The DOJ has started an investigation into the practices of the ultra controversial organization Planned Parenthood, mostly pertaining to its involvement in the sale of the body parts of aborted babies.
Justice Department Assistant Attorney General for Legislative Affairs Stephen Boyd has formally requested unredacted documents from the Senate Judiciary Committee, reports Fox News.
According to the news report, the letter requesting the documents – sent to committee chairman Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and ranking member Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) – “is a rare confirmation of a federal investigation.”
“The Department of Justice appreciates the offer of assistance in obtaining these materials, and would like to request the Committee provide unredacted copies of records contained in the report, in order to further the Department’s ability to conduct a thorough and comprehensive assessment of that report based on the full range of information available,” Boyd wrote in the letter obtained by Fox News.
“At this point, the records are intended for investigative use only—we understand that a resolution from the Senate may be required if the Department were to use any of the unredacted materials in a formal legal proceeding, such as a grand jury,” he added.
It was reported that at the end of September the FBI’s assistant director of the Office of Congressional affairs had sent correspondence to Grassley informing him that the agency was in possession of the Senate Judiciary Committee’s referrals of Planned Parenthood and it’s partners in the fetal tissue procurement industry.
“We can confirm the Criminal Investigative Division (CID) of FBI Headquarters received your referrals and sent them to the relevant FBI field offices for review and whatever action is deemed appropriate,” the FBI’s Gregory Brower wrote to Grassley in June.
In his correspondence, Brower apologized to Grassley “for the delay in responding to your inquiry” and indicated receipt of the chairman’s letter, dated April 24, to both former FBI Director James Comey and Attorney General Jeff Sessions “concerning criminal referrals you made on December 13, 2016, to the FBI and Department of Justice.”
Both the Senate Judiciary Committee and the House Select Investigative Panel on Infant Lives conducted expansive investigations into Planned Parenthood and its partners in the biomedical procurement industry. The investigations concerned allegations of profiteering from the sale of fetal body parts that arose from an undercover video series exposé by the Center for Medical Progress (CMP).
The sale or purchase of human fetal tissue is a felony punishable by up to ten years in prison or a fine of up to $500,000 (42 U.S.C. 289g-2).
In any event, it is a sick and ghoulish practice to be engaging in. It’s bad enough that this organization encourages what is the act of murder on those most defenseless but to then profit further from that death is just well, evil.