An official with the Federal Bureau of Investigation confirmed that the agency had received the criminal referrals of Planned Parenthood and sent them to field offices to be investigated. Breitbart broke the story this week after uncovering a letter from Gregory Brower, assistant director of the Office of Congressional Affairs, to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA). The letter refers to the criminal referrals by the Senate Judiciary Committee after extensive investigation of Planned Parenthood. The abortion business allegedly harvested and sold body parts of aborted babies for profit.
The Center for Medical Progress released undercover videos beginning in the summer of 2015 with evidence of Planned Parenthood illicitly altering abortion procedures to harvest body parts and selling the organs of aborted babies for profit. In response to the videos, the United States House of Representatives Select Panel on Infant Lives investigated and recommended prosecution for several Planned Parenthood affiliates, including Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast. Shortly after, the Senate Judiciary Committee concluded their investigation and referred Planned Parenthood Federation of America, four Planned Parenthood affiliates, and several fetal tissue procurement companies to the FBI and the United States Department of Justice for further investigation and possible prosecution.
The letter discovered by Breitbart this week indicates that the FBI received the Senate Judiciary Committee’s referrals and sent them to the appropriate field offices for further action. In the correspondence to Chairman Grassley, Brower, the assistant director for the Office of Congressional Affairs states: “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.” He also apologizes for the delay, as the committee sent the criminal referrals on December 13, 2016, and apparently inquired about them on April 24, 2017.
Brower’s letter to Grassley, dated June 19 of this year, was not publicized by the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Breitbart found the information on the committee’s correspondence page. Journalists with Breitbart made further inquiries with the FBI National Press Office and several FBI field offices regarding the investigation of Planned Parenthood, but received little information. In a statement, the National Press Office said, “In keeping with our usual practice we have no comment on whether or not we’re conducting a particular investigation.” In other words, we can expect little information until any investigations are complete and charges are filed where appropriate.
The delay in investigating America’s largest abortion business caught red-handed in undercover videos haggling over the price of baby body parts and casually discussing altering abortion procedures to maximize profits is disheartening. For years, Planned Parenthood has operated with impunity, betraying women and ending the lives of more than 320,000 preborn children every year. The updated information about the FBI’s action of the congressional criminal referrals is a hopeful sign that Planned Parenthood may yet be held accountable for the crimes committed against women and children. David Daleiden, one of the citizen journalists who captured the undercover footage, told Breitbart that the referrals concern “an atrocity against humanity that deserves the full attention of the FBI and the U.S. Department of Justice.” Planned Parenthood’s crimes also reveal the true nature of the abortion industry and peel back the “women’s health care” façade that has fooled many. We hope ongoing coverage of the investigation will bring Planned Parenthood’s actions fully into the light of public scrutiny.