Judge Rules CMP Must Turn Footage Over to NAF Before Congress
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
Alissa Manzoeillo, National Abortion Federation
202.667.5881, ext 219; 202.595.4395 (after hours/cell)
amanzoeillo@prochoice.org
Hayley Home, Morrison & Foerster LLP
415.268.6021; 916.402.2864 (cell)
HHome@mofo.com
Judge Rules CMP Must Turn Footage Over to NAF Before Congress
Today, a district court judge ordered that David Daleidan must first turn over to NAF and to the Court any copies of materials he plans to provide in response to a Congressional subpoena. Judge Orrick also held that Daleiden was barred from providing to Congress “any footage, documents, or communications that have not been specifically requested by subpoena.” The Court also made very clear that it remained “concerned about the threat of irreparable injury to the privacy rights of NAF’s members.”
CMP recently disclosed to NAF that they have 500 hours of recordings from NAF meetings, recordings that they have refused to turn over to NAF as they have tried to stall the lawful discovery process into their illegal conduct. In his order, Judge Orrick noted that “it is not lost on me that defendants seek expeditiously to provide information to Congress that they have tried in a variety of ways not to provide to NAF.”
“We have never taken the position that Daleiden and the other Defendants in our case should be barred from providing compelled responses to lawful subpoenas,” said Vicki Saporta, NAF President and CEO. “Our focus has always been and continues to be the safety and security of our members. We urge Congress to be mindful of the security risks faced by abortion providers, and the need for confidentiality as they conduct their investigation.”
Since CMP released their highly edited, misleading videos this summer, there has been an unprecedented escalation in hate speech and threats against abortion providers.
“We do not believe that all of the footage CMP stole from our meetings is responsive to this subpoena, and we urge the Committee to require Daleiden to also turn over all documents and emails relevant to the conspiracy and fraud he committed against NAF and our members,” said Saporta.
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The National Abortion Federation (NAF) is the professional association of abortion providers. Our members include individuals, private and non-profit clinics, Planned Parenthood affiliates, women’s health centers, physicians’ offices, and hospitals who together care for approximately half the women who choose abortion in the U.S. and Canada each year. Our members also include public hospitals and both public and private clinics in Mexico City and private clinics in Colombia.