest stories of the year," agreed John Hawkins of Right-Wing News,
who sent in a written statement to the conference. Pressing charges
against him sends a message to conservatives and Christians: "Sit down
and shut up, or this just might happen to you."
"If this were a meat-packing plant investigation, there would be no
question about his integrity," said Alexandra Snyder, executive director
of the Life Legal Defense Foundation. "He would be universally lauded as a hero. I think he's a hero...for getting the truth out."
"In the meantime, we're going to do everything we can do to stand with David," she said, "and see justice prevail."
