There’s very little the religious right loves more than fake outrage, and the heavily edited video of a Planned Parenthood official supposedly discussing the prices of fetal tissue has provided that in spades. Numerous GOP officials are diving in, and two House committees have even agreed to launch an investigation.
There’s just one problem: according to CQ Roll Call, some Republican lawmakers knew about the video months before it was released.
Lies, Damned Lies, and ‘Pro-Lifers’
The heavily edited video emerged on July 14, and it was released by the Center for Medical Progress, a group that Talking Points Memo says appears to have ties with the anti-abortion group Live Action.
It supposedly shows a Planned Parenthood official discussing how the organization procures fetal tissue for researchers, and caused a massive burst of outrage when it hit the Internet. Numerous right-wing sources have ran with the video, and Fox News is leading the charge.
Several GOP candidates have even sent out fundraising forms to cash in on the controversy.
The House Energy and Commerce subcommittee agreed to hold a kangaroo court for Planned Parenthood, and several GOPers have called for state and federal investigations.
If it seems all too convenient, that’s because it might well be: several senators involved with the outrage were given a pre-screening months ago, long before the outrage erupted.
“I saw it and he said he was going to post it eventually”
According to CQ Roll Call, at least two members of the Congressional Pro-Life Caucus have admitted to seeing the video weeks before it was released.
One of them, Representative Trent Franks (R-AZ), told CQ that he’d seen it a month before the public release, but didn’t act on the supposed revelations because, “the hope was to have as much information as possible so that the authorities could be notified effectively before the media.”
The other GOPer, Tim Murphy (R-PA), said that he saw the video weeks ago — initially. He tried to walk back on his comments later, telling CQ Roll Call, “This interview didn’t happen.” His spokeswoman clarified, claiming that he wanted to do his “due diligence” before he launched the investigation.
CQ Roll Call quoted Murphy in their piece:
CQ Roll Call: So, what I wondered was, what’s happened in those few weeks? Why is it coming out now and not earlier?”
Murphy: “Um, I don’t know why. All I know is I saw it and he said he was going to post it eventually, so that’s all I know.
Murphy is the chairman of the Energy and Commerce subcommittee in the House, which announced Wednesday that it would investigate the claims made in the video.
Franks, meanwhile, is a member of the House Judiciary Committee. That particular committee also announced on Wednesday that it would be investigating, as have Texas and Louisiana.
Featured image of Tim Murphy via Facebook
HAVE RUN… Not “…have ran.”
And they did nothing about it. Why? Either they knew it was a pile of fake cow droppings or they know that anti-abortionists are a factless minority and that taking any action on said pile of cow droppings would only harm them in the long run.
Or both.
Lets wait and see the other videos that will be released each week for the next three monhts before we defend Planned Parenthood.
The GOPTP are just a bunch of lying crooks. Lie, cheat, and steal votes its all they know. if congress people had prior knowledge they should be forced to resign.
Which version did all of them watch? Did they know it had been edited to give a false presentation? If so, that makes them as criminal as the producer. Planned Parenthood should sue. Until people start fighting back against this type of behavior and lies, it will continue to exist at the level it is currently. Kooks always exist, you just don’t want them taking over.
In our current political environment where those “Pro-Lifers” can be included into the group of rightwing loonies who think English must be our official language then they should learn it. I don’t care what we speak…
The PP supporters sure have their panties in a wad over this! When will people wake up and realize that Kermit Gosnell is not an outlier in the Abortion Industrial Complex but mainstream.